User Researcher

We are seeking a User Researcher for a Hybrid position with our Sacramento, California client. The User Researcher who will be responsible for planning, conducting, and synthesizing user research to inform digital product strategy, service design, and enterprise modernization initiatives. This role partners with Human-Centered Design (HCD) teams, Product Managers, UX/UI Designers, Business Analysts, Developers, and stakeholders to identify user needs, validate design concepts, and generate actionable insights that drive product roadmap priorities.

The User Researcher ensures product decisions are grounded in evidence-based research, accessibility best practices, and the needs of diverse user populations.

Key Responsibilities
* Plan and execute qualitative and quantitative user research throughout the product lifecycle.
* Conduct user interviews, contextual inquiries, surveys, usability testing, focus groups, and observational research.
* Analyze research findings and translate insights into actionable product roadmap recommendations.
* Develop personas, customer journey maps, empathy maps, and other Human-Centered Design (HCD) artifacts.
* Translate user research findings into product requirements and design recommendations.
* Establish UX success metrics and benchmarks to evaluate current and future-state experiences.
* Conduct remote moderated and unmoderated usability testing using industry-standard platforms.
* Collaborate with Product Managers, UX/UI Designers, Business Analysts, Developers, and stakeholders.
* Ensure research incorporates accessibility and inclusive design principles.
* Present research findings to executive leadership, business stakeholders, and technical teams.
* Support Agile product teams with continuous user feedback throughout development.
* Maintain research repositories, documentation, and best practices.

Minimum Qualifications Education
* Bachelor's degree required. Required Experience
* Minimum two (2) successfully completed projects (defined as projects that have achieved full implementation and are operationally complete) demonstrating experience deriving product roadmap priorities from user research data.

Preferred Qualifications
* Experience conducting user research with diverse and vulnerable populations, including non-English speakers, individuals with disabilities, and senior citizens.
* Experience establishing UX benchmarks such as System Usability Scale (SUS), Time-on-Task, and similar usability metrics.
* Experience using remote unmoderated user testing platforms such as User Testing, Optimal Workshop, or similar tools.
* Experience conducting research within Agile or SAFe environments.
* Experience supporting enterprise digital transformation or government modernization initiatives.
* Knowledge of accessibility standards, inclusive design principles, and WCAG guidelines.