Senior User Experience Researcher
About The Position
Insomniac Games is hiring a Senior User Experience Researcher to lead research for a AAA game title in mid-production. The role applies established industry methodologies to improve the usability and player experience of game content, and works with development teams to produce reports summarizing qualitative and quantitative feedback that informs creative decisions. The successful candidate is self-directed, communicates proactively, and builds trust with development leads and external research partners. The position is a six-month contract through staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions. It is flexible and primarily remote, with travel to the Insomniac Burbank or PlayStation San Mateo research labs every one to two months for playtest studies. The role has no supervisory responsibilities, though it includes guiding and mentoring junior team members.
Requirements
- AAA games UX research experience.
- Ability to adapt quickly to studio-specific communication norms and workflows in a remote-first setting.
- Ability to apply fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
- Proficiency in reading, analyzing, and interpreting scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
- Ability to present information effectively to top management and key stakeholders.
- Ability to solve practical problems and handle concrete variables in situations with limited standardization.
- Mastery of Microsoft Office Suite and survey software such as Qualtrics.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Strong organizational and analytical skills.
- Passion for user research and video games.
Nice To Haves
- Prior experience working in a game development or publisher studio environment.
- Emphasis in psychology, human-computer interaction, human factors, or a related field.
- Familiarity with analytics tools such as Looker, Omni, Tableau, Excel, and Power BI.
Responsibilities
- Oversee user experience research on a large-sized project.
- Collaborate with research and development teams and keep them updated on research status and processes.
- Proactively share study status, build updates, and project changes with the research team and key stakeholders.
- Define session formats, research goals, success criteria, survey designs, and test plans with development and external research teams.
- Lead advanced research methodologies, including Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE), A/B testing, and narrative testing.
- Conduct and moderate one-on-one sessions, focus groups, and multi-participant playtests.
- Present qualitative and quantitative findings to project teams and studio leadership through written reports and debrief presentations.
- Deliver presentations on project findings that affect research and project development.
- Collaborate with analysts to use analytics tools and develop dashboards and visualizations.
- Identify and explain contributing factors to key issues, including game system dynamics and player behaviors.
- Advocate for inclusive design through targeted testing of accessibility features and authentic character portrayals.
- Collaborate with recruitment agencies to find external participants who meet player-demographic criteria.
- Guide and mentor junior team members.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision benefit offerings.
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
