User Experience Researcher, Daydream (VR/AR)

User Experience (UX) Researchers work to answer the most challenging questions in design. In this role, you will reveal what our users need from our products by conducting primary research, exploring the behaviors and motivations of our users, and working with teams of Designers, Product Managers, Engineers and others to develop new features. You’ll inspire change at all stages of product development by delivering exciting oral, written and visual presentations about our findings. Most importantly, your job as a researcher is to help the UX team understand what would make a user’s experiences feel more intuitive, accessible, fun—and even magical.

In this role, you will reveal what our users need from our products by conducting primary research, exploring issues and opportunities around product market fit, evaluating prototypes and designs, and working with teams of Product Managers, Engineers, Designers and others to develop new features and products. Your research will inspire change at all stages of product development. Most importantly, your job as a researcher is to help the UX team understand what would make a user’s experiences feel more intuitive, immersive, comfortable, accessible, fun—and even magical. With your technical expertise you manage individual projects’ priorities, deadlines and deliverables. You design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance research studies and deliverables.

The Google Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality team is a fast moving group of engineers, designers, and research scientists tasked with building the foundations for great immersive and augmented reality apps and prototyping novel, delightful user experiences. We are focused on making virtual reality accessible to millions of people through mobile devices, and its scope continues to grow and evolve.

Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize high-impact UX research opportunities by having a strong understanding of product design, technical requirements, and business objectives.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand research needs, quickly scope research projects, and develop a clear/detailed research proposals that outlines the research goals, hypothesis, participant characteristics, and methods.
• Conduct, contribute to, and lead key research activities including lab studies, in-context fieldwork, surveys, design sprints, literature reviews, and other forms of domain, formative, and evaluative research for VR applications and software systems. Organize and effectively analyze user behavior employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Develop research materials (interview protocols, usability test scripts, screeners, etc.).
• Write and present research findings and insights to cross-disciplinary teams in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Ensure effective communication of research findings to project stakeholders.

Qualifications
Minimum qualifications:

• BS degree in Human-Computer Interaction, related field or equivalent practical experience.
• 5 years of experience leading and conducting user experience research and best-in-class research projects portfolio.
• Experience with different research methods. Experience with a diverse set of methodologies (e.g. user testing, cognitive walk-throughs, 1:1 user interviews, remote testing, field studies, focus groups, diary study and surveys).
• Experience with organizing and leading interviews with individual participants and facilitating group co-creation sessions and analogous activities.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience shipping software experiences for multiple device types and contexts.
• Highly proficient in principles of research; ability to be innovative and experimental in your approach and methodologies.
• Ability to fuse insights and creativity to suggest cutting edge design ideas.
• Ability to connect insights to brand, technical requirements, and product strategy.
• You have a solid understanding of data analysis and statistical methods
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, negotiation and collaboration skills.