User Research Operations Specialist

Compass•Boston, MA

6d•$143,000 - $159,000

About The Position

The Product Design & Research team is seeking a Senior Research Operations Specialist to act as the second member of our growing Research Operations practice. This role is essential for creating the systems, processes, and support structures that empower our Product Designers and Product Managers to gather high-quality insights efficiently and at scale. Reporting to the Staff User Research Operations Manager, you will be a strategic partner in evolving our fragmented, post-merger processes into a single, elegant system. You will directly enable teams to make informed, user-centered decisions that drive our mission forward. The ideal candidate brings deep experience organizing user research, an analytic approach to process development, and a collaborative disposition for problem-solving.

Requirements

4+ years of experience in a Research Operations, Design Operations, or a related program management role within a product organization.
Deep Experience in Research Enablement: A strong understanding of the end-to-end research process and a passion for creating systems that empower non-researchers (like PMs and Designers) to conduct high-quality work.
Process-Oriented Mindset: You are a natural systems thinker, adept at identifying inefficiencies, designing new processes, and creating clear documentation to support them.
Hands-On Tool & Analytic Systems Expertise: You have direct experience managing key research tools, such as participant management platforms, survey tools, and research repositories. You're also comfortable working with user data at scale to produce targeted samples based on stakeholder needs (Google Sheets, PowerBI, SQL, Heap, Databricks, Fullstory, etc.).
Exceptional Communication & Stakeholder Management: You can build strong working relationships, clearly articulate complex processes, and confidently guide stakeholders through operational requirements. You have excellent English "wordsmithing" skills for proofreading participant communications, screener questionnaires, and survey content.
Proactive & Autonomous: You are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously, and are driven to take ownership and deliver results with minimal oversight. You are capable of operating in ambiguity and aligning varied stakeholders in pursuit of novel goals.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with or supporting user research via AI-powered features.
Experience supporting user research in a post-merger or multi-brand environment.
Experience within the real estate, marketplace, or B2B space.

Responsibilities

Provide Hands-On Study Support: Act as the first point of contact for PMs and Designers, guiding them through the operational lifecycle of a study from triage and planning to participant recruitment, scheduling, and incentive management.
Drive Process Improvement: Proactively identify bottlenecks in our current research workflows and design durable, scalable solutions. Document best practices and create resources that empower our teams to conduct research more effectively.
Manage Tooling and Vendor Relationships: Administer aspects of our suite of research tools, manage seat allocation, and serve as a key contact for our vendor partners to ensure we are maximizing the value of our investments (UserInterviews, Qualtrics, Dovetail, Figma, etc.)
Scale Our Insights & Knowledge Management: Manage and improve our research repository, ensuring insights are discoverable and accessible. Develop processes that encourage the synthesis of findings across multiple studies.