Principal Researcher

We’re currently looking for a Principal Design Researcher to lead the research practice for one of our top-tier clients — a global leader in the Health industry — shaping the products and services that empower clinicians, patients and care teams at the moments that matter most.

• Define and own the research agenda, aligned with product and business priorities.
• Establish a multi-horizon research roadmap spanning generative, evaluative and strategic studies.
• Champion a human‑centred lens across the entire product lifecycle.
• Lead, mentor and develop a team of design researchers embedded across product squads — coordinating capacity and prioritisation across concurrent initiatives.
• Foster a culture of rigour, curiosity and inclusive research practice.
• Lead complex, ambiguous research programmes from brief to insight, applying mixed methods (ethnographic, contextual, participatory, evaluative) appropriate to each challenge.
• Ensure regulatory and ethical compliance in all research activities.
• Translate research into actionable insights that shape strategy — not just design — presenting findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders and leadership.
• Partner with product management, design, clinical affairs and marketing to embed research throughout discovery and development.
• Define shared research frameworks and artefacts (personas, journey maps, opportunity spaces).
• Build and steward a living research repository, developing standards, templates and methodological guidance for the team.

• 5-8 years of design research or UX research experience, with at least 3 years in a principal, lead or staff‑level role.
• Demonstrated ability to define and execute strategic research programmes in complex, regulated environments — healthcare, medtech or diagnostics experience strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise across qualitative methods, comfortable integrating quantitative signals and working with data science partners.
• Proven track record of leading and growing research teams, with strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Ability to navigate clinical and hospital environments; familiarity with care workflows, patient safety and regulatory frameworks (IVD, MDR) is a plus.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills — able to make research compelling for executive audiences and product teams alike.
• Fluency in English; additional European languages are a plus.

• Proven experience operating at the nexus of diagnostics, chronic care management or acute clinical environments.
• Deep familiarity with systems thinking, service design frameworks or strategic foresight methodologies.
• A track record of establishing and scaling organisational research maturity from the ground up.

• Permanent contract.
• Competitive salary with yearly performance appraisal.
• Hybrid working model - work from home or our studio.
• Monthly allowance for internet costs and a budget for working‑from‑home materials.
• Health insurance.
• 26 paid vacation days.
• Free tickets for the Palo Alto Market.
• Flexible working hours.
• Access to Nacar Academy training program.
• Dynamic multicultural community with team‑building activities.