Job Details

Mixed Methods UX Research Contractor | Evaluative and Competitive Research

Logistics:

• Contract Role - 3 months w/ potential to convert to FTE
• Hybrid - onsite in San Francisco 3 days per week.
• Self-starter with a bias for action—moves quickly, takes ownership, and approaches all work (both big and small) with humility and a positive, team-first mindset

Description:

We're looking for a Mixed Methods UX Researcher with deep, hands-on experience in qualitative evaluative and competitive/comparative research. This is a 3-month contract role, with the potential to convert to full-time based on performance and team needs.

This role is focused on evaluating model and UX quality for various use cases and user journeys across competitors. We're looking for someone who has done this work extensively—not once or twice—and knows how to design large scale evaluative unmoderated studies, generate deep qualitative insights and translate into clear, actionable product and model improvements.

What You'll Do

• Build and scale an unmoderated quality evaluation program that enables teams to run Side by Side comparative evaluations effectively
• Lead evaluative research to assess quality, clarity, and user success across core use cases and user experiences
• Conduct competitive and comparative research to understand differentiation, gaps, and switching drivers
• Design and run moderated and unmoderated usability studies, heuristic reviews, and win/loss research using a range of tools
• Combine qualitative insights with quantitative signals (e.g., task success rates, frequency, severity, patterns across users) to evaluate experiences—using numbers and evidence, not just anecdotes or quotes
• Synthesize findings into clear, visual, and prioritized outputs that make issues easy to understand and act on
• Balance speed and rigor, making strong calls about what's "good enough" to move decisions forward
• Work quickly and independently, with strong judgment about scope

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience (at least 5-7 years of hands-on working experience, ideally more) leading evaluative and competitive UX research (this is a core strength, not a secondary skill)
• Strong mixed-methods fluency, with confidence designing and running usability studies end-to-end
• Use basic quantitative analysis to support evaluative and competitive research (e.g., usability scoring, task success rates, frequency and severity counts, simple competitive scorecards) to inform prioritization and decisions
• Clear, concise communication—written and verbal—that lands with cross-functional partners
• Strong product judgment and comfort pushing teams toward clarity