Design Researcher

LPA, Inc.•San Diego, CA

10d•$70,000 - $85,000

About The Position

LPA is seeking a Design Researcher to join their Sustainability + Applied Research team. This role is designed for individuals with a background in social science, design research, or related fields focused on the built and natural environment. The Design Researcher will apply research methodologies to address real-world design challenges across various market sectors. The position involves helping interdisciplinary design teams gain a deeper understanding of people, behavior, and the built environment, and translating these insights into practical design solutions. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-seeker with a curious, innovative mindset, capable of identifying areas needing further investigation, asking insightful questions, and employing creative methods to explore complex issues. They should possess sound judgment in applying research to design and the ability to communicate complex findings clearly to non-expert audiences. This role is specifically focused on research related to the built and natural environment within the Architecture, Engineering, Interiors, and Planning industry, and is not a UX/UI research or design position.

Requirements

MS or PhD in environmental psychology, applied research, design research, social science, data science, or a related field
Proficiency in Microsoft Project and Excel.
Strong written communication and verbal presentation skills
Experience with mixed-methods research
Experience with online research tools
Experience conducting literature searches or literature reviews
Basic descriptive statistical or data analysis experience
Data visualization or other graphic skills for communication of data
Awareness of current research ethics and equity, diversity, and inclusion topics
Entrepreneurial energy, comfortable with some ambiguity.
Proactive attitude, prepared to ask questions, and always looking for opportunities to improve.

Nice To Haves

Additional Research training or certifications
Human Subjects Research Training (current certification not required)
LEED, WELL, EDAC, or similar certifications
Design or engineering training or certifications
Experience in any of the following: GIS, Power BI, AI for research, research in AR/VR/XR, grant writing, Adobe Creative Suite
Experience in or excitement to learn how to facilitate meetings and workshops
Understanding of a typical architectural design process, from concept and schematic design, design development and construction documentation, construction, and post-occupancy.
Education in or excitement to learn more about sustainability topics such as energy performance, carbon emissions, material impacts, and resiliency, and find ways for human-environment research to better inform sustainable design.

Responsibilities

Conduct literature reviews to gather, evaluate, and synthesize multidisciplinary research in response to project and research questions.
Develop research briefs, presentations, visuals, and other resources that translate research findings into clear, digestible insights and practical implications that designers and clients can easily understand and apply.
Look across projects and research findings to identify recurring patterns, opportunities, and questions worth investigating further.
Help build LPA's internal research knowledge base, making previous studies, findings, and resources easier for teams to access and reuse.
Help develop and refine research tools and methodologies that can be used consistently across projects.
Support and facilitate pre-design research and stakeholder engagement, including surveys, interviews, workshops, and other methods for understanding user needs and behaviors.
Support and coordinate post-occupancy evaluations (POEs), including outreach, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify patterns, themes, and meaningful findings.
Work with design teams to establish measurable project goals and identify ways to evaluate design outcomes.
Explore creative approaches to investigating research questions when established methods or data are not readily available.
Communicate research findings and lessons learned through internal presentations and, as experience grows, external publications, presentations, and thought leadership.
Perform other duties as applicable.

Benefits

Mentorship from Managing Directors, Design Directors, and senior team members across disciplines.
Career development support, including professional development grants and in-house training.
Ongoing education through LPA+U courses and Tech Talks focused on innovative, sustainable practices.
8 paid hours of volunteer time each year.
Opportunities to propose and lead projects that impact your local community, including more than $1 million since 2015 in Habitat for Humanity builds, scholarships, and other pro bono community projects.
Access to our Professional Development Grants program, created to encourage professional development and further LPA's collective knowledge as a firm. Over the life of the grant program, we have invested $1,196,890 and impacted 848 LPA employees.
competitive salaries
health and dental insurance
retirement and financial planning
wellness initiatives
flexible work/life programs
annual bonus