UX Researcher Lead

Senior Manager - Research

About Us

upGrad is an online education platform building the careers of tomorrow by offering the most industry-relevant programs in an immersive learning experience. Our mission is to create a new digital-first learning experience to deliver tangible career impact to individuals at scale.

upGrad currently offers programs in Data Science, Machine Learning, Product Management, Digital Marketing, and Entrepreneurship, etc. upGrad is looking for people passionate about management and education to help design learning programs for working professionals to stay sharp and stay relevant and help build the careers of tomorrow.

• upGrad was awarded the Best Tech for Education by IAMAI for 2018-19
• upGrad was also ranked as one of the LinkedIn Top Startups 2018: The 25 most sought-after startups in India
• upGrad was earlier selected as one of the top ten most innovative companies in India by FastCompany.
• We were also covered by the Financial Times along with other disruptors in Ed-Tech
• upGrad is the official education partner for the Government of India - Startup India program
• Our program with IIIT B has been ranked #1 program in the country in the domain of
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Role Summary

As a User Research Professional you will establish UX Research practice for your pods and collaborate closely with the product and tech leadership to shape our products. You will work with your peer(s) to set clear methods, standards and metrics for gathering qualitative and quantitative insights to continuously deepen the actionable knowledge of our product teams.

You will work with teams to develop research awareness, skills for engaging learners, community and experts, also knowledge for discerning what is important to take into product or innovation practices. You will maintain the highest level of research rigour across all types of studies and constraints. In addition to laying the foundation for user research for your pods, you will conduct and lead key research activities, applying quantitative or qualitative research methodologies to generate actionable insights for our products, brand and strategic direction. Your success will be the team’s commitment to research practices and knowledge of deep learning practices which are hidden in plain sight from across India's hinterland to metros.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Lead and coach team of UX researchers across any one of the Discovery and Growth, Learning experience, Careers, and Breakout pods
• Partner with User Researchers, Design Leads, Product Managers, and Engineering managers to drive all stages of research from early product direction through summative validation in an Agile work environment
• Lead prioritization about what we research, when to research it, and how that research is conducted; This might mean working with cross-functional teams, multiple devices, brands, and platforms, in order to find opportunities to further improve the user experience
• Influence a diverse set of stakeholders through excellent relationship building, and crisply providing insight and deep domain expertise in research practices and product development
• Put the needs of our varied set of users front and center and driving, through influence and well-constructed presentations of insights, the user experience strategy of our many products
• As a voice of the user, effectively challenge and elevate the customer experience in a data-driven environment
• Design, recruit and moderate research studies regularly (both in-person and remote)
• Use a variety of research methods and tools to best reach the goals of each project in order to provide rich, actionable insights
• Communicate research findings and prioritized recommendations to internal stakeholders in a clear and compelling way

Skills Required

• You have 6+ years of experience as a User Research Leader with experience building successful practices inside of companies
• You have to lead a team of at least 4 people
• You have deep knowledge of qualitative research methods and tools across the Indian diaspora, as well as knowledge of quantitative methods
• You know how to analyze and work with design, business, and product data tracking
• You have an excellent knowledge of UX standards, and bring a deep background in psychology, social sciences, or anthropology to the practice
• You have strong oral and written communication skills in both Hind, English, and ideally one other language relevant to our deep reach in India. Any other language is a bonus.
• Your excellent presentation skills will help you collaborate with team members from a wide range of teams and geographies across India.
• You have experience in working in an agile environment and the ability to adapt quickly to changing product priorities
• BA or MS in Psychology, Anthropology or Design with a strong focus on User Research is an added bonus