Lead User Researcher (R12098)

POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking a skilled and visionary Lead User Researcher to join our design team. As a Lead User Researcher, you will be responsible for contributing to the overall design strategy using user research to drive the creation of compelling, intuitive, and seamless experiences across our products and services. You will play a pivotal role in understanding our members, markets and competitors, defining the user experience and informing product strategy to shape the future of finance for our members.

Design at Oportun is dedicated to the cultivation, delivery, and thoughtful reflection of the over arching user experience that our members interact with on a daily basis. We are member obsessed and seek to understand their unique needs, their present challenges, and their future goals to thoughtfully deliver experiences that encourage beneficial (and delightful!) outcomes for them.

This role is open in Mexico.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead user research projects from initial discovery research through usability test to align with user needs and company goals.
• Present persuasive user-centered strategies to key stakeholders while effectively communicating the rationale and impact to business objectives.
• Utilize a wide variety of research methods to uncover user needs, pain points, and behaviors, in order to inform design and product decisions in the creation of user-centered solutions.
• Foster a culture of creativity, innovation, and collaboration, providing guidance and feedback to team members to ensure user-centered design solutions.
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and handle ambiguity with conviction.
• Develop, maintain, and steward UX thinking and documentation that communicate a finalized design strategy from user research (e.g. personas, journey maps, flowcharts, service blueprints, etc.).
• Leverage analytics, competitive analyses, market research, and qualitative research to illuminate holistic member needs.
• Consistently conduct competitive analyses to stay aware of current market trends, identify gaps in product offerings, and provide strategic recommendations that can be incorporated into the larger product ecosystem.
• Apply knowledge of UX, design best practices, design psychology, design systems, and optimized process flows in support of concept development.
• Coordinate and conduct usability testing sessions to gather user insights, validate design concepts and provide design recommendations to refine the optimal user experience.
• Comfortable traveling to the US to observe in-person experiences and conduct member research at Oportun stores.
• Evaluate digital product content to develop intuitive experiences. This includes interaction flows, terminologies, taxonomies and other content across products and channels.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• At least 7 years of experience in User Research or equivalent role with at least 3 of those years as a lead
• Deep knowledge of human-centered design (HCD) and research methodologies and their application to solving a variety of problems, large and small
• Demonstrated track record of distilling user research into impactful insights for an actionable strategy
• Experience working in and leading multi-disciplinary teams from research through to delivery
• Experience partnering with leadership to define, scope, plan and execute large discovery projects that inform and direct future product strategy and company initiatives
• Ability to communicate complex concepts simply, always striving to make things tangible, whether through conversations, frameworks, or ideas
• Proficient working with tools such as Figma, FigJam, Dovetail, Usertesting.com, and Coda
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
• Strong proficiency with English and Spanish, both written and verbal

NICE-TO-HAVES

• Master’s Degree (Business, Design, Human Computer Interaction)
• 4+ years of experience with a financial services company
• Background in human factors, psychology, and behavioral discipline

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