Sr Manager Customer Insights

Senior Manager Customer Insights

The Senior Manager Customer Insights leads the development and sharing of actionable Customer learning to help the Company make better strategic decisions through the lens of Customer-centricity. This Leader uses critical thinking to navigate ambiguity and move from broad business questions to clear learning objectives, sound research design, and practical recommendations. This role leads a team in designing, managing, synthesizing, and applying qualitative, quantitative, syndicated, and behavioral research to answer key business questions.

As research tools evolve, this Leader is expected to thoughtfully use advanced analytics, LLMs, automation, and emerging research technologies to improve speed, scale, synthesis, and quality, while ensuring that human judgment, methodological rigor, and Customer understanding remain central. The Senior Manager is accountable for increasing the team's impact and productivity by reducing low-value manual work, improving reuse of existing Customer knowledge, and helping the organization make faster, more confident Customer-informed decisions.

The culture of Southwest Airlines means we value the camaraderie, collaboration, and innovation that occurs when we come together and interact face-to-face at our vibrant Corporate Campus. Due to the nature of this role, you would be required to work from our Dallas, TX Headquarters facility during business hours. U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. required and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.

Responsibilities include leading the Customer Insights Team in developing actionable research and Customer learning that supports broader Company priorities, identifying evolving Customer needs, industry trends, business priorities, and advancements in research methods and tools; advocating for improved approaches where they strengthen decision-making, and partnering with senior Leaders to clarify business questions, define learning objectives, and determine the right research approach.

The Senior Manager will direct qualitative, quantitative, syndicated, and ongoing tracking research, including ad hoc studies, concept testing, brand research, segmentation, Customer journey research, conjoint, discrete choice, and predictive or descriptive modeling. They will synthesize multiple sources of Customer understanding, including primary research, syndicated data, behavioral data, Customer feedback, operational signals, and market trends. Use AI, automation, and modern research tools where appropriate to accelerate research design, analysis, reporting, knowledge management, and synthesis.

Build scalable insight practices, including research repositories, standard reporting, reusable frameworks, consistent methodologies, and clear quality controls.

Coach, develop, and upskill Team Members in research design, analytics, synthesis, storytelling, business consulting, and thoughtful use of emerging tools. Manage the research budget from planning through execution, maximizing value through the right mix of vendor partnerships, internal capabilities, reusable assets, and modern tools.

Knowledge,

Skills and Abilities

include strong knowledge of Customer research principles, Customer needs assessment, satisfaction measurement, and insight activation. Skilled in developing qualitative and quantitative research solutions that are appropriate for the business question and decision lled in advanced Customer research methods, including focus groups, ethnography, one-on-ones, online qualitative, concept testing, tracking studies, conjoint, discrete choice, segmentation, clustering, and predictive modeling. Skilled in critical thinking, including the ability to pressure-test findings, challenge assumptions, and separate signal from noise.

Ability to help the organization move from research outputs to Customer-informed decisions, actions, and measurable business impact. Ability to effectively communicate by listening intently, questioning appropriately, and articulating clearly. Ability to create excitement around a shared vision and gain commitment to shared goals.…