Senior Design Researcher
Job description
At Hudl, we build great teams. We hire the best of the best to ensure you’re working with people you can constantly learn from. You’re trusted to get your work done your way while testing the limits of what’s possible and what’s next. We work hard to provide a culture where everyone feels supported, and our employees feel it—their votes helped us become one of Newsweek's Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces.
We think of ourselves as the team behind the team, supporting the lifelong impact sports can have: the lessons in teamwork and dedication; the influence of inspiring coaches; and the opportunities to reach new heights. That’s why we help teams from all over the world see their game differently. Our products make it easier for coaches and athletes at any level to capture video, analyze data, share highlights and more.
Ready to join us?
Your Role
We're hiring a Senior Design Researcher to serve as the research expert for our Hardware business unit, which focuses on defining the future of automated capture and wearable technology. You'll combine deep methodological expertise across hardware and software with strong leadership skills to elevate research practices and connect insights directly to product outcomes.
As a Senior Design Researcher, you’ll:
- Lead research for hardware. You’ll be embedded within product teams, maintaining a direct connection to customers through interviews, usability studies and field research to ensure we’re building the right things.
- Master your craft. You’ll use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies across hardware and software contexts, holding a high bar for quality while uncovering deep user needs that go beyond the obvious.
- Empower the team. You’ll guide cross-functional teams in creating research plans, mentoring other designers and sharing best practices to raise our collective capability.
- Leverage modern tools. You’ll use AI fluently to speed up synthesis and pattern recognition, helping us compress the feedback loop between customer contact and actionable product direction.
- Collaborate and communicate. You’ll work closely with Product Managers and designers to right-size research objectives and present findings through compelling storytelling and clear metrics.
We'd like to hire someone for this role who lives near our offices in Lincoln and Omaha, but we're also open to remote candidates in Kansas City, Chicago, Austin, or Dallas.
Must-Haves
- Experienced. You have five or more years of experience as a design researcher in tech environments and a proven track record of connecting insights to design outcomes.
- Insight-drive direction. You excel at extracting critical contextual information about users, environments and tasks — and you're accountable for how effectively your insights address product obstacles and inform design decisions.
- AI-fluent. You have a practiced point of view on how to use AI-assisted research tools to accelerate delivery without sacrificing rigor and quality.
- A strong communicator. You’re excellent at visualization and storytelling, making complex data approachable for various audiences.
- Mobile. You’re willing to travel up to 20% of the time, both domestically and internationally, to conduct research and collaborate with your team.
- Hardware background. You’ve mastered research methodologies across hardware, software, consumer electronics and/or hard goods. You have strong qualitative and quantitative research skills across various approaches including focus groups, in-depth interviews, usability testing, field studies and prototype evaluations.
Nice-to-Haves
- Educational background. You have an advanced degree in HCI, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology or a related field.
- Software experience. You've worked with software product teams and understand the unique research requirements in digital product development.
Our Role
- Champion work-life harmony. We’ll give you the flexibility you need in your work life (e.g., flexible vacation time, company-wide holidays and timeout (meeting-free) days, remote work options and more) so you can enjoy your personal life too.
- Guarantee autonomy. We have an open, honest culture and we trust our people from day one. Your team will support you, but you’ll own your work and have the agency to try new ideas.
- Encourage career growth. We’re lifelong learners who encourage professional development. We’ll give you tons of resources and opportunities to keep growing.
- Provide an environment to help you succeed. We've invested in our offices, designing incredible spaces with our employees in mind. But whether you’re at the office or working remotely, we’ll provide you the tech stack and hardware to do your best work.
- Support your mental and physical health. We care about our employees’ wellbeing. Our Employee Assistance Program, employee resource groups and fitness partner Peerfit have you covered.
- Cover your medical insurance. We have multiple plans to pick from to ensure you’ll have the coverage you (and your dependents) want, including vision, dental, fertility healthcare and family forming benefits.
- Contribute to your 401(K). Yep, that’s free money. We’ll match up to 4% of your own contribution.
Compensation
The base salary range for this role is displayed below—starting salaries will typically fall near the middle of this range.
We make compensation decisions based on an individual's experience, skills and education in line with our internal pay equity practices.
This role will also be eligible for a long-term incentive (LTI) award. Any bonuses awarded are based on individual and company performance paid at Hudl's discretion.
Base Salary Range$112,000—$187,000 USD
Inclusion at Hudl
Hudl is an equal opportunity employer. Through our actions, behaviors and attitude, we’ll create an environment where everyone, no matter their differences, feels like they belong.
We offer resources to ensure our employees feel safe bringing their authentic selves to work, including employee resource groups and communities. But we recognize there’s ongoing work to be done, which is why we track our efforts and commitments in annual inclusion reports.
We also know imposter syndrome is real and the confidence gap can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply—we’d love to hear from you.