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, operating with independent judgment, leading by example, and demonstrating 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.
• Maintain a research point of view but adapt methods and recommendations to business constraints while preserving rigor and insight quality.
• 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, working effectively with various levels of the organization and personality types.
• 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 and trade-offs and tell a compelling story.
• Strong self-management skills, comfortable with substantial responsibility, working directly with client partners, and capable of 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.

Why your work matters

• You will support an engaged set of users who rely on our products to manage their financial lives.
• By researching and understanding user needs, you will impact how our users do business with Schwab.
• You will work with an engaged research team that fosters a learning, collaborative environment where team members support each other.

Benefits

• Wellness: Medical, dental, vision, mental health, and other wellness programs are available.
• 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.

About the company

The Charles Schwab Corporation is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management, and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Named "Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Self-Directed Services" by J.D. Power and Associates in 2009, its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC), offers a complete range of investment services and products, including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational, and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. The Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products.

To meet the needs of our clients, we are actively recruiting people with the desire, drive, and creativity to find solutions that help meet our clients' needs; who want the chance to learn, grow with the company, and explore their career opportunities; who will strive for excellence in achieving our clients' and our company's goals; who have the highest ethical standards—individuals who take pride in making a difference in people's lives.

Company size: 1,000 to 1,499 employees. Founded in 1971.