Research Lead

Fi Smart Dog Collar • New York, NY

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

Fi is looking for a Research Lead to own our research function and directly shape product strategy. You'll work closely with our Founder and VP of Product to ensure every major decision is grounded in deep customer insight. This isn't a support role. It's a seat at the table.

Requirements

• 3-5 years running product or UX research that changed how a business made decisions, working alongside PMs, designers, and execs and watching the work land in shipped product, not just shared drives.
• Deep grounding in research best practices: when to use a diary study, when to run a survey, how to write a non-leading question, how to size for significance.
• AI-native and actively using Claude, agentic research tooling, or an equivalent stack to move faster and get more out of every research cycle than a traditional workflow allows.
• Sharp data judgment: able to distill complex findings into compelling decision-ready narratives, ask the right questions, and know when a dataset can or can't answer the question; interpreting what the data says matters more than the tool that pulls it.
• A self-starter who brings the bar, finds the question worth asking without waiting for a brief, and answers it.

Nice To Haves

• Background in HCI, Psychology, Data Science, or a related field is welcome but not required.
• Genuine care for dogs and the people who love them is a real plus.

Responsibilities

• Build the research function from the ground up including methodology, cadence, panel, and tooling; define what good research looks like at Fi and raise the bar over time.
• Lead interviews, surveys, diary studies, concept tests, and in-context observation; own the full cycle from scoping and recruiting through fielding, analysis, and the narrative that comes out the other side.
• Test new features, refine UX, and pressure-test product bets before they ship; your work shapes the roadmap, not just the launch retros.
• Turn complex qual and quant signal into sharp, opinionated recommendations for leadership; you bring the synthesis and the point of view, not just the transcripts.
• Use Claude and a modern AI stack to run more research cycles, go deeper on each, surface insight a traditional research team would miss, and build the research stack the whole team can learn from.

Benefits

• Flexible PTO
• Full medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Free access to One Medical, Kindbody, and Talkspace
• $500 annual donation to a dog charity of your choice through our BarkBack Program
• Free Fi Membership
• Gifting program for friends and family

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed