User Experience Research Advisor

Be part of an amazing story

Macy’s is more than just a store. We’re a story. One that’s captured the hearts and minds of America for more than 160 years. A story about innovations and traditions…about inspiring stores and irresistible products…about the excitement of the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, and the wonder of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. We’ve been part of memorable moments and milestones for countless customers and colleagues. Those stories are part of what makes this such a special place to work.

Job Overview

The User Experience Research Advisor is a member of the Macy’s Inc.'s User Experience organization which shapes the user experience design for all digital properties on Macys.com. This role gains user insights to inform the design of engaging user experiences. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of developing and conducting world-class user research studies in a fast-paced, collaborative team environment. They obtain research findings that address business goals and user needs, work effectively in a cross-functional context, and advocate for research and data to inform user experience design. The User Experience Research Advisor performs other duties as assigned and reports to the Director of User Experience Research.

What You Will Do

• Plan and conduct user research across channels and domains.
• Support and learn a human-centered design process to create high-quality user experiences.
• Design and conduct qualitative studies, including field observations, interviews, and remote and in-person usability studies for current and future products.
• Design and conduct quantitative studies, such as structuring and analyzing surveys to evaluate the impact of product changes and gather insights at scale.
• Collaborate effectively with executives, managers, teams, designers, and stakeholders to identify user research opportunities for user-facing products.
• Partner with other customer data teams (e.g., consumer insights, analytics) to coordinate user research efforts.
• Help define user success metrics that gauge how well user needs are being met for assigned channels and domains.
• Develop and conduct quick, generative, and evaluative user research studies, including guerilla usability testing, to gauge business and user success of user experience designs.
• Invent and adapt research practices as needed to deliver insights and knowledge that help teams stay on track and customer-focused.
• Quickly synthesize qualitative and quantitative data to develop a better understanding of customers, provide insight into business/user value, and identify potential customer and business risks.
• Present, communicate, and influence effectively to bring the voice of the customer to life.
• Help teams understand customer needs, pain points, attitudes, and behaviors through thoughtful and actionable research that informs both tactical and strategic efforts.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on customers' behaviors, needs, and values for assigned channels and domains.
• Mentor UX Designers on user research best practices.
• Foster an environment of acceptance and respect that strengthens relationships, and ensures authentic connections with colleagues, customers, and communities

Skills You Will Need

Strong user research skills: Experience across different methods and both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Knowledgeable in implementing a variety of research methods: Ethnography, contextual inquiry, in-depth interviews, guerilla research, surveys, online testing services/tools, concept testing, usability testing, etc.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Ability to effectively communicate with all levels of business leaders; influence and cultivate strong relationships with key business stakeholders and executives in the organization.

Strong negotiation skills: Ability to advocate among peers and to executive leadership.

Time management and prioritization skills: Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously at various stages of their development.

Strong research portfolio: Demonstrates using a variety of research methods to drive decision-making in an organization.

Ability to effectively share technical information: Communicate technical issues and solutions to all levels of business.

Multi-project management skills: Identify primary and secondary objectives, prioritize time, and communicate timelines to team members.

Product/project ownership: Ability and desire to take ownership of products or projects.