UX Researcher

**Job Description**:
What You'll Do

We are seeking an experienced **User Researcher** to join our team at Avalara. As a User Researcher, you will be responsible for understanding customer needs and pain points, gathering insights through various research methods, and translating those findings into actionable recommendations that drive our product strategy. Your work will influence product design, features, and usability to enhance the overall user experience for our tax compliance solutions.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- Conduct qualitative and quantitative user research, including user interviews, surveys, usability testing, and contextual inquiries.
- Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and engineers to integrate user insights into the product development process.
- Create personas, journey maps, and empathy maps to communicate key user findings.
- Synthesize research findings into clear, actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
- Plan and lead research projects to identify user pain points, needs, and behaviors, with a focus on US and European-based users.
- Continuously track and analyze user behavior to validate design decisions and uncover new opportunities for product improvements.
- Advocate for user-centered design and ensure research findings are leveraged to deliver meaningful user experiences.

**Qualifications**:

- 5+ years of experience in user research, preferably in a B2B SaaS environment.
- Strong understanding of user-centered design methodologies and research practices.
- Experience conducting research for global users, especially in the US and Europe.
- Ability to present research insights to cross-functional teams in a clear and compelling manner.
- Expertise in a range of research techniques, including interviews, surveys, usability testing, and A/B testing.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven mindset.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

**Preferred Qualifications**:

- Familiarity with tax compliance or financial products is a plus.
- Experience working in an Agile product development environment.
- Proficiency in tools like UserTesting, Optimal Workshop, Morae, or other UX research platforms.

What You'll Need to be Successful
- **
Deep User Empathy**: A strong ability to put yourself in the users’ shoes, understanding their challenges and behaviors, especially across different geographies, including US and Europe.
- ** Strong Analytical Mindset**: Experience in analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to generate actionable insights that drive business decisions.
- ** Effective Communication**: Ability to clearly communicate research findings and advocate for user-centric design principles across teams, including non-research stakeholders such as engineers and product managers.
- ** Collaboration Skills**: A track record of working well in cross-functional teams, with the ability to influence decision-making through data-driven insights in fast-paced, Agile environments.
- ** Adaptability**: Comfortable working on multiple projects simultaneously, managing changing priorities, and adapting research methods to the needs of each project.
- ** Experience with Research Tools**: Proficiency with UX research tools and platforms such as UserTesting, Optimal Workshop, or similar tools. Being able to quickly adopt new tools is also key.
- ** Curiosity and Problem-Solving**: You should have a natural curiosity to explore new ideas and solve problems creatively while maintaining a deep focus on business and user needs.
- ** Cultural Awareness**: Sensitivity to cultural differences, especially when working with international stakeholders and users, ensuring research methods and communication are appropriate for different regions.
- ** Results-Driven**: A proven ability to turn research findings into impactful product improvements that enhance the user experience and contribute to business success.

About the Team

The User Experience (UX) team at Avalara is at the heart of creating seamless, intuitive, and impactful experiences for our customers worldwide. We are a diverse and talented group of designers, researchers, and information architects working collaboratively to build products that simplify complex tax processes. Our team thrives on solving real-world challenges with innovative design solutions, ensuring that our products are not only functional but also user-friendly.

We partner closely with product management, engineering, and other cross-functional teams to ensure that user insights drive every stage of the product development process. Our approach is grounded in user-centered design, blending research-driven insights with cutting-edge design thinking. Whether it’s simplifying the user interface for our SaaS tax automation platform or enhancing the overall customer journey, the UX team is committed to delivering value through thoughtful, data-driven design.

At Avalara, we believe that great user