Design Insights & Validation Research Lead

Description -

Intermediate– Experience Design Engr 2 – 00133L

Location: Vancouver, WA, USA
Organization: Global Experience Design – Research Insights & Validation

Role Summary

This role leads end-to-end design research, insights, and validation to inform product, experience, and strategic decisions across hardware, software, and services. The Specialist applies advanced mixed-method approaches (qualitative and quantitative) to solve complex business problems, shape product direction, and influence cross-functional decision-making.

The role operates with a high degree of independence, partnering closely with design, product, and engineering to ensure insights drive measurable experience improvements and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end research initiatives (qualitative + quantitative) from problem definition to insight delivery across multiple workstreams.

• Design and execute advanced research studies (e.g., in-depth interviews, usability testing, surveys, concept validation, journey evaluation, and behavioral analytics) for complex and ambiguous problem spaces.

• Synthesize insights into strategic recommendations, connecting user needs to product, design, and business decisions.

• Drive customer centric mindset with exploration & validation of concepts, prototypes, and live experiences, ensuring clarity, usability, trust, and value of experiences.

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders (Design, Product, Engineering, Business) to influence roadmaps and decision-making with objectivity and actionable insights.

• Act as a research lead on projects, guiding priorities, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring methodological rigor.

• Contribute to and evolve research frameworks, tools, and best practices, including scaling insights across teams.

• Mentor junior researchers or guide designers on research best practices, where applicable.

• Ensure insights continuity through documentation, repositories, and reusable knowledge systems.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Factors, Psychology, Social Sciences, HCI, Design Research, or related field.

• Typically 3–6 years of experience in UX research, design research, or market research.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong expertise in mixed-method research (qualitative + quantitative) and selecting appropriate methodologies for complex problems.

• Curiosity to understand human behavior, especially with shifts in technology (physical and digital interactions) and evolving AI attitudes & behaviors.

• Ability to frame ambiguous problems into structured research approaches and actionable outputs.

• Advanced analytical and synthesis skills, translating data into clear, decision-oriented insights.

• Strong understanding of user-centred design, validation frameworks, and experience metrics.

• Experience influencing stakeholders and driving decisions through insights.

• Proficiency with research platforms (e.g., UserTesting, Suzy, Qualtrics, or similar).

• Familiarity with AI-assisted research tools (e.g., synthesis, survey generation, insight scaling) and curiosity to continuously learn more AI tools

• Experience with remote, unmoderated, and scaled research methods.

• Exposure to behavioural analytics or eye-tracking tools is a plus.

• Strong communication and storytelling skills, with ability to present to senior stakeholders. 

Impact / Scope

• Leads research across multiple projects or a workstream, handling diverse and complex problem areas.

• Influences design and product decisions through insights and recommendations.

• Collaborates with cross-functional teams, including senior stakeholders and external partners.

• Acts as a key contributor to research strategy, quality, and scalability within the organization.

The pay range for this role is $93,400 to $143,800 USD annually with additional
opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity (applies to United
States of America candidates only). Pay varies by work location, job-related
knowledge, skills, and experience.

Benefits:

HP offers a comprehensive benefits package for this position, including:

 * Health insurance
 * Dental insurance
 * Vision insurance
 * Long term/short term disability insurance
 * Employee assistance program
 * Flexible spending account
 * Life insurance
 * Generous time off policies, including;
 * 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure
 * 11 paid holidays
 * Additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave (US benefits overview
   [https://hpbenefits.ce.alight.com/])

The compensation and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this
posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time,
with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

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Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) - 

HP, Inc. provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and prospective employees, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic predisposition or carrier status, uniformed service status, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by applicable national, federal, state, and local law(s).

Please be assured that you will not be subject to any adverse treatment if you choose to disclose the information requested. This information is provided voluntarily. The information obtained will be kept in strict confidence.

For more information, review HP’s EEO Policy or read about your rights as an applicant under the law here: “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal"