Senior Researcher

Thumbtack helps millions of people confidently care for their homes.

Thumbtack is the one app you need to take care of and improve your home — from personalized guidance to AI tools and a best-in-class hiring experience. Every day in every county of the U.S., people turn to Thumbtack to complete urgent repairs, seasonal maintenance and bigger improvements. We help homeowners know which projects to do, when to do them and who to hire from our growing community of 300,000 local service businesses.

If making an impact inspires you, join us. Imagine what we’ll build together.

Researchers at Thumbtack are embedded within product teams and serve as advocates for both customers and pros. As a Senior Experience Researcher, you'll shape research strategy for multiple product pods, including one focused on bringing a recent acquisition into the Thumbtack ecosystem — and connect that work to our broader Demand Growth strategy. You'll run mixed-methods studies end to end, but you'll also do more than answer questions: you'll help define what the pods should learn next, build the frameworks and measurement systems that guide decisions, and influence product strategy at the leadership level.

This is an AI-forward practice — we expect you to use AI fluently across the research lifecycle, to build reusable AI tooling as needed, and to help define how AI-enabled research should evolve.

• Research strategy & execution:
  Independently scope and run mixed-method studies end to end, and define your product area’s research agenda — identifying high-leverage questions before they're obvious.
• Connect to demand growth:
  Tie research to Thumbtack's broader demand growth strategy — surfacing how we can better drive customer demand and where the biggest opportunities and risks lie.
• Frameworks & measurement:
  Develop the frameworks, measurement systems, and mental models that guide decision-making as the acquisition integrates into Thumbtack.
• Work in ambiguity:
  Get up to speed quickly on an unfamiliar product, market, and user base; turn loose, high-stakes problem spaces into clear strategy and research plans.
• AI-accelerated research & tooling:
  Use AI fluently across the research lifecycle, and build reusable AI tooling (agents, workflows, automations, prototypes) that the broader team adopts. Help define how AI-enabled research operates in the pods, while critically evaluating outputs for accuracy and bias.
• Cross-functional partnership & influence:
  Partner with product, design, engineering, and data science — and influence lead/director-level decisions through insight.
• Synthesize & share insights:
  Turn complex data into compelling, exec-ready narratives that shape direction at all levels.

• 8+ years of applied research experience, with a track record of senior, independent impact and a degree in a behavioral or social science field (e.g., Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Experimental Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Information Science, Economics) or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree preferred.
• Strong command of both qualitative and quantitative methods across product phases, with mixed-methods depth (interviews, surveys, usability and concept testing) and fluency in analysis choices (significance, sample sufficiency); proficient with research and analysis tools (e.g., Qualtrics, dscout; R, SPSS, or Python). SQL a plus.
• A track record of building frameworks, measurement systems, segmentations, or research programs that went beyond a single study.
• High, demonstrated AI fluency across the research lifecycle, paired with the judgment to evaluate outputs critically and apply them responsibly.
• Evidence of building reusable AI tooling — agents, automated workflows, or prototypes — that others adopted, and a point of view on how AI-enabled research should evolve. (You'll be asked to show your work.)
• Highly self-directed in ambiguity, with demonstrated influence on product strategy with senior (GPM/director-level) stakeholders and excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills.
• Nice to have: experience standing up or scaling…