Senior User Experience Researcher

JOB DESCRIPTION
This is a research role for people who care deeply about impact, not appendices.
As a Senior User Experience Researcher at Milestone, you'll work where customer expectations meet product decisions and business strategy. This isn't research that happens quietly in the background. We're looking for insights that influence how leaders think and the choices they make.
You'll work across products, regions, and value streams, helping ensure human experience is shaping our product portfolio and setting clear direction for One Milestone. You'll help us innovate faster and better by embedding continuous discovery, test-and-learn cycles, and customer understanding directly into how the organization works.
As a senior researcher, you'll mentor other researchers, raise the bar for research impact, and help define how experience strategy takes shape across a global organization.
If you believe research should lead the conversation, not trail behind it, this role was made for you.
This is a remote role in the US. Candidates must be comfortable working flexibly across time zones, including collaboration spanning PST through CET.
Core Responsibilities
How You'll Create Impact• Turn research into clear guidance leaders can use to make decisions.• Build continuous discovery habits that help teams move faster, with fewer assumptions and less rework.• Build simple, scalable ways for teams to access and use insights, even when a researcher isn't in the room.• Help establish a culture of mapping, using journeys to drive conversations, surface opportunities, and align teams.• Augment research practices with AI in balanced, responsible ways, while keeping human judgment and empathy at the forefront.• Partner closely with product, design, engineering, and business teams to learn with customers through prototyping, limited releases, and real-world testing.• Mentor other UX Researchers by helping them see where they are, where they can grow next, and by acting as a thoughtful sounding board when they're stuck or unsure.• Translate signals from CRM and support platforms (e.g. Salesforce, Zendesk) into research questions and journey opportunities, connecting operational data with qualitative human understanding.• Collaborate with Customer success, Technical Support, and Sales enablement teams to surface insights that improve post-sale experiences• Design and facilitate workshops and service blueprinting sessions that span organizational boundaries. Bringing together internal teams, partners, and customers to map and improve complex service experiences.
Qualifications Required Qualifications• Well-established background in UX Research, Service Design, or Experience Strategy with a strong record of practical impact.• Strong expertise in qualitative and mixed-method research, insight synthesis, and journey mapping.• Demonstrated ability to connect customer insights to product and business decisions.• Experience building or operating continuous discovery and experimentation practices.• Proven track record of influencing stakeholders through storytelling, evidence, and clear recommendations.• Experience mentoring or coaching researchers or adjacent roles.• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.• Ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, and adapt in a changing environment.• Willingness to collaborate across time zones and adjust working hours as needed.• Comfort working with operational data sources such as CRM platforms, support ticket systems, or customer health dashboards to triangulate qualitative findings (not as an analyst, but as a researcher who can orient independently)• Experience conducting or supporting service design work. Including service blueprinting, touchpoint mapping across digital and non-digital channels, and cross-functional facilitation.
Desired Qualifications• Experience working with globally distributed teams.• Experience in B2B SaaS, enterprise software, or complex multi-stakeholder service environments.• Background in service design or customer and partner experience within complex ecosystems. Hands-on service design background, including experience running co-design workshops, producing service blueprints, and facilitating change across people, processes, and technology.• Familiarity with journey mapping tools such as Smaply or similar platforms.• Comfort using AI and emerging tools to enhance research, synthesis, and insight delivery.• Experience supporting go-to-market, sales enablement, or strategy teams with customer insights.• Experience conducting research on AI-powered products or features, including studies around user trust, transparency, explainability, and behavioral responses to AI-driven recommendations or automation. Comfort working directly with AI product and engineering teams to shape how AI capabilities are designed and evaluated.
Why This Role Is Different• You will influence real decisions, not just document findings.• You will help shape how research is practiced, shared, and valued across the company.• You will operate at both strategic and hands-on levels, with autonomy and visibility.• You will join Milestone at a moment of transformation, where experience strategy is a true business lever.• You will leave a visible, lasting imprint on how Milestone listens to and grows with its customers.
Why Milestone?
Milestone offers competitive benefits and a great culture. Employees here have flexible work environments, opportunities for further education, and the ability to directly affect change in our organization.
The annual on-target earnings for this position range from $130,000 to $140,000 USD. Pay is based on the level, location, complexity, responsibility, and job duties of the specific position and is just one component of Milestone's total compensation package. Additionally, we offer an attractive benefits package that includes medical/dental benefits, FSA or HSA, 401k with 6% Safe Harbor employer match, paid parental leave, generous PTO (20 days' vacation, 10 days paid sick time, and 12 company holidays), fully paid Short Term disability policy, fully paid Long Term disability policy, and Life Insurance.
If you are selected for an interview, please feel welcome to speak to our Talent Partner about our compensation philosophy. All employees must complete a background check. Employees in fiscal roles are also required to undergo a credit check. All information obtained during these checks is handled confidentially and shared only with authorized personnel.
Milestone is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.