Principal UX Researcher; News & Sports

Overview

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more. We build and advance the technological backbone for Disney's media business globally. The team marries technology with creativity to build world‑class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company's media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world.

Here are a few reasons why we think you'd love working here:

• Building the future of Disney's media: Our Technologists design and build the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach, Scale & Impact: Disney's technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company's brands and stories across Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, ABC, ABC News, and more.
• Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and solve complex technical problems.

We are looking for a Principal UX Researcher to join our Product Design team. In this role, you will develop a systematic approach to research, analyze human needs, motivations, and trends, and provide valuable insights to guide near-to-long-term strategic planning.

As a Principal UX Researcher at DEEP&T, you will work on products used by millions of Disney customers each year. You will conduct evaluative user research using methods like interviews, literature reviews, and usability testing. You will also conduct generative research through activities like design sprints, customer journey mapping, and diary studies. Working within a product design organization you will determine the best approach for translating research findings into actionable outputs.

A few reasons why we believe you'd love working here:

• Impact: We shape the future of Disney Entertainment; our design and research drive innovation across Disney's portfolio, from Disney+ to ESPN and beyond.
• Collaboration: Our team includes talented designers, UX engineers, design operations experts, and leaders, working together to push the boundaries of creativity and user experience.
• Innovation: We pioneer groundbreaking products and techniques that redefine industry standards and transform how audiences engage with sports, entertainment, and news.

A Principal UX Researcher plays a critical role in leveraging research, data, and human-centered design methodologies to inform product strategy today and drive innovation tomorrow. This role focuses on identifying key user needs, guiding the development of data-driven, user-centric solutions and operationalizing key research practices. As part of a multidisciplinary design team, the role will collaborate with experts across design, UX, and data to create cutting-edge products that enhance user experiences and drive business impact.

• Develop & Manage Research Programs:
  Build and maintain a program for collecting, synthesizing, and communicating insights on human needs, motivations, and trends, to inform near and long term strategic efforts and programs. You operationalize key systems and processes to help benefit the broader business.
• Conduct In-Depth Research:
  Lead qualitative and quantitative research efforts, including user interviews, surveys, market analysis, usability, and other research methods to gather deep insights into customer needs and behaviors.
• Translate & Present Insights:
  Clearly translate research findings and data into actionable recommendations and present them concisely and impactfully to designers, partners and leadership teams.
• Drive Rapid Prototyping & Testing:
  Develop and test prototypes of new solutions to validate concepts and gather feedback quickly.
• Collaboration with Design & Product Teams:
  Work closely with design and product teams to understand and quantify user behavior, needs, and goals, ensuring research informs key business decisions.
• Execute End-to-End Research:
  Design…