The Role
Lead a multidisciplinary design research team conducting field research, ethnography, contextual inquiry, and synthesis across complex development environments. Translate evidence into use cases, product opportunities, experience principles, and product concepts while partnering with product, design, engineering, AI, government, and development stakeholders. The role combines hands-on fieldwork, research leadership, practice development, stakeholder influence, and strategic product visioning, with regular travel across diverse rural, agricultural, industrial, and public-service contexts.
Summary Generated by Built In
Principal Design Researcher
Research Leadership | Use-Case Discovery | Product Visioning
Find the real problem. Build the team that can solve it.
Organisation: APLYD, part of Athena Infonomics Group
Function: Products & Innovation
Position: Full-time
Location: India, with regular field engagement
Experience: 6–8 years, with flexibility for exceptional candidates
Reporting to: Chief Innovation Officer
About Us
APLYD, part of the Athena Infonomics Group, works at the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence and complex development challenges.
We partner with governments, development institutions and other organisations to build digital solutions for real-world needs.
Our work spans rural development, agriculture, livelihoods, MSME transformation and public service delivery. We explore opportunities ranging from agricultural advisory systems and digital ecosystems for rural entrepreneurs to AI-enabled industrial transformation and next-generation government services.
Our aim is not simply to digitise existing processes. We look for better ways for people to access information, make decisions, participate in markets and engage with institutions.
The Opportunity
Lead research that reveals where to build next.
We are looking for a Principal Design Researcher to lead field research and use-case discovery across APLYD’s innovation portfolio.
You will lead and develop a multidisciplinary research team, while remaining closely involved in fieldwork, synthesis and product exploration. Your work may involve understanding how rural entrepreneurs make business decisions, how farmers navigate advisory systems, how small manufacturers manage production or how frontline workers deliver public services.
This role is suited to a researcher who can move between field immersion, team leadership and product thinking. You will work with product managers, designers, AI specialists, engineers and sector experts to turn evidence into clear opportunities for digital products and services.
Core Responsibilities
1. Lead the Research Team
- Manage, mentor and develop a team of design researchers.
- Set research priorities across programmes and allocate work based on project needs and team strengths.
- Define research plans, methods, field strategies and quality standards.
- Work alongside researchers on important field studies, synthesis and stakeholder engagements.
- Review research outputs and help teams move from observations to clear insights and use cases.
- Build a culture of rigour, curiosity, constructive critique and shared learning.
- Support recruitment, onboarding and capability development.
2. Lead Field Research and Use-Case Discovery
- Plan and lead research across villages, farms, markets, manufacturing facilities, public institutions and service environments.
- Use ethnography, contextual inquiry, observation, interviews, participatory research and other appropriate methods.
- Understand behaviours, informal practices, motivations, constraints and decision-making patterns.
- Identify gaps between what people say they need and what they actually do.
- Combine qualitative, quantitative and contextual evidence where useful.
- Build relationships with communities, institutions and sector experts.
- Turn field evidence into clear problem statements, use cases and opportunity areas.
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3. Translate Research into Product Opportunities
- Lead synthesis and sense-making across research programmes.
- Identify unmet needs, behavioural patterns and systemic barriers.
- Challenge assumptions and reframe problem statements when the evidence demands it.
- Facilitate opportunity-framing and concept-development sessions.
- Work with designers and product managers to explore service models, workflows, prototypes and future experiences.
- Develop research-backed product directions and experience principles.
- Help teams assess opportunities based on user value, contextual fit, potential impact and feasibility.
4. Shape Product Vision and Design Direction
- Work with the Chief Innovation Officer and product leadership to define priority opportunity areas.
- Lead workshops that connect field findings to product concepts and strategic choices.
- Partner with designers, engineers and AI specialists to explore what new technologies can enable.
- Keep research insights visible throughout early product discovery and concept development.
- Communicate product opportunities through clear narratives, visual frameworks and prototypes.
- Help teams decide which ideas to pursue, test or set aside.
5. Influence Stakeholders and Strategy
- Present research findings and product opportunities to senior leaders, government officials, development partners and internal teams.
- Build alignment among stakeholders with different priorities and perspectives.
- Connect user needs with policy, operational, market and technology realities.
- Identify opportunities for products, services and wider digital ecosystems.
- Contribute to APLYD’s innovation agenda by identifying emerging needs across sectors.
6. Strengthen Research Practice
- Establish practical standards for research planning, fieldwork, synthesis and documentation.
- Build reusable research assets, sector insights, behavioural frameworks and use-case libraries.
- Share learning across programmes and sectors.
- Promote ethical research, informed participation, privacy and contextual sensitivity.
- Support the team through regular feedback, mentoring and peer learning.
- Contribute to selected publications, forums and thought leadership where relevant.
The Challenges You Will Explore
Rural Development and Livelihoods
- How can digital products help rural entrepreneurs identify opportunities, access finance, plan businesses and participate in markets?
- Research may cover household economics, enterprise behaviour, community institutions, informal practices and market relationships.
Agriculture and Allied Sectors
- How can advisory and service delivery reflect farmers’ actual decisions, trusted relationships and local conditions?
- Research may inform intelligent advisory systems, farmer services and digital agricultural ecosystems.
MSME and Industrial Transformation
- How can technology and AI support the everyday decisions of small manufacturers?
- Research may cover production, supply chains, workforce interactions, quality processes and market constraints.
Government and Public Services
- How can public services be designed around the experiences of citizens, frontline workers and institutions?
- Research may inform more accessible, responsive and intelligent service models, including those enabled by AI and digital public infrastructure.
- These sectors are not separate silos. The role will involve identifying patterns and opportunities that connect them.
What You Will Create
Your work will produce:
Field Insights
Evidence-based understanding of people, behaviours, environments and constraints.
Use Cases and Opportunity Areas
Clear descriptions of where digital products or services could create value.
Research Synthesis
Frameworks, maps and narratives that help teams understand complex systems.
Product Concepts
Research-backed directions developed with product, design and technology teams.
Experience Principles
Guidance that connects user needs and field realities to product decisions.
Decision Materials
Clear recommendations on what to explore, test, prioritise or stop.
The focus is on the quality and influence of the work, not the number of studies or reports produced.
Qualifications and Competencies
Essential Experience
- 6–8 years of experience in design research, user research, ethnography, service design, strategic design, human-centred innovation or a related field.
- Experience leading research projects from framing and planning through fieldwork, synthesis and recommendations.
- Experience managing, mentoring or guiding researchers, designers or multidisciplinary project teams.
- Strong experience with qualitative research methods, including interviews, observation, contextual inquiry, ethnography or participatory research.
- Ability to identify patterns, frame problems and translate research into use cases, product opportunities or service improvements.
- Experience working with product managers, designers, engineers, data or AI specialists and senior stakeholders.
- Strong synthesis, facilitation, storytelling and written communication skills.
- Ability to work independently in ambiguous environments and make sound decisions with incomplete information.
- Willingness to travel regularly for fieldwork across diverse geographical and socioeconomic contexts.
We Particularly Value
- Experience in early-stage product discovery or product innovation.
- Experience building or improving research practices.
- Experience working across rural, low-income, public-sector or other complex environments.
- Knowledge of systems thinking, service design or behavioural research.
- Experience exploring AI-enabled products or emerging technology.
- Experience working across multiple markets, cultures or stakeholder groups.
- A portfolio showing how research influenced a product, service, programme or strategic decision.
- Academic backgrounds may include design, anthropology, sociology, psychology, human-computer interaction, cognitive science or related fields.
Prior experience in rural development, agriculture or the development sector is not mandatory.
We value strong researchers who can learn quickly, work respectfully in unfamiliar settings and connect field evidence to practical decisions.
What Makes This Role Different
You will lead and do.
You will manage a research team while remaining involved in important fieldwork, synthesis and product exploration.
You will work before the brief is fixed.
Your research will help define the problem, identify use cases and determine what is worth building.
You will work across complex environments.
The work spans rural communities, farms, businesses, public institutions and other settings where standard product assumptions may not apply.
You will work closely with technology teams.
You will help product, design, engineering and AI teams understand where technology can create meaningful value.
You will help build the practice.
You will shape how APLYD conducts research, develops researchers and uses evidence in product decisions.
What Success Looks Like
In your first year, success will include:
- Building a capable and well-supported research team.
- Establishing clear standards for research planning, fieldwork and synthesis.
- Leading high-quality research across APLYD’s priority sectors.
- Identifying use cases and opportunities that influence product priorities.
- Helping teams turn research findings into clear product concepts and decisions.
- Building strong working relationships across research, product, design, technology and sector teams.
- Creating reusable knowledge that improves future programmes.
APLYD’s Work Culture
At APLYD, we value curiosity, ownership, collaboration and practical impact.
We encourage people to question assumptions, learn from the field and take responsibility for difficult problems. Our teams work with sector experts, technologists, designers and institutional partners across a range of development contexts.
AI Proficiency and Responsible Use
Responsible use of AI is expected across APLYD and Athena Infonomics.
You will be expected to explore how AI can support research planning, evidence synthesis, analysis and product discovery while protecting participant confidentiality and maintaining sound research judgement.
Equal Opportunity
APLYD, part of Athena Infonomics Group, is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome qualified candidates from diverse professional, academic and personal backgrounds.
Skills Required
- 6–8 years of experience in design research, user research, ethnography, service design, strategic design, human-centred innovation, or a related field.
- Experience leading research projects from framing and planning through fieldwork, synthesis, and recommendations.
- Experience managing, mentoring, or guiding researchers, designers, or multidisciplinary project teams.
- Strong experience with qualitative research methods, including interviews, observation, contextual inquiry, ethnography, or participatory research.
- Ability to identify patterns, frame problems, and translate research into use cases, product opportunities, or service improvements.
- Experience working with product managers, designers, engineers, data or AI specialists, and senior stakeholders.
- Strong synthesis, facilitation, storytelling, and written communication skills.
- Ability to work independently in ambiguous environments and make sound decisions with incomplete information.
- Willingness to travel regularly for fieldwork across diverse geographical and socioeconomic contexts.
- Experience in early-stage product discovery or product innovation.
- Experience building or improving research practices.
- Experience working across rural, low-income, public-sector, or other complex environments.
- Knowledge of systems thinking, service design, or behavioural research.
- Experience exploring AI-enabled products or emerging technology.
- Experience working across multiple markets, cultures, or stakeholder groups.
- Portfolio demonstrating how research influenced a product, service, programme, or strategic decision.
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The Company
What We Do
Athena Infonomics is a data-driven global consultancy and impact solutions group. The company applies social science research, data analytics, and technology to drive innovation in policy and practice, and to plan, implement, and monitor development interventions to advance global development.
