Research Manager

Our research practice at Blink is growing! We are looking for a passionate and collaborative Research Manager to join our team. This individual will facilitate the growth of our lab-based, hardware and evaluative research program. 

To be successful in this role you will need to be collaborative, a strong communicator, and able to prioritize competing priorities. This person will need to be excited to develop new program goals alongside one of our core clients, leverage their experience with benchmarking and evaluative research to mentor our junior researchers to grow their skills, and collaborate with other members of Blink to further expand this new line of business. 

A note about location: This is a primarily onsite role, located at our downtown Seattle studio. There is flexibility to work from home when onsite requirements are light. This requirement is due to the responsibilities of this position to help grow our Seattle-based evaluative research program. Much of this work requires in-office research lab oversight as we build this program. Therefore we are looking for someone who is in the Greater Seattle Area or who would be open to relocation. 

What you’ll be doing

• Managing a team of junior researchers who will be executing a series of evaluative research projects, primarily for a single client. 
• Supporting the growth and development of junior researchers at the company through coaching and mentoring.
• Participating in client meetings with Blink’s account management team as a subject matter expert. Scoping and proposing specific research projects that address client needs. 
• Leading multiple research projects concurrently with Blink researchers and project managers. 
• Providing input and substantive feedback to team members as they plan and moderate research studies and create insights and recommendations reports based on findings. Ensuring that project outcomes and deliverables meet Blink’s high-quality standards.
• Understanding client business goals while advocating for well-crafted and enjoyable user experiences.
• Providing input about project team resourcing and schedules, ensuring Blink teams are organized to serve client and project needs best.
• Working with the Research Leadership Team to grow and fine-tune the company’s evaluative UX research practice.
• Identifying opportunities to build awareness, credibility, and reputation through direct communication with potential clients and outward communication channels.
• Leading company initiatives on special topics of interest or new services.

What we are looking for

• 6+ years of experience designing and conducting evaluative UX research studies.
• Excellent consulting skills demonstrated by being proactive, thinking with the end in mind, aligning stakeholders, and seeking to understand divergent viewpoints. 
• Formal education in a relevant field such as human-centered design, cognitive psychology, information science, or equivalent hands-on experience to demonstrate an understanding of user research theory, methods, and practices.
• Expertise in various methods such as qualitative user interviews, concept evaluation, surveys, usability, UX benchmarking, hardware user research, etc. Ability to prescribe single or mixed research methods depending on research questions.
• Advanced quantitative research skills. Ability to prescribe appropriate statistical tests and mentor junior researchers on quantitative research methods. 
• Interest and excitement for emerging technologies such as mixed reality and AI.
• Excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to articulate the value of user experience research and design to clients and executives.
• Experience mentoring, managing, and/or leading other researchers.
• Proven ability to communicate recommended design solutions for observed UX and product issues.
• Working knowledge of technology constraints and capabilities.
• Experience collaborating with team members and stakeholders across different disciplines and areas of expertise (e.g., research, design, business, engineering)

Bonus if you have

• Demonstrated thought leadership through public speaking or writing.
• UX design, product development, or product management experience.
• Interest and ability to travel as the evaluative research program expands.
• Advanced degree (Masters or PhD).

If your experience looks a little different from what we’ve identified, and you think you can rock the role, we’d love to learn more about you. Please feel welcome to apply, including a cover letter that tells us why you would be a good match.

About Us

Blink UX is a design consulting firm creating products that people use, love and remember. Blink has over two decades of experience in UX research, strategy, and design partnering with innovative industry leaders including Amazon, Chase, Gates Foundation, Google, Meta, and NASA. For more information visit blinkux.com. 

Our Culture 

Maintaining a positive company culture requires the same careful curation, management, and rigor as any other aspect of a business. At Blink, we consciously design our culture to ensure that employees have the structure and guidance they need to fully develop their skills and abilities for a happy and rewarding career. Be sure to read up on the unique aspects of our company culture framework and ensure they align with your working style. 

EEO

When hiring, we aim to build teams of compassionate people with diverse experiences, thoughts, and skills. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual preference, gender identity or age, disability or length of time spent unemployed. 

Following your application submission we encourage you to disclose personal demographic information in order to help us comply with federal and state Equal Employment Opportunity record-keeping requirements. We will also use this information in an anonymous aggregated form to help us measure and improve diversity at Blink