Lead Design Researcher (6 Month Contract)

Design Researchers at Thoughtworks Canada are broadly curious and passionate about deeply understanding user needs to uncover opportunities for truly impactful products.

We are looking for a Design Researcher to contribute to our growing Design Research practice. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker who is excited to incorporate the voice of the user at every stage of the product development lifecycle. We are looking for an independently driven problem-solver who enjoys working with people at various organizations to facilitate change. Are you smart, kind, reliable, and excited to teach and learn? If so, we want you on our team!

Thoughtworks Canada is a rapidly growing product development firm located in the heart of downtown Toronto. We partner with the world’s leading organizations to build software-powered products that are enjoyed by millions of users globally. You likely have our clients’ apps on your home screen, their smart products in your home, or wear their devices every day to stay connected. Our team of researchers, designers, engineers and product managers are on a mission to build better products on a variety of platforms and digital mediums, including web and mobile apps, voice, smart cars, AR/VR and connected home.

What you’ll do

• Build a solid understanding of users’ behaviours and motivations that shape their digital experiences through conducting exploratory, generative, and evaluative research
• Plan, lead and execute design research to support project teams in tackling an unexplored opportunity area, a complete product, or a complex feature set
• Work across the complete product development lifecycle, effective at both early stage discovery projects as well as evaluative projects
• Ensure client satisfaction through synthesis and delivery of high impact research insights that drive user experience and product performance
• Collaborate effectively and confidently with other disciplines and client partners, often leading workshops and critical conversations
• Identify opportunities to improve how we involve different types of stakeholders in the research process, internally and externally, to maximize the impact of our work
• Communicate our point of view on research and product development to potential and current partners, contributing to bringing in new projects and setting them up for success
• Provide guidance to teammates on research-related work, ensuring high quality insights and research outputs
• Improve our current practices by auditing current research processes (e.g., recruitment, data collection), standardizing documentation (e.g., consent forms, NDAs) and tools; provide training or recommendations to optimize our research operations
• Promote best research practices internally and provide guidance for both non-researchers and junior researchers by publishing thought leadership content and presenting at company-wide meetings

What we’re looking for

• 5-7 years experience as a Design/UX Researcher or similar role
• Bachelor or Masters degree in a relevant discipline (i.e. design, communication studies, anthropology, sociology, behavioural science, or other related field)
• Demonstrated experience with a variety of qualitative research methods including 1:1 interviews, diary studies, concept testing, and usability testing
• Motivation to collaborate on internal research-related initiatives and make an external impact by delivering quality products for our clients
• Familiarity with research-related operational challenges such as recruitment and data/knowledge management, as well as common research tools and platforms (e.g. Dscout, Usertesting, Zoom)
• Stakeholder management experience within a variety of industries where design maturity ranges from low to high
• Strong communication, facilitation, and organizational skills
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, collaborative and constantly evolving environment
• Open to feedback and coaching, with a desire for continuous self-improvement
  

To learn more, visit https://connected.thoughtworks.com/careers/

At Thoughtworks Canada, we know that the best products are built by diverse and inclusive teams - teams that reflect a range of users and experiences. We're looking for product builders with diverse backgrounds - which go beyond the standard education, work experience, and geolocation. If you want to change how product development is approached, and who products are built for, we encourage you to apply.

We also know that some people aren't comfortable applying unless they feel totally qualified. If you're on the fence or unsure if your experience perfectly matches our job posting, we'd really like you to apply. We are happy to chat and get to know you better, and you can get to know us better as well.

We are also committed to providing accommodations throughout the recruitment process for individuals with disabilities, in line with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation, reach out to our HR team at  [email protected] and we’ll work with you to understand what is needed.