Lead User Experience Researcher

Cisco•Milpitas, CA

1d•$171,600 - $245,000

About The Position

As a Lead UX Researcher on Cisco’s AI Software & Platform Team, you will work on Cisco Cloud Control, AI Canvas, Studio, and Marketplace to build a deep understanding of users and shape Cisco’s platform and AI-powered experiences. The role is quantitatively focused, with responsibility for defining, baselining, and tracking UX metrics for important platform journeys and determining whether those journeys are achieving customer outcomes. You will partner with Product Management, Design, Data Science, and Engineering to turn ambiguous questions into measurement plans, interpret telemetry, surveys, and benchmarks, and identify when qualitative research is needed to explain quantitative findings.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree plus 8 years of related experience, master’s degree plus 6 years, PhD plus 3 years, or equivalent related work experience.
At least 7 years leading end-to-end quantitative and qualitative UX research, including discovery, planning, recruitment, execution, synthesis, analysis, and presentation.
Experience partnering with Product, Design, Data Science, and Engineering teams to define and execute user-centered success measures and measurement plans.
Quantitative research experience, such as surveys (SUS, CSAT, NPS, or SEQ), statistical analysis, benchmarking, A/B testing, and multivariate testing.
Qualitative research experience, such as user interviews, moderated or unmoderated usability testing, concept evaluations, and journey mapping.
Experience applying AI to augment and accelerate research work.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Amplitude or an equivalent platform.
Experience conducting research on AI software or related topics.
Ability to translate behavioral data into clear, decision-ready narratives.
Demonstrated experience building and owning UX measurement frameworks or success-metric programs, rather than only conducting individual studies.
Comfort working directly with product telemetry and instrumentation data.
Ability to navigate ambiguity and bring clarity.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
Curiosity and confidence to ask questions that uncover stakeholders’ true research needs.
Ability to challenge traditional assumptions about UX research by inventing, testing, and sharing new approaches.
Experience in a B2B large enterprise environment.

Responsibilities

Define and track key UX success metrics across priority platform journeys in partnership with Product Management, Design, Data Science, and Engineering.
Build and maintain measurement plans, aligning partners on what is being measured, why it is being measured, and how success is defined.
Establish baselines for platform journey quality and track changes over time.
Analyze and communicate quantitative findings in actionable terms.
Identify inconclusive or surprising quantitative signals and scope qualitative research to explain them.
Work across business units and connect measurement findings across the broader platform.
Design, execute, and analyze quantitative studies, including large-scale surveys, benchmark studies, and A/B tests.
Design, execute, and analyze qualitative studies, including interviews and concept evaluations.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
Paid parental leave
Short- and long-term disability coverage
Basic life insurance
Paid holidays and a floating holiday for non-exempt employees
Birthday day off, year-end holiday shutdown, and personal wellness days
Paid vacation or flexible vacation time off, depending on employee classification
Paid sick time
Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues
Optional paid volunteer days
Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, subject to Cisco policies
Potential Cisco restricted stock unit grants, subject to eligibility and vesting conditions