Introduction
At IBM, work is more than a job – it’s a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better, but to attempt things you’ve never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world’s most challenging problems? If so, lets talk.

Your Role and Responsibilities
As a Researcher for IT Automation, you will lead and execute on UX research projects and uncover insights to influence the direction of our product roadmap. You will share craft expertise, provide mentorship to early career researchers and peers, and collaborate on cross-org projects – in both your local studio and within the IT Automation Software Research team. Rigor, attention to detail, insatiable curiosity, comfort with ambiguity, and a willingness to learn will be critical to your success.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Strategic Product Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive UX research strategy that aligns with business goals, ensuring a user-centered approach throughout the product development lifecycle. Define the research roadmap that you and your user research team will execute.
• User Research: Research Planning: Conduct qualitative and quantitative research studies, such as interviews, surveys, competitive analyses, prioritization exercises, concept testing, contextual inquiry, and user journey mapping to gather insights about user behaviors, needs, and preferences. Design Thinking workshop facilitation skills are also beneficial: Translate research findings into insights that impact the business.
• Stakeholder Collaboration + Influence: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including executive and “pre-executive” level designers, product managers, and engineers, to advocate for user needs and ensure research findings are effectively communicated and integrated into the product development process.

Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise

• Proven experience conducting user research throughout the entire product development lifecycle. • Strong leadership skills, with experience leading/mentoring other UX researchers and proven experience contributing to the growth of a research practice. • Expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods (as noted above). • Proficiency in data collection and analysis, and the ability to triangulate customer insights from a combination of data sources to derive meaningful insights. • Solid understanding of UX principles, design thinking, and human-centered design processes.