UX Researcher (Design Researcher)

Let’s face it, a company whose mission is human transformation better have some fresh thinking about the employer/employee relationship. You get a personal BetterUp Coach, a development plan, a trained and coached manager, the most amazing team you’ve ever met (yes, each with their own personal BetterUp Coach), and most importantly, work that matters.

This makes for a remarkably focused and fulfilling work experience.

But for people with fire in their belly, it’s a game-changing, career-defining, soul-lifting move. Join us and we promise you the most intense and fulfilling years of your career, doing life-changing work in a fun, inventive, soulful culture. We’re looking for a Principal UX Researcher, to serve as the most senior researcher on the Product Design team, reporting directly to the VP of Design.

• This role will define Better
• Up’s research vision and practice—establishing the methodologies, governance, and strategic frameworks that ensure user insights shape product decisions at every level.
• You’ll partner across Product, PMM, and the Labs behavioral insights team to connect foundational research to business outcomes, while mentoring researchers and design partners across the organization.
• Define and evolve Better
• Up’s UX research practice: establish research methodologies, quality standards, tooling, and governance frameworks that scale across the product organization Drive strategic research that informs company-level product strategy, partnering directly with the VP of Design, Product leadership, and the executive team to identify high-leverage opportunities Lead foundational and generative research programs that uncover unmet user needs, validate market opportunities, and shape multi-quarter product roadmaps Partner cross-functionally with PMM, the Labs behavioral insights team, and Product to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data into actionable insights that influence go-to-market strategy and product direction Represent UX Research as the discipline’s voice in executive forums, design reviews, and strategic planning sessions—ensuring research has a seat at the table for critical decisions Build and scale research operations: evaluate and select research tools and vendors, define participant recruitment strategies, establish research repositories, and create self-serve research capabilities for the broader organization Mentor and coach researchers and design partners across the team, raising the bar on research craft and building organizational research fluency Establish governance frameworks and best practices for responsible AI usage in research processes, including AI-augmented analysis, synthesis, and participant experience Product Management, Product Marketing (PMM), Labs (Behavioral Insights), Engineering, Data Science 12+ years of experience in UX research, design research, or a closely related field, with 6+ years operating at a senior or staff level of scope and impact Deep expertise across the full spectrum of research methodologies—qualitative and quantitative, generative and evaluative, behavioral and attitudinal Demonstrated track record of leading research that directly shaped product strategy and business outcomes at an organizational level Experience defining and scaling a research practice, including establishing processes, tooling, governance, and research operations Exceptional ability to synthesize complex data from multiple sources into clear, compelling narratives that drive executive-level decision-making Strong cross-functional partnership skills, with experience influencing Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Data Science stakeholders Excellent communication and storytelling skills—you make research accessible, memorable, and actionable for any audience AI at Better
• Up Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability.

As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We’re looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology - people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work.

These professionals thoughtfully integrate AI into their work to deliver exceptional results while maintaining the human judgment and creativity that drives real innovation.

During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact. As a Principal UX Researcher, you'll: Mobilize and align multiple functions to retire low-value research practices, scale AI-enabled research workflows, and focus teams on the few moves that create outsized impact.

Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on AI strategy for research, modeling resilience, cultivating change confidence, and positioning BetterUp as an industry pace-setter for continuous reinvention through AI.

Shape company-wide AI strategy for research in partnership with executive leadership, ensu