Design Insights & Validation Research Lead

Intermediate– Experience Design Engr 2 – 00133L

Location: Vancouver, WA, USA

Organization: Global Experience Design – Research Insights & Validation

This role leads end-to-end design research, insights, and validation to inform product, experience, and strategic decisions across hardware, software, and services. The Specialist applies advanced mixed-method approaches (qualitative and quantitative) to solve complex business problems, shape product direction, and influence cross-functional decision-making.

The role operates with a high degree of independence, partnering closely with design, product, and engineering to ensure insights drive measurable experience improvements and business outcomes.

• Lead end-to-end research initiatives (qualitative + quantitative) from problem definition to insight delivery across multiple work streams.
• Design and execute advanced research studies (e.g., in-depth interviews, usability testing, surveys, concept validation, journey evaluation, and behavioral analytics) for complex and ambiguous problem spaces.
• Synthesize insights into strategic recommendations, connecting user needs to product, design, and business decisions.
• Drive customer centric mindset with exploration & validation of concepts, prototypes, and live experiences, ensuring clarity, usability, trust, and value of experiences.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders (Design, Product, Engineering, Business) to influence roadmaps and decision-making with objectivity and actionable insights.
• Act as a research lead on projects, guiding priorities, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring methodological rigor.
• Contribute to and evolve research frameworks, tools, and best practices, including scaling insights across teams.
• Mentor junior researchers or guide designers on research best practices, where applicable.
• Ensure insights continuity through documentation, repositories, and reusable knowledge systems.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Factors, Psychology, Social Sciences, HCI, Design Research, or related field.
• Typically 3–6 years of experience in UX research, design research, or market research.

• Strong expertise in mixed-method research (qualitative + quantitative) and selecting appropriate methodologies for complex problems.
• Curiosity to understand human behavior, especially with shifts in technology (physical and digital interactions) and evolving AI attitudes & behaviors.
• Ability to frame ambiguous problems into structured research approaches and actionable outputs.
• Advanced analytical and synthesis skills, translating data into clear, decision-oriented insights.
• Strong understanding of user-centred design, validation frameworks, and experience metrics.
• Experience influencing stakeholders and driving decisions through insights.
• Proficiency with research platforms (e.g., User Testing, Suzy, Qualtrics, or similar).
• Familiarity with AI‑assisted research tools (e.g., synthesis, survey generation, insight scaling) and curiosity to continuously learn more AI tools.
• Experience with remote, unmoderated, and scaled research methods.
• Exposure to behavioural analytics or eye‑tracking tools is a plus.
• Strong communication and storytelling skills, with ability to present to senior stakeholders.

• Leads research across multiple projects or a workstream, handling diverse and complex problem areas.
• Influences design and product decisions through insights and recommendations.
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams, including senior stakeholders and external partners.
• Acts as a key contributor to research strategy, quality, and scalability within the organization.

HP offers a comprehensive benefits package for this position, including:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Long term/short term disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Generous time off policies, including
• 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure
• 11 paid holidays
• Additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave (US benefits overview)

The pay range for this role is $93,400 to $143,800 USD annually with additional opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity (applies to United States of America candidates only). Pay varies by work location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

HP reserves the right to modify compensation and benefits information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.