Lead Researcher

RYOBI•Anderson, SC

14h

About The Position

About TTI: TTI is a world-class leader in design, manufacturing and marketing of power tools and accessories, outdoor product equipment and floor care for consumers, professional and industrial users in the home improvement, repair and construction industries. Our unrelenting strategic focus on powerful brands, innovative products, operational excellence and exceptional people drives our culture. This focus and drive provides TTI with a powerful platform for sustainable leadership and strong growth. Our brands and products are recognized worldwide for their deep heritage, superior quality, outstanding performance and compelling innovation. Our products include professional power tools and accessories, outdoor power equipment and floor care. Our brands include Milwaukee®, HART®, AEG®, Ryobi®, Homelite®, Oreck®, Hoover®, Dirt Devil® and Vax®. About the Advanced Concepts Team: Advanced Concepts is an early innovation R&D group comprised of researchers, engineers, and designers within the Consumer Power Tools for the RYOBI and RIDGID brands. We work with teams throughout the company including engineering, industrial design, analytical, and product management to deliver both exploratory and evaluative user research findings that drive concept development and prototype evaluation. Job Summary: We are looking for a proven User Researcher with expertise in field research, which may include conducting research in-home, on job-site, or remotely. This will be a newly established team requiring the Lead Researcher to help build the processes and manage the tasks for the fellow team members. Day-to-day interactions will include collaboration and data exchange with team members, Industrial design, Project managers, and Engineering. The Lead User Researcher will plan, design, and conduct research efforts to uncover user needs that can be turned into innovative products. They will validate concepts and product solutions with users. This person will work with Product Management and Advanced Engineering leadership to scope out new projects, create effective research plans, extract value from data, and guide the business on how to move forward.

Requirements

Bachelors, Masters or equivalent qualification in Industrial Design or related user research degree (Psychology, Anthropology, Qualitative Market Research, Sociology).
Five years + experience in the fuzzy front end of product development with an understanding of innovation methods and design thinking
Five years + experience using qualitative research methods including observation, interviewing, and contextual inquiry
25-35% overnight domestic travel
A knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite
The ability to work in a technical environment
Demonstrated ability to turn user research data into actionable insights and pain points and product opportunities
Experience in; taking a lead user research role within a team, setting research direction, and mentoring junior colleagues.
Upon an interview, must be prepared to present on a project and its methodology

Nice To Haves

Self-starters who can work well autonomously and in collaboration with teams
Curious researchers with a human centered approach to problem solving
Individuals with the learning mindset – excited to jump into a new project and not afraid to get their hands dirty
Collaborative contributors who are not afraid to bring their outside experience to bear on our process
Cross-functional communicators who can translate information between technical and non-technical co-workers, in Anderson and internationally

Responsibilities

Lead Junior Design Research Team members by framing research efforts, managing schedules, and budget
Develop and maintain processes associated with conducting effective end-user research
Experiment with new approaches and methodologies to achieve ingenious results. As a research group we encourage new ways of thinking, and we want you to help us build new tools and methodologies appropriate to the work we do.
Champion the importance of User-Centered Design and Design Thinking throughout the company.
Design and execute multi-faceted research plans to learn about user needs for consumer power tools. These plans typically include qualitative discovery research in homes, primary and secondary research exercises to understand the competitive product set, and evaluation of mock-ups and preliminary concept prototypes in field.
Build, grow, and maintain a network of users to understand their evolving needs. Establishing strong relationships with end users is critical to conducting appropriate discovery research, co-creating solutions, and eliciting honest feedback.
Analyze and synthesize research findings into key insights that inform opportunities for new features, functionalities, and business approaches.
Plan and facilitate hands-on evaluations, team workshops, and analysis sessions. These participatory co-creation sessions result in a common ground of familiarity with products and their use, while inspiring creativity and collaboration within the team.
Present research findings in an engaging and concise manner to key stakeholders across the business. You will need to communicate through well-crafted presentations and events that educate and inspire your team through photos, video, diagrams, storytelling, and demonstrations.