SENIOR DESIGN RESEARCHER

Are you passionate about understanding user needs and driving impactful product experiences? Join our dynamic team working on the Teams Admin Center, a comprehensive platform empowering IT administrators to manage and enhance Microsoft Teams for millions of users worldwide. This platform supports features like custom meeting backgrounds, environment management, user experience enhancements, policy management, and feedback integration. Our mission is to deliver seamless collaboration and productivity tools to organizations globally.

We’re looking for a Senior UX Researcher who thrives on collaboration, embraces a growth mindset, and has a proven track record of delivering actionable insights that shape product strategy and user experience. This role offers the opportunity to work across disciplines with designers, engineers, data scientists, and product managers, ensuring our solutions align with user-centred design principles while addressing technical and business objectives.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 4+ years User Experience Research experience
  • OR Master's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years User Experience Research experience
  • OR Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 1+ year(s) User Experience Research experience
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with practical knowledge of tools like UserTesting.com, dscout, UserZoom, Qualtrics, R, or SPSS.
• Proven ability to synthesize insights into actionable recommendations and communicate them effectively to diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Solid project management skills, capable of handling multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Commitment to inclusivity and diversity in research and product design.
• Experience with enterprise systems.
• Skill in distilling complex user data into compelling narratives through creative frameworks and storytelling.
• A proactive approach to identifying opportunities, planning research, and driving product improvements.
• Familiarity with managing research in multi-platform environments (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web, mobile).

• Strategic Research Planning: Partner with cross-functional teams to develop research strategies, including generative and evaluative studies, to guide product decisions and priorities.
• Execute Diverse Methodologies: Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, such as usability testing, interviews, surveys, heuristic evaluations, journey mapping, and data analysis, to deliver deep customer insights.
• Actionable Insights: Translate findings into compelling recommendations through clear, concise, and engaging communication tailored to stakeholders at all levels.
• Drive Impact: Influence product development by addressing customer pain points, identifying opportunities, and aligning experiences across platforms and devices.
• Complex Systems Analysis: Understand and articulate how interconnected systems impact user experience, guiding near- and long-term product investments.
• Collaborative Innovation: Work across organizational boundaries, ensuring research insights shape product design and align with Microsoft’s broader ecosystem.
• Mentorship and Advocacy: Coach junior researchers and evangelize UX research best practices, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making.