Lead UX Researcher (Remote)

Remote

Hotel Engine is a Denver-based travel tech company on a mission to radically simplify trip management for businesses. We’re not a cumbersome travel management company, nor an online price aggregator. We’re a powerful network that brings hotels and businesses together. Our members save time, money and effort in managing their lodging programs, and our partners get access to loyal, high-value business travelers. It’s a true win-win. Following a 2021 series B funding round at a $1.3 billion valuation, we achieved remarkable growth in 2023. We expect 2024 to be our best year yet. 

Across our organization, we’re powered by exceptional talent. From our large Engineering and Product teams to Sales, Supplier Relations, Member Support, Data, Marketing and Operations, our team is forward-thinking, data-driven and customer-obsessed. We’re also a lot of fun — one of the many reasons we were named a Best Place to Work by Built In Colorado for the past four consecutive years. 

We value our individuality, and we also understand that together, we thrive. Most importantly, we know we’re not for everyone! Complacency doesn’t live here. We’re focused on finding the right people who are energized by our culture and bring diverse experiences and backgrounds that will help us unlock our full potential. Click here to view our DNA, and if you like what you see, please read on!

Our Product Design group is eager to welcome a customer-obsessed Lead UX Researcher to the team. You’ll be instrumental in helping us establish research principals, identify user needs and behaviors and uncover insights and opportunities for product development. As part of the team, your focus will be on using your expert research methods for product usability, testing, facilitation and persona development, all with an eye on spotting opportunities for product improvement and scale. 

Here's what you'll do. 

• Work cross-functionally, fostering relationships with key partners at all levels across the enterprise to define research problems and work on solutions. 
• Design and conduct foundational, formative and evaluative qualitative and quantitative user research with the goal of discovering customer patterns, pain points and opportunities to drive product innovation 
• Mentor and lead other researchers and designers
• Explain to stakeholders how research fits into all aspects of the design process—from very early exploratory efforts through post-launch 
• Conduct user-centered research and work with a variety of teams to determine users' needs while delivering critical insights as quickly as possible
• Manage research participant recruitment 
• Analyze and present customer data and testing results 
• Lead discovery and ideation workshops with customers as well as with internal teams to capture, synthesize and focus delivery of the right features to meet our customer’s needs 
• Synthesize and communicate research findings to drive understanding and user empathy across the organization 
• Thoughtfully explore new ways to combine quantitative and qualitative methods to drive impact. 
• Complete competitive analysis, service flow diagrams, interviews, usability testing and benchmarking to improve products 
• Lead multiple projects across multiple platforms/suite of products 

Here’s what you’ll bring. 

• 6 years + working as a user experience researcher on digital products. 
• Bachelor's degree in Anthropology, Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors or related field (or equivalent work experience in a related field) 
• Expertise in conducting end-to-end user research studies, including planning, recruitment, execution, analysis and delivery 
• Experience working with Jobs To Be Done framework
• Experience mentoring and leading designers
• Deep understanding of user research methods and best practices that push the boundaries of agile research 
• Strong experience in designing, facilitating and executing advance testing and research methods across web and native application experiences 
• Excellent presentation skills and experience presenting to and communicating with senior leadership 
• Eagerness to share ideas and opinions on roadmap planning that help deliver meaningful impact to customers and the business. 
• Ability to multi-task, juggle competing priorities and organize in a fast-paced work environment 
• Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal and analytical skills 
• Enthusiasm for working in a respectful, transparent and collaborative work environment 
• Willingness to travel for field research, as needed 

Cash Compensation: 

• The total cash compensation for this role is $150,000 - $160,000. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including prior experience and expertise and may vary from the amount above. 

Hotel Engine Total Rewards Philosophy | We recognize that there is more to work than day-to-day responsibilities. Hotel Engine has been recognized on Built-in Colorado’s Best Places to Work list 3 years in a row (2020-2022) for our positive culture and robust growth opportunities.  

As a company, we’re also dedicated to giving back to our greater community, and have comprehensive corporate social responsibility programs supporting community, social justice and environmental causes. In addition to a collaborative, high-performing team environment, we’re pleased to offer benefits including:   

• Competitive base salaries  
• Annual performance bonuses 
• Stock options for all associates + performance-based stock options  
• Insurance benefits including medical coverage (with a plan available at no cost to employees) + 100% paid dental and vision insurance  
• 401(k) plan with a match program
• Unlimited PTO + 2 paid days each year to volunteer with your favorite non-profit 
• Paid parental leave and family medical leave 
• Hotel discounts through our exclusive platform 
• The ability to make a real impact in an incredibly fast-growing organization; you’ll never be just another cog in the wheel.