-3 month contract with potential to extend and/or convert to a full time role with the team
-Must be local to Chicago area for occasional onsite meeting!
The Principal Design Researcher conducts human-centered research to guide the design of omnichannel products and services. By uncovering the why behind behaviors, you will help connect the organization to the needs of its customers and employees and support data-driven decisions that reduce risk and deliver a positive experience.
The role requires a strategic, system-level thinker with expertise in the design process. You will develop robust knowledge of a suite of product areas and confidently lead cross-functional partners to frame problems and identify research opportunities. The Principal Design Researcher should be a natural collaborator who connects the dots across multiple teams and portfolios and engages design, product management, insights, CX, operations and business teams in the research process. You will plan and execute a wide range of complex research engagements using a mix of methodologies, including interviews, moderated and unmoderated usability tests, diary studies and surveys. You will be adept at analyzing data for meaningful patterns and translating them into actionable insights and recommendations. You will present and socialize research findings in a clear, concise and engaging way and facilitate cross-functional conversations to drive an experience vision grounded in customer and team member needs.
Job Responsibilities
-Understand complex problem spaces and help frame opportunities based on customer needs and pain points.
-Manage the research roadmap for a key business segment, identifying the most impactful research opportunities to drive innovation and inform product and business strategy.
-Align cross-functional teams around robust, mixed-method research plans that balance timing and resource constraints and have defined learning goals, target users and tasks.
-Coordinate research by developing screeners, discussion guides and research stimulus, in collaboration with the design team.
-Conduct generative and evaluative research utilizing a range of methods, including interviews, moderated and unmoderated usability testing, diary studies, card sorting, surveys, secondary research, etc.
-Distill research data into meaningful patterns and translate them into actionable insights and recommendations. Communicate and socialize learnings clearly and concisely, using storytelling and data to drive action.
-Plan and facilitate cross-functional collaborative worksessions to define problems and develop new concepts.
-Serve as a trusted advisor to product teams and develop positive long-term relationships by understanding stakeholder needs and balancing conflicting interests.
-Advocate for customers and team members among cross-functional teams and in forums such as design reviews.
-Lead research team internal initiatives to continuously learn and improve as a team.
" Contribute to ongoing knowledge management and the archiving of reports and insights into a sharable, searchable repository.
-Mentor junior researchers, playing an advisory role on their research studies.
PORTFOLIO REQUIRED: Portfolio required on resume - 2 or more case studies of past research projects - highlight project, show their deliverables from the work - will walk through some examples during one round of interviews
Basic Qualifications & Interests:
-Bachelors degree
-8 years of experience collecting and analyzing qualitative research data
-Experience conducting both discovery and evaluative research using a variety of methods (interviews, usability testing, surveys, diary studies, etc.)
-Experience scoping out and gaining buy-in for new research initiatives, including research objectives, methods, timing and budget
-Experience presenting qualitative research insights and recommendations to stakeholders to drive improvements of products, services and processes
-Experience researching digital products, such as websites, apps, kiosks and software applications
Preferred Qualifications & Interests
-Experience researching complex digital and omnichannel products and services
-Experience researching employee productivity tools
-Experience visualizing product or service experiences in the form of journey maps to capture user actions, interactions and touchpoints
-Experience working with external vendors to recruit research participants
-Experience with UserTesting, dscout, Qualtrics, Optimal Workshop or similar remote research tools
-Familiarity with engineering / development processes, particularly Agile
-Familiarity with quantitative research methods
-Experience in healthcare or retail industries
-Experience working in a design consultancy and/or within a larger company
In this position, you may have access to client or customer systems, confidential and/or proprietary information or data, including medical data. This position is onsite and requires you to work closely with other individuals in a collaborative team environment. Additionally, drug products may be present in the workplace.
Benefits
Creative Circle's Freelance Employee benefits package includes eligibility for Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) medical plan, dental/vision/term life package, discount prescription program, critical illness, accident, tele-behavioral health, and 401(k) plan. Sick leave is provided to Candidates whose assignment work location is in a state or city subject to sick leave laws. A Minimum Value (MV) PPO medical plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and paid holiday eligibility are based on length and dates of service.Looking forward to receiving your resume through our website and going over the position with you. Clicking apply is the best way to apply, but you may also:
Email your resume in Word to:
alexa.kline@jobalert.creativecircle.com
**Please do NOT change the email subject line in any way. You must keep the JobID: : AS28-1854466 -- in the email subject line for your application to be considered.***
Alexa Kline - Recruiter, National Delivery
For Creative Circle to represent you for this opportunity, you must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need of employer sponsorship for a non-immigrant visa such as a H-1B, TN, or O visa. We do not support or provide training for STEM/OPT programs. Additionally, you must be physically located in and perform the work for our client in the United States.
This job was first posted by Creative Circle on 05/28/2025 and applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled or closed.
Creative Circle is an Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Creative Circle will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local law, including but not limited to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act. If you need a reasonable accommodation in the application process, please contact your Recruiter (the person you'll be interviewing with) or a member of our Human Resources team to make arrangements. United Healthcare creates and publishes the Transparency in Coverage Machine-Readable Files on behalf of Creative Circle.
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