Senior User Research Specialist

Roche•Boston, MA

About The Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love. That’s what makes us Roche. This role is based in the Innovation Accelerator (IA) team, the innovation engine and connective tissue for Design, Data and Data Science innovation strategy within Product Development Data Sciences (PDD). We translate our long-term PDD vision into actionable strategy, shaping and prioritizing innovative cross-functional use cases that span PDD, PD, and Pharma. As both integrators and incubators, we explore, prototype, and help productize solutions to deliver impact in close partnership with internal Roche teams and external collaborators. With a mindset rooted in openness, value creation, and adaptability, we navigate the innovation ecosystem to drive transformative impact and future readiness across the organization. The Opportunity: The User Researcher Specialist plays a critical role in advancing user-centered design within IA. You will lead research initiatives to deeply understand user needs, behaviors, and pain points across the drug product development lifecycle—focusing on how internal experts such as scientists, data analysts, clinicians, and technical teams interact with data platforms, analytical tools, dashboards, and workflow applications used in drug development. Your insights will inform product strategy, design, and delivery, ensuring that solutions are intuitive, efficient, and address meaningful user challenges. Reporting to the Portfolio Manager, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including Product Management, UX, Engineering, and Data Science to ensure that research findings translate into actionable and impactful product decisions. This role demands a strong foundation in qualitative and mixed-methods research, a working knowledge of agile product development, and the ability to influence strategy through clear, evidence-based insights.

Requirements

You have a Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Design, Anthropology, or a related field
You have a minimum of 5 years of experience conducting user research in a digital product or service environment; or an advanced degree with 3 years of equivalent work experience
You are proficient in a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods
You have experience working in agile product teams and applying research throughout the product development cycle
You have experience collaborating cross-functionally and influencing product decisions with research insights
You have capacity for independent thinking and ability to make decisions based upon sound principles
You exhibit excellent strategic agility including problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and agility that extends beyond technical domain
You demonstrate respect for cultural differences when interacting with colleagues in the global workplace
You possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, specifically in the areas of presentation and writing, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts in clear language

Nice To Haves

Experience in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, or healthcare industries
Experience designing for clinicians/clinical scientists
Experience designing for automation or AI/ML powered products
Previous experience working with data scientists or biostatisticians would be a bonus
Familiarity with data-driven products or complex scientific/technical user needs
Training or certification in agile methodologies or design thinking
Experience with research tools (e.g., UserTesting, Optimal Workshop, Dovetail, Qualtrics)
Knowledge of regulatory considerations when conducting research in healthcare settings

Responsibilities

You conduct generative and evaluative user research using both qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys, analytics review)
You translate user insights into clear, actionable recommendations that guide product design and development decisions
You collaborate closely with UX designers, product managers, developers, and data scientists to ensure user needs are integrated throughout the product lifecycle
You design and execute iterative testing to validate design hypotheses and continuously improve product usability and effectiveness
You create artifacts such as personas, journey maps, empathy maps, and research reports to communicate findings
You communicate and present ideas clearly to stakeholders at all levels and in the context of business value, expressed user value, and technical feasibility
You develop research plans that align with project objectives and product timelines
You partner with UX designer, product manager, and data scientist teams to prioritize user needs, manage trade-offs, and design with empathy
You champion user-centered design and build awareness of its value within the organization
You continuously up-level the user research and product design function as a strategic differentiator
You apply product thinking to frame research questions that align with business goals
You contribute to building scalable research practices and processes across the organization
You stay current on emerging research methods, tools, and industry trends to continuously evolve practices
You manage multiple research initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced, agile environment
You provide mentorship or guidance on best practices in user research to peers and junior team members
You ensure ethical research practices and regulatory compliance in line with pharmaceutical standards