UX Research Assistant

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, Energy and Materials, Machine Learning, and Robotics.
The Human Interactive Driving team seeks to accelerate the path to building a much more intelligent vehicle that places humans at the center of a more evocative and safer driving experience. Under the Driving-Sensei concept, we research AI-based interactions to unlock a person’s full driving capability while simultaneously making driving safer and more enjoyable.
We are looking for a UX Researcher to work on our Driving Sensei project. They will work closely with our research team to design and execute user studies to collect data to drive understanding of human performance and technology acceptance. They will also contribute to data analysis and paper writing and propose new potential research topics to pursue.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews and provide summary reports and insights.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative user studies to evaluate the effectiveness of HCI systems in improving driving skills and enjoyment.
• Set up questionnaire materials in Qualtrics.
• Recruit internal/external participants.
• Process data collected from user studies.
• Work on-site at our Los Altos office and travel monthly to a race track for vehicle testing and recruitment.
• Capture intellectual property generated through the research process in the form of invention disclosures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Factors, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Psychology, or a similar field emphasizing human performance, or equivalent.
• 2+ years of experience working in a similar field in industry.
• Experience working with cross-disciplinary teams, including engineering teams.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly across different audiences.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Have a high level of initiative and self-motivation.
• Strong time management and organization abilities.

Bonus Qualifications

• Coding experience (e.g., Python, C++, Arduino, ROS2).
• Statistical analysis skills (R, SPSS, SAS).
• Experience developing HCI prototypes.
• Experience within the Artificial Intelligence (AI) field.
• Experience working in the field of artificial intelligence including autonomous and semi-autonomous driving systems or robotics.
• Experience working with various input and output modalities (i.e. touch, speech, haptics, displays, etc).

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $72,000 and $108,000/year for California-based roles; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave) and an annual cash bonus structure. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.
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