UX Researcher (Senior)

You don’t just run playtests - you lead them end to end and carry the player’s voice straight to designers. With a sharp read on player behaviour and fluency in qual, quant, and telemetry, you turn questions into precise studies and practical recommendations that help design, production, and analytics ship with confidence.

In collaboration with designers, producers, and analysts, you’ll shape research roadmaps and protocols, mentor junior researchers, and enhance our tools and frameworks. Based at Mad Head Games, you’ll apply your expertise to projects across Saber Interactive, our parent company.

We are unconventional creators of action games for PC and consoles - extremely fun to work with and definitely not for the faint-hearted.

For over a decade, we pioneered the local game dev scene, driven by the ambition to become the regional game dev leader.

On that quest, we pave our way with exciting games developed in Unreal Engine. Our latest released title, Scars Above, is a challenging and immersive 3rd-person sci-fi shooter set in a mysterious alien world. Currently, we’re developing Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival - a 1st-person action horror survival game based on the beloved franchise. Alongside that, we’re working on an unannounced AAA title set in a famous and beloved IP that fans are sure to anticipate. While we can't reveal too much just yet, we can promise these titles will push the boundaries of regional game development and generate some serious hype.

Saber Interactive, our parent company, is a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of 13 studios in the Americas and Europe. Creating games for all major platforms based on original and licensed IPs, Saber’s titles include Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, Jurassic Park: Survival, Turok: Origins, World War Z, SnowRunner, and many more.

We are looking for someone like you to join us in our offices in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Sarajevo, or remotely.

If everything said above ticks all your boxes so far, read on! We might be a match made in heaven!

What will you be doing as a Mad Head?

• Lead the design and execution of user research studies (e.g., playtests, usability testing, surveys, interviews, diary studies).
• Partner closely with game designers, UX designers, game producers, and data analysts to translate research insights into actionable game improvements.
• Develop research roadmaps, strategies, and protocols aligned with development milestones and studio priorities.
• Analyze and synthesize data into clear, compelling reports and presentations for cross-functional teams.
• Mentor junior researchers
• Coordinate with external vendors when needed.
• Help establish and evolve best practices, tools, and frameworks for user research at the studio.
• Act as an advocate and educator for UX research within the studio - helping teams understand what research can offer, when to involve it, and how to use it effectively.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders, manage expectations, and guide them in framing the right research questions.

What do we expect from our ideal candidate?

• 4+ years of experience in user research, ideally within the video game, tech, or entertainment industries.
• Strong knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, as well as gaming-specific UX methodologies (playtesting, usability testing, FTUE, longitudinal studies, RITE, player segmentations, combining telemetry+user feedback…).
• Hands-on experience running user studies, from design through to analysis and reporting.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills; ability to translate research findings into game development language.
• Familiarity with game development cycles and working in agile or iterative environments.
• Proficiency with platforms and tools like PlaytestCloud, SurveyLegend, Gametester, Excel/Google Sheets, or statistical tools like R/SPSS is a plus.

It would be a plus if you have:

• Previous experience working in a video game studio or with game titles in development.
• Familiarity with behavioral telemetry or mixed-methods research.
• Experience managing or mentoring other researchers.
• Passion for video games and a deep understanding of different player types and motivations.
• Experience with tracking
• A degree in Psychology
• Experience with market research techniques, including:
• Audience analysis (player demographics, preferences, habits)
• Competitive benchmarking (analyzing similar games or genres)
• Market trend reporting (identifying shifts in player expectations and behaviors)
• Comfortable synthesizing UX and market insights/ blending knowledge from different sources to inform product direction and strategy.
• Proactiveness in work which include taking initiative
• Self driven approach and eagerness to learn new things

In return, here is what we can give:

• A dynamic and extremely upbeat workplace like you have never seen before
• Competitive industry-standard salaries, because we all know that it matters
• Flexible working hours: sleep in or start early - we trust you with your time
• Chance to work with senior professionals and teams from your field of work
• Premium private medical insurance for you and your family members, as well as other well-being benefits - because we care about your physical and mental health
• More time to rest: 25 days of vacation, plus a company-wide annual leave in January, plus additional days for significant life events like childbirths, wedding leaves, and bereavement, plus short-term sick leaves
• A month of 4-hour workdays for all Mad Heads returning from maternity leave - to acclimate and gently return to the workflow
• Ongoing education and training: Self-improvement is a priority, so conferences, classes, workshops, and courses (external and internal) are all part of the package
• Community events: we are heavily involved in developing startup, tech, and gaming ecosystems - and will include you in it
• Awesome team building events, as well as personalized team bonding events tailored to your preferences

Help us get to know you! Send us not only your CV, but also your portfolio where we can see your work. The best way is to send it in PDF doc.

Apply by pressing the button below.