Research Lead, AI Products & Platforms

Mission Overview & Responsibilities

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. Independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination.

And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

• Lead a human-centered design approach for Products teams, inspiring colleagues to build innovative product features grounded in user needs to drive NAPP and company goals.
• Use research-based insights and GenAI tools for rapid prototype iteration.
• Own evaluation for quality and editorial integrity: create frameworks to assess the success of A.I. prototypes and products.
• Build innovative solutions using AI tools to support certain parts of the research process.
• Champion A.I. innovation and ethics: stay up-to-date with industry trends, new research methodologies, LLM advancements, and emerging technologies. Advocate for the ethical and responsible use of AI, ensuring our tools uphold our standards of accuracy and objectivity.
• Complement research with behavioral data, proprietary and industry research, and A/B testing results to provide a holistic view of our users.
• Work with Audience Insights researchers across News Product, Marketing, Cooking, Wirecutter, The Athletic and Games to identify opportunities to collaborate and avoid duplicative product work.
• Manage external research vendors to support moderation, fieldwork, and analysis, ensuring high-quality and efficient project execution.
• Contribute to the collaborative culture of Audience Insights and the NAPP Mission; help The New York Times understand, and build empathy for, our audiences.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

• 8+ years of research and insights experience.
• Experience researching chat interfaces or GenAI search tools and using a range of GenAI tools and features in your work.
• Experience moderating qualitative research and facilitating brainstorms and workshops with cross-functional partners.
• Mastery of a range of research methods. These include participatory design, in-person and remote interviews, ethnographies, co-creation, and user-initiated feedback tools. Additionally, surveys, card-sorting, and usability studies are part of the range.
• Experience executing qualitative and quantitative research and selecting the right approach based on the problem to be solved.
• Experience synthesizing complex findings into compelling narratives and visualizing insights for diverse audiences.

• Experience conducting research for early-stage 0-1 product development, helping teams identify opportunities, validate concepts, and shape new product experiences.
• Experience working in rapid prototyping environments, using research to inform iterative product development and experimentation.
• Experience building alignment among cross-functional stakeholders, including Product, Design, Engineering, Editorial, and Marketing partners.
• Experience presenting to stakeholders, senior management, and fellow researchers.
• A deep curiosity about the role of AI in shaping the future of information, media, and journalism.

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The annual base pay range for this role is between $140,000 - $155,000 USD. For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts, a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as…