Principal UX Researcher

About the role

Microsoft AI Monetization is a customer-first organization dedicated to building the next generation of AI-powered products that serve our customers' business goals. Our Design, Research & Content team is a creative community on a mission to create and deliver holistic experiences for Advertisers, Content Creators, Sellers and Consumers.

We are seeking a Principal UX Researcher to help us set the path for our next generation of AI-powered experiences focused on monetization. For this role we’re looking for someone who can move between exploratory, generative research to rapid evaluations of prototyped ideas.

Responsibilities

• Understand the behaviors, motivations, needs, and aspirations of our customers to create a differentiated advantage in our ability to build relevant and impactful experiences for people across the world.
• Drive product strategy through rigorous programs of multi-stage research executed to the highest standards.
• Balance rigor with scrappiness and the ability to push with a fast-moving team.
• Drive cross-team collaborations among all disciplines from early product stages to final implementations.
• Guide teams in creative new directions and help set ambitious goals that stand out from the crowd.
• Identify new opportunities and generate innovative ideas to improve our processes, culture, and influence our approach to research.
• Lead research on highly visible products or set of business initiatives with notable risk and complexity.
• Regularly influence at the highest levels of organizations.
• Elevate the research craft of the team.
• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years User Experience Research experience, OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications: Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years user experience research experience, OR equivalent experience.

• 8+ years experience working in UX research or a related field.
• High level research skills across methods, qualitative and quantitative (i.e. a Mixed Methods researcher).
• Excellent communication and presentation / storytelling skills, with the ability to energize and activate teams.
• Experience working in B2B and B2C product spaces.
• Experience working on AI products.
• Demonstrated championing of fundamentals of user experience, including accessibility and inclusive design.
• Experience with commonly used research tools.

Pay

The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Schedule

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week.