Staff User Researcher

Coinbase

17h•$216,790 - $228,200•Remote

About The Position

Coinbase is a remote-first, but not remote-only, company. Employees are expected to gather quarterly for in-person working sessions called “surges.” As a Staff Design Researcher on the Platform Design and Research team within the Platform group, you will set the research vision and practice for the systems, tools, and infrastructure that power Coinbase. The team works across Identity, Payments, Developer Experience, Financial Infrastructure, Compliance, and other foundational areas. You will define how Platform understands its customers, combining deep research with hands-on design to turn ambiguous problem spaces into clear product opportunities, high-quality deliverables, and shipped solutions. You will own Platform’s research practice and recurring internal CSAT program; lead generative, evaluative, and mixed-methods research; and produce high-quality design deliverables such as polished prototypes, interaction flows, and visual storytelling. In partnership with senior product, design, and engineering leaders, you will use evidence-based research and design presentations to influence strategy, roadmaps, and investment decisions. You will also improve design consistency, contribute to design systems, build scalable research resources, and mentor designers and product partners.

Requirements

10+ years of professional experience in user research and product design, including setting research vision and leading research for complex, technical, or platform-scale products and systems.
Ability to operate strategically, shape product direction, and influence senior cross-functional and executive stakeholders through research-driven insights and compelling design presentations.
Expert-level proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Figma or equivalent, with the ability to produce polished, high-quality deliverables that communicate customer experience and product direction to leadership.
Strong command of qualitative research methods and sound judgment in selecting methods for different questions; demonstrated ability to improve methods and introduce approaches to solve ambiguous problems.
Track record of building research practices, operating models, or measurement programs—such as recurring CSAT or voice-of-customer programs—that scale impact beyond a single team.
Experience driving design system adoption and contribution across a product area.
Responsible use of generative AI, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

Responsibilities

Define and own Platform’s research practice, including its vision, strategy, prioritization, and engagement models, connecting customer insight to product and design decisions across the organization.
Own and run Platform’s recurring internal CSAT program by designing surveys, setting cadence, analyzing results, reporting to leadership, and surfacing actionable opportunities.
Conduct and lead generative, evaluative, and mixed-methods research with engineers, technical leads, product managers, and end customers across areas such as Identity, Payments, Developer Experience, internal tooling, and compliance.
Uplevel existing research methods and identify new approaches to address ambiguous research problems.
Drive processes and execution that produce high-quality design deliverables, including polished prototypes, interaction flows, and visual storytelling.
Partner with senior product, design, and engineering leaders throughout strategy planning, influencing roadmaps and investment decisions through evidence-based research and design presentations.
Improve design consistency and integrity across the product area, contribute to existing design systems, and create new solutions when needed.
Build research repositories and frameworks that scale research impact across the broader Design and Research organization.
Coach and mentor designers and product partners in research rigor and design craft.