Design Researcher Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

We're looking for a Senior Human Factors Researcher to join our Design Research team. This role is ideal for a researcher with a deep technical background in physical hardware and ergonomics who's ready to own end-to-end research for our next generation of wearable technology.

As a Senior Researcher, you'll be a key contributor to the design and development of Oura rings, ensuring our devices deliver world-class comfort, fit, and usability. You'll work hands-on with Industrial Design and Hardware Engineering to translate complex human data into actionable design requirements, and you'll help non-technical teams reason about and apply that data in their own work,  interpreting human modeling data to evaluate form factors, pressure-test fit and comfort hypotheses, and turn findings into concrete direction.

This is a hybrid position. You will be expected to be in the SF or Helsinki office 2-3 days a week depending on the schedule, potentially more days if running a study. 

• Own end-to-end research. Plan and conduct human factors and ergonomics evaluations across the full product lifecycle, focused on how users physically interact with wearable hardware and how form factor choices perform against the underlying human data.
• Collaborate deeply across functions. Work closely with industrial and product designers, fellow human factors researchers, electrical and mechanical engineers, and program management so that form factor evaluations answer the questions that matter most for the product.
• Translate data into design requirements. Convert anthropometric and human modeling findings into concrete, actionable parameters, sensor placement, sizing, geometry, and materials. 
• Deliver insights that drive decisions. Produce high-impact findings that directly shape hardware decisions and support critical product validation milestones.
• Champion human factors and human modeling. Advocate for the value of human factors in the design and development process. Utilize human modeling data in form factor evaluations, sizing, and, helping non-technical teams interpret and apply it confidently to their workflows.
• Support quality and compliance. Contribute to the documentation required for quality assurance and future regulatory submissions.

• Education: A Master's or Ph.D. in a field related to the human body, measurement science, body modeling, statistics, design integration, or applied human factors e.g., Human Factors, Ergonomics, Biomechanics, Biomedical Engineering, Biological Anthropology, Computer Vision, Geometric/Computational Modeling, Machine Learning, Statistics, Data Science, ME/EE, Physics, HCI, Cognitive Psychology, or Anthropometry/Kinesiology.
• Experience: 5+ years conducting human factors research focused on physical hardware, wearables, or body-worn technology 
• Working with human modeling data: Experience interpreting and applying 3D anthropometric datasets (e.g., from photogrammetry, laser scanning, or MRI) to inform product parameters and form factor decisions. Possess a strong fluency as both a consumer and an analyst of this data.
• Technical expertise: Strong command of ergonomic and anthropometric principles and how to apply them to hardware development, including evaluating comfort and fit across a diverse global population.
• Research methods: Mastery of experimental design, usability testing, physical interaction studies, and comfort assessments, plus a large toolkit you can adapt to novel situations that require balancing divergent goals and tradeoffs.
• Analysis: Proficiency analyzing and deriving insights from both qualitative and quantitative data, including analyzing human body data in Python, R, or MATLAB to support form factor evaluation and design recommendations.
• Tools: Familiarity with CAD and common digital human modeling tools, or a track record of close collaboration with hardware engineering to translate findings into form.
• Communication: Proven ability to communicate technical findings clearly to creative, engineering, and other stakeholders, teammates, and external partners.
• Judgment and organization: Sharp analytical judgment under pressure, with excellent organization and attention to detail across competing priorities.
• Excited (or at least willing) to work early hours PST,  7-8am is generally fair game,  to collaborate across time zones.
• Able to read this full posting and share your favorite color, and why, during your first interaction with Oura.

• Experience with computational geometry or 3D analysis tools such as Rhino, Grasshopper, or Python geometry libraries.
• Familiarity with digital human modeling tools.
• Familiarity with CAD, 3D printing, or physical prototyping to iterate quickly on hardware concepts.
• Background in global user research and inclusive design practices.
• Knowledge of physiological monitoring or wearable sensor integration.
• Prior experience in health tech, consumer electronics, or fitness wearables.

Benefits 

At Oura, we care about you and your well-being. Everyone here at Oura has a ring of their own and we are continually looking to improve employee health.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and equity packages
• Health, dental, vision insurance, and mental health resources
• An Oura Ring of your own plus employee discounts for friends & family
• 20 days of paid time off plus 13 paid holidays plus 8 days of flexible wellness time off
• Paid sick leave and parental leave

Oura takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. US locations are categorized into tiers based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. While most offers will be closer to the starting range, successful candidates' pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, internal peer equity, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

• Region 1: $172,550 - $203,000
• Region 2: $158,950 - $187,000
• Region 3: $147,900 - $174,000

A recruiter can determine your zones/tiers based on your US location.