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Design Research Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Lead Design Researcher

Chicago, IL · On-site +1

$92.60K - $144.10K/yr

Bring expertise in quantitative research and analytical methods, complemented by qualitative research and human‑centered design practices. Plan and execute research, translate insights into ...

Lead Design Researcher

Chicago, IL · On-site

$92.60K - $144.10K/yr

Lead and advance mixed-methods design research that informs product, service, and experience decisions across the credit union. Bring expertise in quantitative research and analytical methods ...

Conifer Research conducts design research projects both domestically and internationally for clients across a wide variety of industries. DESIGN RESEARCHER People are endlessly fascinating, don't you ...

Conifer Research conducts design research projects both domestically and internationally for clients across a wide variety of industries. DESIGN RESEARCHER People are endlessly fascinating, don't you ...

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Design Research information

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$37K

$106K

$142.5K

How much do design research jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 2, 2026, the average yearly pay for design research in the United States is $106,012.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,000.00 and $104,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Design Researcher, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Design Researcher, you need a solid understanding of research methodologies, user experience principles, and data analysis, often supported by a degree in design, psychology, or a related field. Familiarity with tools like UserTesting, Qualtrics, and data visualization software is commonly required. Strong communication, empathy, and critical thinking skills help researchers effectively interpret insights and collaborate with cross-functional teams. These skills ensure that research findings directly inform user-centered design solutions, leading to better products and experiences.

How does a Design Researcher typically collaborate with designers and product teams throughout a project?

Design Researchers work closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to ensure user insights are integrated at every stage of the development process. Early in a project, they help define user needs and pain points by conducting interviews, surveys, or usability tests. As the project progresses, they facilitate workshops, share findings through presentations or reports, and recommend design improvements based on research data. Effective communication and a collaborative mindset are essential, as researchers often act as the bridge between users and the product team.

What is design research?

Design research is a field that focuses on understanding users’ needs, behaviors, and experiences to inform and improve the design process. It combines methods from social sciences, such as interviews and observations, with design thinking principles to gather insights that help create user-centered products, services, or systems. Design researchers work closely with designers, product managers, and stakeholders to ensure that solutions are both innovative and practical, ultimately enhancing the user experience.

What is the difference between Design Research vs User Experience Designer?

AspectDesign ResearchUser Experience Designer
Primary FocusUnderstanding user needs and behaviors through research methodsDesigning and improving user interfaces and interactions
Required SkillsQualitative and quantitative research, data analysis, user interviewsWireframing, prototyping, visual design, usability testing
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, field studies, collaborative teamsDesign studios, product teams, cross-functional collaboration
Common UsageGathering insights to inform design decisionsCreating user-centered designs based on research findings

While both roles focus on improving user experiences, Design Research primarily involves understanding user needs through research, whereas User Experience Designers apply those insights to create and refine digital interfaces. Both roles often collaborate closely within product teams to ensure user needs are effectively addressed.

More about Design Research jobs
What cities are hiring for Design Research jobs? Cities with the most Design Research job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Design Research jobs? The most popular types of Design Research jobs are:
What states have the most Design Research jobs? States with the most job openings for Design Research jobs include:
Infographic showing various Design Research job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 7% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 88% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $106,012 per year, or $51 per hour.
Manager 3, Design Research - Quickbooks Platform

Manager 3, Design Research - Quickbooks Platform

Intuit

Mountain View, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 9 days ago


Intuit rating

8.4

Company rating: 8.4 out of 10

Based on 81 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

64th of 184 rated software companies


Job description

At Intuit, our mission is to power prosperity around the world. QuickBooks is core to that mission, supporting millions of small businesses and accountants as they manage finances, stay compliant, and make confident decisions every day.
Intuit has a strong, centralized research capability within Marketing. As the QuickBooks platform continues to scale in complexity and reach, there is a growing need for an embedded UX and Design Research practice within the Global Business Solutions Group (GBSG) - one that sits closer to product development and focuses on the quality, usability, and coherence of core platform experiences.
This role will establish and lead a new UX Research practice dedicated to the QuickBooks platform within GBSG. The practice will focus on understanding end-to-end customer workflows, uncovering systemic usability and experience-quality issues, and operationalizing research through shared heuristics, standards, and frameworks that product teams can rely on day to day.
The GBSG Design Research and Insights team partners closely with Product, Design, Engineering, and Data Science to ensure that platform decisions are grounded in deep customer understanding - not only at moments of discovery or launch, but continuously, as the product evolves.
Responsibilities
You are an experienced Design Research Leader who has built and matured embedded research practices in product organizations. You care deeply about experience quality and understand that usability, clarity, and trust are foundational to platform health - especially for customers managing real money and real businesses.
You bring strong empathy for small business owners and accountants, and you know how workflow friction, inconsistent patterns, and usability debt show up in customers' daily lives. You are fluent across qualitative and quantitative UX research methods and skilled at translating insights into practical tools - heuristics, principles, scorecards, and evaluative frameworks - that help teams make better design decisions at scale.
You are comfortable navigating a matrixed environment with centralized Marketing research partners, and you are thoughtful about where embedded UX research provides unique value. You are collaborative, humble, and confident in your point of view, using evidence to influence decisions and challenge the status quo when needed.
What You'll Do
Establish and lead an embedded UX and Design Research practice within the Global Business Solutions Group (GBSG), complementing Intuit's centralized Marketing research organization
Build and manage a focused team of UX researchers, supporting their growth while increasing the visibility and impact of their work
Define and operationalize experience quality for the QuickBooks platform through usability heuristics, design standards, and shared evaluation frameworks
Develop deep domain expertise in QuickBooks workflows, bringing a strong UX perspective on usability, quality, and customer confidence into senior leadership conversations
Partner closely with Product Management, Design, Engineering, and Data Science to ensure foundational research programs focus on the most critical and most repeated customer journeys
Hold teams accountable for customer-centered decisions informed by qualitative research, quantitative data, and behavioral insights
Create durable UX research artifacts that enable consistent, high-quality experiences across the platform
Align closely with central research partners to share insights, reduce duplication, and ensure learnings travel across the organization
Partner with other UX research leaders to ensure research capacity is applied to the most impactful work across the QuickBooks ecosystem
Qualifications
  • 2+ years of experience directly managing, coaching, and developing UX or Design Researchers
  • 6+ years of experience conducting mixed-methods UX research in a product or technology environment
  • Demonstrated experience operationalizing UX research through heuristics, standards, or experience quality frameworks
  • Comfort operating in ambiguity and navigating matrixed organizations with centralized and embedded research teams
  • Clear examples of driving meaningful impact through platform-level or programmatic UX research initiatives
  • A strong portfolio emphasizing UX storytelling grounded in qualitative and quantitative data
  • Excellent communication skills and business acumen, with the ability to influence cross-functional and senior stakeholders

Intuit provides a competitive compensation package with a strong pay for performance rewards approach. This position may be eligible for a cash bonus, equity rewards and benefits, in accordance with our applicable plans and programs (see more about our compensation and benefits at [1] Intuit®: Careers | Benefits). Pay offered is based on factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and work location. To drive ongoing fair pay for employees, Intuit conducts regular comparisons across categories of ethnicity and gender. The expected base pay range for this position is: Bay Area California $ 226,000- 305,500 New York $ 233,500- 316,000 References Visible links 1. https://www.intuit.com/careers/benefits/full-time-employees/

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