Freelance Principal UX Researcher
Red Badger, a London-based tech and product consultancy, is hiring a freelance Principal UX Researcher to own research across a multi-team client programme — leading strategic discovery, setting research standards and Research Ops, and turning customer insight into roadmap decisions using methods like JTBD, Kano, MaxDiff and usability testing.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- London
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Principal
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- 15+ years
- Category
- Design
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Lead strategic discovery across multiple product teams
- Master qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, JTBD, Kano, MaxDiff, MVT, A/B testing, diary studies, observation
- Advise on how research can support Human-Centred Design, Design Thinking and Lean Experimentation practices
- Set research standards and embed Research Ops frameworks across large enterprise
- Embed research into strategy, prioritisation and roadmap decisions
- Influence senior stakeholders effectively and confidently
- Thrive in Lean/Agile, cross-functional team environments
- Advise engineers, insights and QA on Research practices as part of a cross-functional team
- Hire and line manage other Research, Product and Design team members
Nice to have
- Consulting experience building a client's research function
- Experience in regulated domains, such as financial services
- Apply service design and journey mapping
- Speak or write publicly about research practice
Full description
- Start date: Mid-October
- Involves UX research coaching, establishing and embedding research practices, and research to empower multiple product teams
- Immediate interviews
- Initial contract duration: 4 months (possibility for perm)
- £ day rate (outside IR35)
- 2 days per week in-office (Canary Wharf)
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About Red Badger
We’re a tech and product consultancy, building enterprise software products for blue-chip companies, multinationals and PLC’s. The best bit about Red Badger is, of course, the team. We’ve been around for 15+ years now, and we are over 130 strong. We are really proud of our people; we support and learn a lot from each other; we work really hard but have fun doing it. We are a diverse group made up of 22 different nationalities, speaking 17 different languages. Headquartered in London, we also have offices in Cape Town and Leeds.
The Role
As a Freelance Principal UX Researcher, you own research across a multi-team client programme. You run strategic discovery that shapes what gets built, set research standards, and make sure customer insight drives prioritisation.
Our clients often have fragmented, siloed research that restarts with every study. You turn it into a working discipline. This is a working leadership role: part hands-on researcher, part standard-setter, part connector.
As a Freelance Principal UX Researcher, you will focus on:
- Leading strategic discovery into what to build first, next and in the vision
- Setting research methods and standards across the programme
- Building research operations so insight is reusable
- Turning insight into roadmap decisions
- Growing and managing researchers
Key ResponsibilitiesStrategic discovery
- Lead discovery end-to-end, from plan to a validated view of what customers value
- Pick the right methods, e.g. Jobs-to-be-Done, Kano, MaxDiff, interviews, usability testing to build the right evidence base to support strategic decisions
- Combine qualitative insight with analytics and behavioural data to surface core insights and user needs
Standards and research operations
- Build scalable and repeatable Research Ops including processes, methods, governance, forums, roles and responsibilities
- Set research standards for recruitment, methods, ethics, synthesis and reporting
- Coach designers and clients to run effective strategic and tactical research