Principal Researcher - HCI

Sutherland • San Francisco, CA

273d • Remote

About The Position

We are a small but mighty design research practice in San Francisco looking for a Principal Researcher and HCI specialist to join our smart, creative and warm team. This role is an opportunity to make your mark on a key disciplinary area with a growing practice. Sutherland Labs is an international team of researchers, designers and creatives who work with world-leading clients to improve everyday experiences. We pride ourselves on delivering creative, customized research solutions to address our clients' questions with clarity and inspiration. Our practice is rooted in qualitative research, with a focus on uncovering rich, contextual insights to inform design strategy.

Requirements

• Academic qualifications in Cognitive Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Design Strategy or a related field are useful, with a Masters or PhD preferred; however exceptional candidates may instead have experience that serves as an equivalent.
• 6+ years of experience leading research engagements in an agency or in-house setting.
• Experience in a fast-moving agency, startup or innovation lab setting is strongly preferred.
• Experience leading research in the consumer financial services domain is highly desirable.
• Advanced skills in project management, research and experiment design, crafting and writing of deliverables.
• Mixed-methods research skills desirable.
• Strong business development experience, from developing new client relationships through to account management.
• Demonstrable experience tackling complex projects that involve simultaneous stakeholders and/or research sites or segments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage key relationships, from lead generation to post-delivery feedback.
• Help to frame engagement strategy, proposal content, and the definition and positioning of our research value proposition.
• Creatively develop bids, scope projects, and configure engagements to optimize results for clients with varying budget and timeline requirements.
• Confidently lead and manage multiple engagements simultaneously.
• Create engaging learning experiences for client teams throughout the research process, from senior executives and product leaders to junior researcher partners.
• Recommend and deliver polished and compelling deliverables that enable action to realize organizational goals.
• Facilitate client meetings and workshops to achieve consensus or clarity.
• Evangelize and grow expertise in HCI within our San Francisco practice.
• Participate in building and evolving the research methodology, codifying and improving existing processes.
• Provide mentoring, and support professional development of team members, especially in research design and analysis.
• Advocate for the team and our work, e.g. publishing papers, attending industry events, writing blogs, activity on social media.
• Champion human-centered innovation across our broader organization, Sutherland Global.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Publishing Industries
• Education Level: Master's degree