Sr. UX Researcher

About the role

The Senior Usability Researcher supports KFC US's end-to-end experience transformation by planning and executing user research across guest digital channels (app, web, kiosks, delivery marketplaces) and team-member tools (POS, KDS, restaurant operations platforms).

Responsibilities

• Conducts usability testing, field studies, and foundational research to understand guest and team-member needs.
• Generates insights that directly shape design decisions, product requirements, and operational workflows.
• Partners across UX, Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Restaurant Operations to ensure research findings drive action.
• Helps advance research standards, templates, and processes as part of the growing UX organization.
• Conduct moderated and unmoderated usability tests for app, web, kiosk, and POS/KDS experiences.
• Run field research in restaurants to observe workflows, speed-of-service challenges, and crew pain points.
• Perform heuristic evaluations, concept tests, prototype reviews, and comparative studies.
• Analyze qualitative data and transform it into clear insights, themes, and recommendations.
• Ensure ethical research practices, accurate documentation, and high-quality study outputs.
• Create clear, concise research deliverables including journey insights, opportunity maps, and behavior summaries.
• Communicate findings to cross-functional teams in a way that clarifies tradeoffs, supports prioritization, and informs roadmaps.
• Partner with analysts to triangulate user feedback with product data and business metrics when needed.
• Work directly with Product Owners and Designers to refine research questions and evaluate solutions.
• Collaborate with Engineering to understand constraints and validate feasibility during testing.
• Partner with Restaurant Operations to coordinate in-restaurant sessions and validate operational fit.
• Contribute to usability criteria for the KFC product design system.
• Contribute to participant recruiting, screeners, scripts, templates, and research documentation.
• Maintain the insight repository to improve organizational memory and reduce redundant research.
• Support the Senior Researcher and Director of UX in maturing research practices and rituals.

Requirements

• 4-6+ years of experience in UX research, human factors, or related applied research roles.
• Strong understanding of qualitative methods including usability testing, interviews, ethnography, and task analysis.
• Experience with digital product research (mobile apps, responsive web, kiosks) and interest in operational tools (POS/KDS).
• Ability to synthesize qualitative data into clear, actionable insights for cross-functional partners.
• Familiarity with accessibility evaluation and inclusive-research practices.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present findings to mixed audiences.
• Comfort working in fast-paced, cross-functional environments with shifting priorities.
• Experience with research tools (e.g., UserTesting, UserZoom, Figma for prototypes) is a plus.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Human Factors, Psychology, Interaction Design, or a related field.
• Proven track record of delivering impactful research outcomes.
• Experience with quantitative research methods and statistical analysis.
• Knowledge of usability frameworks and methodologies.
• Experience with user-centered design processes.

Skills

• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong project management and time management skills.
• Effective collaboration and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Benefits

Salary Range: $121,600 - $142,900 + eligible bonus + comprehensive benefits.