Senior User Researcher

About the role

The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) leverages technology to drive opportunity, improve public safety, and help government run better across New York City. The Product Development team is seeking a Senior User Researcher to lead end‑to‑end research (generative, evaluative, mixed methods, desk research, and analytics) on the cross‑functional SPEED team. The role will provide clear, actionable recommendations for the product team to deliver systems that shorten new construction permitting. This position is located in Brooklyn, NY.

Responsibilities

• Lead end‑to‑end research (generative, evaluative, and mixed methods synthesized with desk research and analytics).
• Translate qualitative and quantitative research into clear and actionable recommendations for the product development team and project stakeholders.
• Represent user research to leadership, external stakeholders, and technical teammates in plain language.
• Recruit and conduct research directly with New Yorkers who use government services, addressing language, disability, or digital‑access barriers through thoughtful, accessible research design.
• Establish and maintain research operations, including a participant recruitment pipeline appropriate for a government context and reusable methods/templates for the wider design team.
• Serve as the team’s methodological quality bar: review other researchers’ and designers’ study designs and conclusions, catch failure modes before they reach decision‑makers, and codify guardrails into shared standards.
• Define methodological standards to ensure mixed‑methods approaches are rigorous enough to inform decisions.
• Handle special projects and initiatives as assigned.

Qualifications

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human‑computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication, or a related field, plus four years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology, and/or domain.
• An associate degree from an accredited college in the fields listed above, plus six years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology, and/or domain.
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, plus eight years of satisfactory full‑time experience related to the position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology, and/or domain.
• Education and/or experience equivalent to any of the three options above.

Schedule

Day shift; due to the 24/7 nature of the operation, the candidate may be required to work various shifts such as weekends and/or nights/evenings.