Lead, User Research & Insights (Contractor)

WHO WE ARE: MagicSchool is the premier generative AI platform for teachers. We're just over 2 years old, and more than 6 million teachers from all over the world have joined our platform. Join a top team at a fast growing company that is working towards real social impact. Make an account and try us out at our website and connect with our passionate community on our Wall of Love.

You will lead MagicSchool’s user research and customer insights, establishing systems and practices that keep the organization deeply connected to educator and administrator needs. You will drive research that shapes product strategy, design direction, and customer experience at scale.

In this role, you will be responsible for driving towards the following outcomes:

• Deliver high quality generative, evaluative, and strategic research that informs product and design decisions and results in measurable improvements in satisfaction, adoption, or retention.

• Build scalable research processes, tools, and rituals that increase research velocity and improve cross-functional alignment, reaching consistent utilization across Product, Design, Engineering, CX, and Marketing.

• Strengthen the Voice of Customer program by synthesizing multiple data sources including interviews, usability tests, surveys, usage analytics, and support signals to drive clarity in the product roadmap.

• Produce actionable insights reports and narratives that influence senior leaders and shape roadmap prioritization, with demonstrated impact on feature direction or experience quality.

• Recruit participants, run research sessions, and maintain a continuous learning loop that keeps customer needs tightly integrated into product development workflows.

To be successful in this role, you’ll bring the following experience and qualifications:

• Deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods including interviews, usability testing, surveys, diary studies, field studies, and focus groups.

• Proven ability to drive measurable product or business outcomes through research.

• Strong storytelling, synthesis, and executive communication skills that influence across functions.

• Experience building or scaling customer insights programs in fast paced product environments.

• Ability to operate hands on while partnering closely with Product, Design, Engineering, Data, CX, and Marketing teams.

• Comfort working with AI or ML assisted research tools is a strong plus.

• Passion for improving the experience of educators and administrators is a plus.

Required Experience

• 10 to 15 years conducting and leading user research and customer insights in high growth product companies.

• Demonstrated success shaping product strategy through research driven insights.

• Experience operating in fast moving, highly cross functional environments.

Nice to Have Experience

• Background in EdTech or experience working closely with educators or school administrators.

• Experience building or evolving a Voice of Customer program.

• Familiarity with synthesizing qualitative and quantitative signals into a unified insights narrative.

Logistics

• This role will approximately be 15-20 hours/week for a 3 month duration.

• We may consider turning this contracting role into a full-time role over time, pending performance and value provided.

Why Join Us?

• Work on cutting-edge AI technology that directly impacts educators and students.

• Join a mission-driven team passionate about making education more efficient and equitable.

• Flexibility of working from home, while fostering a unique culture built on relationships, trust, communication, and collaboration with our team - no matter where they live.

• For full time employees:

• Unlimited time off to empower our employees to manage their work-life balance. We work hard for our teachers and users, and encourage our employees to rest and take the time they need.

• Choice of employer-paid health insurance plans so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Dental and vision are also offered at very low premiums.

• Every employee is offered generous stock options, vested over 4 years.

• 401k match & monthly wellness stipend.

Our Values:

• Educators are Magic:  Educators are the most important ingredient in the educational process - they are the magic, not the AI. Trust them, empower them, and put them at the center of leading change in service of students and families.

• Joy and Magic: Bring joy and magic into every learning experience - push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI.

• Community:  Foster community that supports one another during a time of rapid technological change. Listen to them and serve their needs.

• Innovation:  The education system is outdated and in need of innovation and change - AI is an opportunity to bring equity, access, and serve the individual needs of students better than we ever have before.

• Responsibility: Put responsibility and safety at the forefront of the technological change that AI is bringing to education.

• Diversity: Diversity of thought, perspectives, and backgrounds helps us serve the wide audience of educators and students around the world.

• Excellence:  Educators and students deserve the best - and we strive for the highest quality in everything we do.