Forward Deployed UX Researcher

Air • San Francisco, VA

10d

About The Position

As a Forward Deployed UX Researcher/Designer, you will embed directly with customers in the field to understand their missions and how they evaluate continuous readiness. You will develop a deep understanding of end users’ jobs, problems, needs, and the friction they encounter, then turn those findings into product direction and collaborate with other forward-deployed roles to design and develop AI-native solutions.

This is a highly collaborative, fast-paced, customer-facing role in which you own discovery end-to-end, from framing research questions to delivering insights that guide product delivery. The role is full-time and based out of an office in Arlington, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California; or elsewhere in the United States. It may require up to 75% travel.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Design, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience working in a startup or entrepreneurial environment.
• Professional experience conducting applied UX or product research, including independently planning studies and synthesizing findings.
• Strong command of qualitative research methods, including interviews, contextual inquiry, and usability testing, and comfort with mixed-methods work.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and a strong desire to work in a challenging, fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to tell a clear, compelling story with research and influence cross-functional partners.
• Experience in AIND to generate prototypes and validate.

Nice To Haves

• Current U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain one with Air’s sponsorship.
• Experience researching complex, domain-heavy, or enterprise software, ideally in defense, government, or other regulated settings.
• Experience working within the boundaries of a federally accredited software environment.
• Experience in a customer-facing, consulting, or embedded role.

Responsibilities

• Partner with engineers, data scientists, and other forward-deployed roles to scope research, frame hypotheses, and translate findings into 0-to-1 product initiatives and prototypes.
• Conduct fast, pragmatic research, including contextual inquiry, interviews, usability sessions, and concept tests against working prototypes.
• Assess, prioritize, and help correct important gaps in solutions under development based on user feedback.
• Synthesize findings quickly, share insights early, and iterate based on what is learned.
• Work with core platform researchers, designers, and product managers to distinguish customer-specific needs from capabilities that should become part of the core offering.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time