Microsoft is hiring a Principal Product Design Researcher to lead generative and evaluative research across the Frontier Design team’s product portfolio. This is a hands-on player-coach role: you will run studies and produce research artifacts yourself while also shaping research practice and mentoring researchers. The role focuses on turning qualitative and quantitative evidence into clear design direction for AI-forward product experiences. You will lead complex problem spaces, partner with design, product, engineering, and data leaders, and help teams deliver products that are more coherent, usable, and useful. Key focus areas: Lead research across multiple product areas and own the research roadmap. Synthesize insights into personas, journey maps, design principles, behavioral models, and evidence-backed recommendations. Build a research-led culture and advocate for rigorous, high-quality research across the organization.
Overview
$142,800 – $274,800 / year
remote
full-time
4-7 years of experience (principal level)
Technologies
- UserTestingQualtricsDovetailMazedScoutExcelRPythonTableauPower BIFigma
Responsibilities
- Plan and execute actionable research for designers and PMs: discovery studies, opportunity assessments, task flows, concept validation, usability testing, field research, and diary studies.
- Lead research synthesis and sense-making, defining framing and implications for design approach and translating insights into clear product recommendations.
- Develop and maintain research deliverables such as personas, archetypes, journey maps, design principles, behavioral models, and evidence-backed synthesis decks.
- Lead research-informed design decisions in close partnership with product managers and design leaders.
- Partner with data science to define metrics and integrate qualitative and quantitative evidence into a complete picture of customer experience.
- Manage research operations, recruiting, participant management, tooling, and budget; ensure the team has research infrastructure for high-quality work.
- Mentor researchers on methods and career development, and champion high-quality research practices across the organization.
- Own the research roadmap, prioritizing where to spend research energy given strategy, product constraints, and uncertainty.
- Drive methodological rigor using a wide range of generative and evaluative methods, including surveys, contextual inquiry, and unmoderated testing.
- Communicate findings clearly and persuasively to executives, product leaders, and stakeholders, including in the context of Frontier AI products and strategies.
- Own the research narrative and artifacts that help teams understand their users; establish a research-led culture and deliver inspiring, practical recommendations.
Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Design, or related field AND 6+ years of experience in design research; OR Bachelor’s Degree in a related field AND 8+ years of experience in design research; OR equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of experience leading mixed-method research programs: moderated and unmoderated usability testing, contextual inquiry, diary studies, field studies, interviews, surveys, and product analytics integration.
- Experience with qualitative analysis (coding, affinity diagramming, thematic synthesis) and a strong grasp of quantitative techniques such as statistical analysis, survey design, and triangulation.
- Experience conducting research on AI products or AI-inflected products.
- Experience with research tools such as UserTesting, Qualtrics, Dovetail, Maze, dScout, or equivalent.
- Experience developing research practices and mentoring peers on design research craft and methodology.
- Experience influencing product strategy through research-informed recommendations.
- Experience partnering closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to ship products.
Benefits
- Equal opportunity employer
- Reasonable accommodations available for applicants with disabilities