Senior User Researcher

City of New York • Brooklyn, NY

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) leverages technology to drive opportunity, improve public safety, and help government run better across New York City. From delivering affordable broadband to protecting against cybersecurity threats and building digital government services, OTI is at the forefront of how the city delivers for New Yorkers in the 21st century. At OTI, we offer great benefits, and the chance to work on projects that have a meaningful impact on millions of people. You'll have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and collaborate with other passionate professionals who share your drive and commitment to making a difference through technology. The Product Development team is seeking a Senior User Researcher to lead end-to-end research (generative, evaluative and mixed methods, desk research and analytics) on the cross-functional SPEED team. The Senior User Researcher will provide clear and actionable recommendations for the product team to deliver systems that will shorten new construction permitting.

Requirements

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end research (generative, evaluative, and mixed methods synthesized with desk research and analytics);
• Translate qualitative and quantitative research into clear and actionable recommendations for product development team and project stakeholders.
• Represent user research to leadership, external stakeholders and technical teammates in plain language;
• Recruit and conduct research directly with the New Yorkers who use government services, many of whom face language, disability, or digital-access barriers that require thoughtful, accessible research design;
• Establish and maintain research operations: a participant recruitment pipeline appropriate for a government context, and reusable methods/templates the wider design team can use;
• Serve as the team's methodological quality bar: review other researchers' and designers' study designs and conclusions, catch these failure modes before they reach decision-makers, and codify guardrails into shared standards;
• Define methodological standard to ensure mixed-methods approaches are rigorous enough to inform decisions;
• Handle special projects and initiatives as assigned.

Benefits

• great benefits
• the chance to work on projects that have a meaningful impact on millions of people
• opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology
• collaborate with other passionate professionals who share your drive and commitment to making a difference through technology

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior