Do you want to be at the heart of Microsoft’s massive digital and cultural transformation? Are you passionate about people and want to work in a vibrant and inclusive Studio culture where Research and Design work closely together? We’re looking for a talented Researcher who wants to learn, grow, and embody new ways of working. If you embrace growth mindset, have a track record of delivering results, and you light up collaborating with other researchers, designers, product managers, and engineers, this is an awesome team to join. 

Microsoft Digital has a mission to power, protect, and digitally transform Microsoft and be the voice of this transformation. Our UX Studio is playing a critical role by bringing together expertise in research, design, and accessibility to create experiences that empower our fellow employees around the globe to achieve more in their lives. To that end, we are looking to hire diverse talent whose background and experiences can help shape the future of employee experiences at Microsoft, that are truly diverse and inclusive. 

Within the Professional Services & Support vertical of our Studio, a large workforce of employees comes together to collaborate in a complex set of business processes in order to deliver world class solutions to Microsoft business customers. This User Researcher position will partner with other researchers in the organization to help build an empathy-led, user-centered approach that will inform the strategic direction we take in this constantly evolving space. You will help our research team build upon our reputation of integral partners, by delivering creative, agile, and strategic research which will directly impact the product building process.  

This team supports our employees in all locations around the country. This job has the option to be remote or located in one of our hubs.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with key stakeholders across design, engineering, data science, business partners, and leadership to establish trust, and deliver actionable insights/recommendations in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.
• Bring a product making mindset as part of your research strategy and influence the creation of end-to-end user experiences.
• Prioritize effectively by identifying the most burning problems to solve.
• Perform a mix of strategic and tactical research to identify unmet needs and product opportunities.
• Collect and analyze user behaviors and perceptions through in-depth interviews, surveys, benchmarking studies, and other data points.
• Work with your Lead Researcher to guide stakeholders and partners in the definition of product UX goals and integrate inclusive UX practices into day-to-day work so that the employee experiences we build are world-class.
• Advocate research findings to diverse audiences through memorable ways.
• Tackle complex business challenges and deliver clear, and actionable insights.

Qualifications

• 1-3+ years in user experience research, design research, product research or equivalent (i.e. hands on) so that you have successes and failures to draw upon.
• Demonstrated agility, creativity, and growth mindset applied to large projects working collaboratively with other stakeholders.
• A portfolio that demonstrates solid research techniques and ability to make a meaningful impact.
• Experience across a variety of research techniques including in-depth interviews, usability studies, concept validation, user journey mapping and more.
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) and strong attention to visual details.
• A passion for articulating how you understand customer needs, and ability to influence others.
• A Master’s degree in HCI, cognitive or experimental psychology, sociology, business planning OR a BA/BS related to one of the above fields with significant academic or industry experience.

 Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.