Contract Ethnographic Research Jobs (NOW HIRING)

We are seeking a Lead mixed-methods researcher to join a multidisciplinary dynamic contractor team supporting a federal agency's customer experience and human-centered design initiatives. In this role, you will lead research efforts that generate actionable, data-driven insights to inform service design, digital product development, and policy decisions. You will work closely with stakeholders, CX strategists, designers, data analysts, engineers, and technologists to ensure that customer voices are embedded throughout the product and service lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities:

• Design and lead quantitative and qualitative research studies including surveys, interviews, usability tests, and ethnographic methods.
• Lead survey strategy and creation, deployment, and analysis of results to uncover actionable insights and measure customer sentiment.
• Ensure research practices comply with ethical standards, including informed consent and protection of personally identifiable information.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into clear, compelling insights that inform design, product, and policy decisions.
• Translate findings into research artifacts such as reports, personas, journey maps, service blueprints, and data visualizations.
• Provide strategic direction to analysts on data visualization approaches, ensuring insights are understandable and actionable.
• Present findings to stakeholders across government agencies, including senior leaders, advocating for customer-centered improvements.
• Partner with CX strategists, service designers, data scientists, and technologist to validate concepts, improve usability, and enhance service delivery.
• Apply Human-Centered Design and service design principles across digital and non-digital touchpoints.
• Contribute to Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs by analyzing feedback channels, comment streams, and behavioral data. Contribute to a research strategy and roadmap aligned with program and agency priorities.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define CX success metrics and evaluate the impact of research-driven recommendations on service quality and outcomes.
• Support continuous improvement efforts by linking research insights to service performance and outcomes.
• Thrive in a fast-paced contractor environment, adapting to evolving priorities and collaborating across multiple teams and disciplines.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in UX/CX research, market research, human factors, behavioral science, or related disciplines.
• Bachelor's degree
• US Citizenship is required by the federal government for this position
• Must be able to obtain Public Trust clearance.
• MUST RESIDE IN THE United States (U.S.) and the work MUST BE PERFORMED in the United States (U.S.), as this work is for a federal contract and laws do apply.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Figma for collaborating, workshopping, prototyping and wireframing
• Qualtrics for survey deployment and analytics
• Usertesting.com or similar platforms for usability testing or interviews
• Microsoft Office for analysis, reporting, and cross-team collaboration
• Familiarity with Tableau, Power BI, or similar tools for data visualization
• Demonstrated expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including advanced survey design and mixed-methods synthesis.
• Proven experience conducting service design and customer experience research (e.g., journey mapping, VoC programs, pain-point identification).
• Demonstrated experience working with federal agencies

Bot and Third-Party Applications
Please note that this application must be submitted directly by the applicant for consideration. Failure to do so may result in the application being excluded for consideration. Applicants needing an accommodation for disability or religious purposes in connection with the application process should contact Candidateaccommodation@icf.com for assistance.
Working at ICF
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At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.
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Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.
The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is:
$119,323.00 - $202,850.00
Nationwide Remote Office (US99)