Sr. UX Researcher

About the role

The Charles Schwab Digital Retail organization is a multi-disciplinary group that includes user experience designers, visual designers, researchers, and content strategists. We work with strategic business and technology partners across the enterprise to build best-in-class digital experiences for our users. Our business is driven by our company strategy: “Through our clients’ eyes,” making it a dream place to work as a user experience researcher. Our company motto supports user advocacy, and our purpose is to design tools and experiences that enable users to achieve their financial goals.

In this individual contributor role, you will be an expert in user experience research. You’ll operate with independent judgment, lead by example, and demonstrate passion, positivity, and keen problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Set expectations with project teams and align stakeholders on research goals, scope, timelines, and success criteria.
• Create and maintain research schedules, recruiting plans, and study logistics to ensure smooth operational execution.
• Communicate status, decisions, tradeoffs, and next steps clearly with project teams and stakeholders.
• Review work with UX managers, keep them updated on project status, and escalate items appropriately.
• Work well with partners to deliver research and facilitate workshops or planning sessions that build alignment and shape direction.
• Thoughtfully listen to stakeholder needs and incorporate feedback to guide delivery strategically.
• Collaborate and cooperate, adept at shifting work to match changes in priority.
• Adapt research methods and recommendations to business constraints while preserving rigor and insight quality.
• Advocate for user needs, walking in their shoes when possible.
• Focus on innovation, improvement, and learning more about design theory, practice, and tools.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to embed generative and evaluative research into product development.
• Elevate research quality—define best practices, ensure methodological rigor, and support others in developing UX research knowledge and skills.
• Advocate for research in cross-functional forums and connect insights to measurable business value and ROI.
• Translate insights into compelling narratives and actionable recommendations.

Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in user experience research.
• Proficiency and comfort running qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys, click tests, navigation, etc.) research studies, with the ability to provide rationale for tradeoffs.
• Effective relationship builder with the ability to partner cross-functionally and cross-enterprise.
• Ability to simultaneously run research for multiple product teams, managing shifting priorities with autonomy and initiative.
• Experimental and innovative mindset.
• Ability to communicate complex messages, trade-offs, and tell a compelling story.
• Strong self-management skills, comfortable with substantial responsibility and aligning stakeholders on goals, scope, timelines, and project schedules.
• Proficient in research tools such as UserZoom and UserTesting, including sessions with clients, advisors, and internal stakeholders.
• Comfort in a project-oriented work environment, with a positive attitude and solid work ethic.
• Experience with AI-enabled solutions to streamline operational tasks and scale analysis.

Qualifications

Bonus: Experience applying the right statistics to analyze user data.

Bonus: Advanced degree in applied psychology, experimental psychology, human factors psychology or engineering, human-computer interaction, anthropology, sociology, or similar people-science-related discipline.

Benefits

• Wellness: Medical, dental, vision, mental health, and other wellness programs.
• Work/Life Balance: Sabbatical, new mothers returning to work program, tuition reimbursement programs, time off to volunteer.
• Inclusion: Employee resource groups, commitment to diversity, strategic partnerships.
• Retirement & Financial: 401(k) with company match and Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Paid Time Off: Vacation, volunteering, and a 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years for eligible positions.
• Family Support: Paid parental leave and family-building benefits.
• Education: Tuition reimbursement.