User Researcher

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world's work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large, Fortune 100 enterprises with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.

Last year, more than $3.8 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals, who gained more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers. In the past few years, we have seen tremendous change in the ways we work and an unprecedented acceleration in the adoption of AI. This role is an opportunity to work at the forefront and intersection of the future of work.

We’re seeking a qualitative UX Researcher to become an integral part of an accomplished team. In this role, you'll lead research, collaborating with cross-functional teams of design, content, product, engineering, marketing, and analytics partners to bring the power of insights to Upwork’s design and business decisions. Empowered by a robust design and research culture, you will continuously build a strong understanding of the value our products must deliver to our users and develop insights that bridge the gap between attitudinal and behavioral data. Your work will inform several initiatives, from funnel optimization to creating something from the ground up, helping to shape high-quality experiences for the millions of clients and talent who use our platform daily.

• Be a core User Experience (UX) team member, ensuring User Research helps us develop a deep understanding of Upwork’s customers, products, business, and competitive landscape to identify new areas for exploration.
• Contribute to our learning objectives and prioritize opportunities in partnership with Design, Product, Analytics, Marketing, and Engineering teams.
• Proactively seek guidance to manage competing priorities and help your team focus on the most critical learning opportunities.
• Communicate context and project goals as part of the process of sharing your work.
• Actively learn to create a culture of great working relationships with cross-functional partners on your team by implementing valued research rituals that bring everyone closer to people's needs.
• Build a research method toolkit that includes secondary, primary, generative, and evaluative methods while gaining foundational know-how in working with mixed-method approaches.
• Learn how to experiment with and de-risk new methods that bring a more strategic point of view to the work at hand.
• Contribute to and execute research plans from recruitment through synthesis and analysis and insight-sharing.
• Study our diverse global user base, crafting studies to test designs remotely and in different cultural contexts.
• Participate in Design Thinking workshops, ensuring teams ideate with user empathy in always in mind..
• Translate customer insights into actionable recommendations. Communicate insights within the product and engineering teams in a format that inspires action.
• Advocate research findings to diverse audiences through written reports, in-person presentations, or facilitation of co-synthesis and workshops.

• Proven industry experience as a UX Researcher in fast-paced, data-driven companies 
• Experience with qualitative research and/or product user experience (UX) research, in addition to some mixed-method approaches, including data analysis and survey design
• Experience conducting research in marketplaces and understanding marketplace dynamics 
• Strong ability to learn best practices for quickly immersing yourself in a problem space and knowing where and when to bring perspectives on consumer, tech, industry, societal, and cultural trends into the work to create impact
• Experience regularly sharing research work to encourage a continuous learning culture within your teams
• Showcase how you’ve  led by example and inspired others through your consistent focus, delivery, and impact
• Demonstrable experience raising awareness of inclusion and representation in your and your team's approach to research
• Demonstrable experience creating actionable, research-backed UXR deliverables
• Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering seamlessly with cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience telling stories that resonate, using words, visuals, and data as needed
• A strong motivation for learning and self-growth within the UXR practice
• Proven high bar for quality and attention to detail
• ***Portfolio is required***

• Comfortable immersing yourself in business-critical initiatives and partnering with XFN teams and other researchers to support our business strategy
• Support multiple work streams and initiatives concurrently while connecting dots across your team’s work
• Case studies that demonstrate your research skills with experiences that are core to business success
• Strong work ethic with the drive and willingness to focus and commit
• A passionate advocate for creating high-quality designs that deliver memorable experiences that users will love

The annual base salary for this position in California and Washington ranges from $116,750 - $137,250. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position in California and Washington, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long term equity incentive program.

At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals.  While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 19 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees. 

Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. Oh yeah, we’ve also got amazing benefits.

Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.   

Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.