TekStaff's Client has a current vacancy for a USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCHER/Design Researcher

Duration : This is a 6 months contract located in Toronto, Ont /Hybrid 4 days in office

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE

- Typical Day-to-Day Responsibilities Conduct Research:
- Research design: identifying areas of opportunity for research, defining research questions, creating actionable research plans, and selecting appropriate methods of data collection and analysis
- Research preparation: creation of participant screeners; recruiting from internal employee panels or networks, snowball sampling or working with vendors to recruit external participants; creating research protocols
- Data collection: conducting design research methods including observation/ethnography, diary studies, user interviews, usability testing, card sorting, experiments, etc.
- Analysis: utilizing qualitative and quantitative approaches to make sense of the data collected
- Reporting: translating findings into easily understandable insights used to drive ideation and inform design, in diverse formats including experience maps, usability test reports, personas, etc.

- Enable Research:
- Collaboration: Working with POD leaders, service design directors, designers, developers, engineers, and business stakeholders to understand and support their research needs; maintain and build relationships across various stakeholder groups; support Research Science team members as required; collaborate with other HCD research & design teams, marketing research teams, etc.
- Building Research Roadmaps: Understanding the needs or your PODs/stakeholder groups and building out roadmaps/ research plan
- Vendor oversight: as required, oversee/manage research vendors carrying out studies on behalf of the Research team
- Intern support and mentorship: as required,



support and mentor interns and junior researchers who may be assigned to you or your projects
- Research Strategy: actively participate in strategic planning and development of research models for supporting innovation and creative work within PODs
- Education & Visibility: Increase awareness of Research Science methods and processes with our internal and external partners; share areas of expertise within the Research team as required to support project and expand Research knowledge base and tools
- - How much time is being spent in meetings – 25- 30 %
- Who are they interacting with (internal/external) – Internal and some external partners
- Will the contractor have access to any customer data? NO!!!!

MUST-HAVE Hard Skills:

- Deep expertise in either Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Anthropology, or something similar
- Experience leading research projects either independently or as a small team
- Experience/expertise in all process steps of Research work including - preparation (screeners, protocols, recruitment, etc), data collection (participant management, testing, knowledge harvests, etc.), analysis (both quantitative and qualitative experience a benefit), dissemination (deriving conclusions from data relevant to the context at hand - answering ’so what’ regarding the research outcomes)

NICE-TO-HAVE

- Experience leading research projects independently




- Knowledge of finance or financial institutions
- Keen interest/ability in AI
- Experience working with stakeholders and creating champions for research in organizations
- Experience working in blended Research roles where they may have been responsible for strategy and some design related tasks is a benefit
- Understanding of the design process

Intermediate Design Researcher

Research Science studies next-generation Human Computer Interaction, focusing on not only emerging technologies but also the intersection of tech, relationships, behaviour, and social lives. Our approach utilizes advanced cross-disciplinary methods to investigate the people, places, and the technologies that comprise our future world. We evaluate these emerging technologies and communities to better understand the unmet needs of users and stakeholders and inform the development of relevant, innovative, purposeful, and meaningful experiences.

- Deep knowledge and experience within Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Psychology, Anthropology, or a similar discipline
- Experience studying applied problems is a bonus – especially those concerning emerging technologies and user needs
- Strong communications skills: written, oral, and graphical
- Strong project management skills with ability to balance tasks spanning multiple studies
- Knowledge of inferential statistics and familiarity with statistical analysis software (e.g., R, SAS, SPSS) is an asset
- Strong preference for graduate degree in relevant area (as specified above)

TekStaff may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools as part of the applicant screening process. However, applications will also be reviewed by a member of our Recruitment team to ensure a fair and thorough assessment.

📌 User Experience Researcher (Greater Toronto Area)
🏢 Tekstaff IT Solutions
📍 Greater Toronto Area