Staff UX Researcher

Company Description

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of “solutions” that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There’s another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

Freshworks Inc. builds uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional employee and customer experiences. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, helping businesses reduce complexity, lower cost-to-serve, and deliver faster, more human support through enterprise-grade yet easy-to-use CX and IT solutions. Nearly 75,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks to power their Employee Experience (EX) and Customer Experience (CX) operations.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Job Description

We're seeking an experienced Mixed Methods Staff Experience Researcher to join our design team and drive deep insights into employee and customer support experience. This role requires expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to understand user  behaviors, needs, and attitudes that will inform our product strategy and design experience.

What You'll Do

• Design and execute end-to-end custom research studies using a comprehensive mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to understand employee and customer support experiences, behaviors, and needs
• Lead in-depth interviews, usability testing, and concept testing to gather rich insights about  pain points and opportunities for improvement
• Design, implement, and analyze surveys with rigorous statistical methods to identify patterns and trends 
• Partner closely with Data Science and analytics  teams to integrate behavioral analytics with attitudinal research, developing holistic insights that inform decision-making
• Translate complex research findings into clear, actionable recommendations tailored to diverse stakeholder audiences including senior leadership, product teams, design and engineering
• Advocate for user-centered thinking and champion research best practices across cross-functional teams
• Effectively manage and prioritize research plans in fast-changing environments, balancing rigor with speed as the situation demands
• Recommend and implement improvements to the UXR team's workflow and tools, partnering with Research & Design leadership  to scale our work and advance how we leverage AI throughout our research processes

Please note: This is a hybrid role that will be based in San Mateo, CA and requires an in-office presence three days per week (Tuesday - Thursday). 

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience conducting UX or experience research in a product, technology, or organizational setting
• Master's degree or PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication, Information Science, or related social science field
• Deep expertise in qualitative research methods including conducting interviews, facilitating usability testing, and synthesizing insights from observational studies
• Strong quantitative skills with demonstrated experience designing and analyzing surveys using statistical methods (e.g., regression analysis, ANOVA, T-tests)
• Proven experience collaborating with Data Science teams to combine behavioral data with attitudinal insights
• Portfolio demonstrating end-to-end research projects, methodological rigor, and measurable impact on product or organizational decisions
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to distill complexity and influence decisions at all organizational levels
• Experience working in a scrappy environment and leveraging AI driven approaches for recruiting, analysis and synthesis - expanding how we learn from users
• Experience vibe coding prototypes with Figma Make, Lovable or similar tools  to get fast customer input
• Previous experience building research frameworks, templates, and best practices for scalable discovery. 
• Experience enabling stakeholders to conduct lightweight and less complex research. Leveraging AI tools like Maze or Great Questions for a multiplier effect
• Experience creating custom bots to query research repository, build synthetic personas etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience conducting research on employee and customer support experience, or workplace tools
• Proficiency with statistical analysis tools (R, SPSS,