UX Research Manager

Freeman•Chicago, IL

8h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Freeman Company is building a consumer-grade digital shopping experience for trade show exhibitors, helping them plan, purchase, and manage what they need for events. The UX Research Manager will deliver customer insights to help prioritize improvements across the exhibitor journey, identify areas of friction, validate ideas, and measure the impact of released changes. Research will connect exhibitors’ online experiences with what happens at live events before, during, and after each event. This is a hands-on research leadership role within the Commerce product management team in Technology Services. The manager will partner closely with product, UX design, marketing, merchandising, Exhibitor Services, development, analytics, and QA. The position is eligible for a hybrid schedule, generally requiring in-office work 1–2 days per week. The ideal candidate will be based in Chicago, Dallas, or Las Vegas. Travel up to 25%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Design, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
5–8 years of experience in UX research, including hands-on end-to-end study experience and demonstrated ability to lead user research for digital products.
Hands-on experience planning, conducting, and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative UX research, such as usability testing, interviews, diary studies, and surveys; portfolio must show research that influenced product decisions.
Proficiency with UX research and prototyping tools such as UserTesting, Qualtrics, Dovetail, Figma, or similar platforms.
Ability to turn research findings into clear deliverables, including journey maps, personas, and design recommendations, and to partner with designers and engineers to act on them.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to understand and act on complex business needs.
Ability to apply behavioral psychology concepts to research approaches and design recommendations for solving observed user challenges.
Familiarity with ecommerce and data platforms or related digital commerce capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience in a B2C ecommerce environment and demonstrated success using research insights to improve digital experiences and customer outcomes.
Experience with user research, analytics, and work management tools such as Qualtrics, UserTesting, Dovetail, Adobe Analytics, GA4, Jira, Confluence, or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

Plan, conduct, and analyze UX research on how exhibitors and customers use the digital experience at live events, using methods such as diary studies, moderated and unmoderated testing, intercept surveys, and prototype testing.
Choose research methods that balance speed, rigor, and business needs, and translate findings into actionable recommendations for product and design partners.
Moderate research sessions and interviews, and develop screeners, discussion guides, test protocols, and prototypes.
Conduct field research at live events, including on-site observation and exhibitor interviews, and partner with Exhibitor Services to connect digital improvements to the in-person experience.
Lead UX research for a cross-functional product and design team, embedding research into discovery, design, and delivery.
Prioritize the research roadmap based on business priorities, the product roadmap, customer feedback, and stakeholder input.
Represent the voice of the customer by combining quantitative analytics, secondary research, and qualitative findings into insights, personas, journey maps, and prioritized recommendations.
Manage customer satisfaction metrics such as OSAT and CSAT, and develop KPIs and measurement plans for new features, including task success and ease of use.
Partner with development, design, analytics, and QA to measure post-release outcomes.
Establish UX research best practices, including study design standards, recruitment, data privacy, and a shared research repository.
Coach and mentor researchers, designers, and product partners while remaining a hands-on practitioner.
Manage research tools, recruitment vendors, and budget, and coordinate with insights teams to align customer surveys.
Present findings to executive leaders through clear storytelling that supports evidence-based decisions and identifies new opportunities.