Naimuri - User Researcher

We’ve just had our tenth birthday, having grown from a little-known tech start-up into a community of 180 people, mostly based in Salford, Greater Manchester. We also have a presence in Cheltenham, London, Portsmouth and Lincoln.

Our name was chosen as an amalgamation of two Japanese words, to reflect our ethos: 'not - overburden'

• A Culture of Enablement: Our goal is to remove blockers. You'll be empowered to make decisions and given the tools you need to get things done.


• Focus on Quality: We take pride in our work. You'll be part of a culture that values well-written, maintainable code, and your work will serve as a "definitive example" for others.


• Active Collaboration: You'll work closely with Platform Engineers, Delivery Leads, and Product Owners, helping to manage and maintain your own infrastructure (e.g., Kubernetes) and build automated delivery pipelines (using GitLab).

At Naimuri, we work on a variety of projects that range in length from a few weeks to 5+ years. Here are some things we’ve worked on recently that give a sense of the work we do:

• Building a data analytics tool using a Neo4J graph database.


• A DevOps platform to support 3000 users.


• Processing digital forensic data to enable search and insight generation.


• A search and reporting system backed by an Elasticsearch cluster.


• A custom workflow tool with a React/TS front-end


• An AI assurance capability


• Orchestrating a data pipeline and designing specialist metrics for the evaluation of the performance of LLMs in different contexts.

About the role:

As a User Researcher, you will use your skills to support the delivery of our projects by understanding and defining the customer’s business and user needs, and delivering them into tangible and measurable value to the customer.

You’ll use your knowledge and expertise to explore and outline the requirements, friction points and needs of the project’s user base, and subsequently support the team in creating a service that meets all those outlined. You may be working long standing and established projects and services or shorter, newer projects that are early in their life cycle- and everything in between.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for a confident and motivated individual with a passion to reflect UCD best practices in their approach to their work. We will be looking for the following key skills:

Required:

• 3+ years experience of conducting User Research with a range of users.


• A good understanding of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to user research and confidence on which methodologies to use and when.


• Able to support and conduct qualitative user research tasks such as workshops, interviews and usability tests with a range of users.


• Someone who feels comfortable working with users and is able to get the most out of user interactions and support on delivering successful research.


• An ability to work with stakeholders and deliver research findings clearly and take on feedback.


• An understanding of the importance of accessibility and research ethics.


• Experience of successful working with product and development teams.

Candidates with knowledge of and / or experience with the GDS are particularly encouraged to apply. Specifically : 

• GDS Framework Expertise: Proven experience planning and delivering user research aligned with the 14 points of the GDS Service Standard.


• Lifecycle Experience: Experience working within agile delivery phases (Discovery, Alpha, Beta, Live) to drive user-centered outcomes.


• Assurance & Assessments: A track record of preparing teams for, and participating in, formal GDS service assessments.


• Inclusive Research: Deep understanding of recruiting and researching with users who have diverse accessibility needs or low digital confidence.

Nice to have:

• An understanding or experience of working with the Government Digital Service (GDS) approach to agile delivery and research approach.


• Experience working with Business Analysts and Business Change Managers


• Knowledge of User Experience best practices to support interactions with UX Designers.


• Experience using UX tooling such as Figma to articulate findings off the back of research.

Key responsibilities:

You will be responsible for the following within your role:

• Helping to plan and prepare research proposals that will support the delivery of projects across the business, ranging in size.


• Helping to conduct impactful and meaningful research for projects across the business, from early discoveries to on-going work supporting long term projects.


• Helping to identify key users needed for research and defining personas to help articulate the needs to the rest of the business.


• Helping to conduct both in-person on site and online research with users and an ability to understand considerations to ensure both types run smoothly.


• Supporting the presentation of findings back to the customer or the product and development teams, articulating your insights clearly and with confidence.


• Supporting the BAs, UX Designers and development team to turn your insights into requirements and features.


• Confidently work with users, ensuring that research is ethical and safeguarding best practices are followed.


• Ensure accessibility best practices are considered to help to ensure your research is inclusive and diverse.


• Work with and support your ACDC colleagues to understand and define the importance of user research to delivering successful products.

A full time working week is 37.5 hours and you have flexibility over when you give that time. We also offer part-time working, which can be discussed during the recruitment process. 

Our core hours are 10:00am - 3:00pm and our office is open between 7:30 - 18:00, Monday to Friday.

We offer hybrid working where you can work from home for part of your working week with time on site being based on the needs of your assigned delivery and agreed Ways of Working for your team. We would expect that the successful candidate would be working an average of 3 days a week in the office. Depending on the project, you may also be required to travel to a local customer site or occasionally to other locations in the UK.

Benefits include:

• Flexible/Hybrid working options


• Performance bonus


• Company bonus


• Pension matched 1.5x up to 10.5%


• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.


• AXA group 1 medical cover


• Holiday purchase scheme (5 additional days)


• Cycle to work scheme


• Car benefit scheme