Introduction

At IBM Software, we transform client challenges into solutions. Building the world’s leading AI-powered, cloud-native products that shape the future of business and society. Our legacy of innovation creates endless opportunities for IBMers to learn, grow, and make an impact on a global scale. Working in Software means joining a team fueled by curiosity and collaboration. You’ll work with diverse technologies, partners, and industries to design, develop, and deliver solutions that power digital transformation. With a culture that values innovation, growth, and continuous learning, IBM Software places you at the heart of IBM’s product and technology landscape. Here, you’ll have the tools and opportunities to advance your career while creating software that changes the world.

Your role and responsibilities

• Define research objectives and develop comprehensive research plans for both generative (exploratory) and evaluative (usability testing) phases.

• Recruit and screen participants that accurately represent target user personas and segments.

• Conduct end-to-end research using a diverse mix of methodologies, including semi-structured interviews, concept testing, card sorting, surveys, diary studies, and ethnographic field research.

• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify core user pain points, behavioral patterns, and opportunities for innovation.

• Translate complex findings into compelling, easy-to-understand stories, personas, user journey maps, and actionable design recommendations.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Experience: 4+ years of dedicated experience as a UX Researcher, Product Researcher, or a similar role within a digital product environment.

• Methodological Expertise: A strong portfolio demonstrating a command of both qualitative (interviews, usability testing) and quantitative (surveys, basic behavioral analytics) research methods.

• Communication: Exceptional storytelling, presentation, and written communication skills—you know how to turn raw data into a narrative that inspires action.

• Collaboration: A collaborative team player who thrives in an agile environment and can effectively manage stakeholders with differing perspectives.

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Master’s or PhD in HCI, Psychology, Anthropology, or related field concerned with human behavior.
• Experience with user research operations, including the creation or management of participant recruitment databases, research repositories, and upholding best practices for the team.
• Experience with AI-driven UX research tools to augment and scale the research workflow, while being able to think critically about where it makes sense to use AI and where it doesn’t.
• Experience with using existing resources, including customer sentiment data, customer feedback repositories, support tickets, etc., to generate new product insights.
• Familiarity with frameworks like Jobs to Be Done, personas, and Critical User Journeys, with an understanding of when to use each, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
• Familiarity with research tooling like UserTesting, UserZoom, Qualtrics, and Mural.
• Comfortable with learning new skills, e.g., particularly with learning how to use any tools you are unfamiliar with and that will benefit your role on the team (like IBM Bob, GitHub, other AI and UX tools, etc.).