User Research Director

Block Renovation User Research Director

Block is a platform transforming the $400 billion renovation industry. Doing a home renovation is a very stressful and hard process. Our mission is to give homeowners a better way to improve the spaces they live in, and to give contractors a better way to work.

Block simplifies the renovation process to give homeowners a reliably good experience, with certainty around outcomes, quality, price, and time. We are building an ambitious, tenacious, and creative team unafraid of tackling new challenges. The founders are former leaders at Casper, HuffPost, and Rent the Runway. Investors include New Enterprise Associates, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Obvious Ventures, and more.

Role & Responsibilities

Renovations are high-stakes. Homeowners enter one of their largest financial decisions with low foresight and must navigate a fractured ecosystem to achieve their goals. Contractors have to finely manage the dance between bringing on new projects and managing their projects to completion.

We are looking for a creative and resourceful User Research Lead to elevate our research practice and grow a team dedicated to understanding our homeowners and contractors. You‘ll provide thought leadership and practical insight into how research can inform strategic decision-making. This role will report directly to our Head of Product.

As the first dedicated role within our research function, you will have the opportunity to shape how research is woven into the fabric at Block. You will champion user centricity and accessibility to all team members from the squad level to the leadership team level. You are fluent in all aspects of research from nuanced execution to story-driven communication to higher-level strategy. You will shape the future growth of the team, and partner with other leaders across the organization.

Once here, you will:

• Define and lead our research strategy, roadmap, and execution to elevate and champion the voice of homeowners and contractors
• Hire, build and manage a team of best-in-class UX researchers across product domains
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research to measure and track user satisfaction across the end-to-end renovation journey
• Collaborate with leaders across Technology, Growth, and Operations to define bold goals that uncover unmet user needs and strategic plans for growth
• Create mechanisms to make user insights accessible, important, and actionable for the broader organization
• Provide thought leadership and best practices to research across the Product team
• Raise the bar, coach and mentor Product Design teams to grow their muscles of research and testing

Qualifications

• 5 to 8+ years of user research experience with 1+ year of management experience
• A proven track record of leading a successful UX Research team with an ability to grow and nurture the team
• Concrete examples of driving user value and business impact with research insights
• Fluency in qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the ability to synthesize both kinds of data into actionable insights
• High ownership and self-starter mentality
• Clear communication and storytelling skills to motivate and drive alignment across the organization
• Passion for technology and its application to generate delightful experiences

Benefits

• Early stage employee equity
• Vacation days and company holidays
• 100% employer subsidized health insurance, dental, vision
• 12 weeks fully paid family leave + optional leave
• Working alongside an ambitious, kind, no-drama team 

Company Philosophies

• Force simplicity.
• Problems are our fuel. 
• Be tenacious and calm.
• Save money and time where we should.
• Speed is our advantage. 
• Stay humble – in failure and success.