Senior UX Researcher

Company : Discount Tire

Overview:

Here at Discount Tire, we celebrate the spirit of our people with extraordinary pride and enthusiasm. Our business has been growing for more than 60 years and now is the best time in our history to join us. We are opening more locations every year and we are always looking for qualified individuals to join us in our growth. We are a company that promotes from within, both in our retail and corporate operations.   

The Senior UX Researcher is a strategic role responsible for driving research excellence and establishing user-centered practices across the organization. This role leads complex research initiatives that shape product strategy and business decisions for our digital to physical experiences, serving millions of customers nationwide. The Senior UX Researcher mentors junior researchers, partners with executive stakeholders, and champions the voice of the customer throughout the product development lifecycle. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Define and execute comprehensive research strategies that align with business objectives and inform product roadmaps across multiple teams and initiatives  
• Lead end-to-end research for complex, high-impact projects involving e-commerce, mobile applications, in-store digital experiences, and customer service touchpoints  
• Establish research frameworks, methodologies, and best practices that scale across the organization  
• Identify knowledge gaps and proactively initiate strategic research to address critical business questions  
• Build and maintain a research repository that democratizes insights and prevents redundant research efforts 
• Design and conduct sophisticated mixed-methods research studies combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to provide holistic customer understanding  
• Lead generative research to uncover unmet customer needs and identify innovation opportunities in the automotive service and retail space  
• Conduct evaluative research including usability testing, A/B testing analysis, and longitudinal studies to measure experience quality and business impact  
• Synthesize complex data from multiple sources—user research, analytics, customer feedback, market trends—into compelling narratives that drive decision-making  
• Develop measurement frameworks and success metrics that connect UX improvements to business outcomes 
• Present research findings persuasively to executive leadership, translating insights into strategic recommendations and actionable roadmaps  
• Partner with Product, Design, Analytics, Marketing, and Operations leaders to integrate research into planning and decision-making processes  
• Facilitate collaborative workshops and design thinking sessions that align cross-functional teams around customer needs  
• Advocate for the customer in strategic discussions, using data to influence prioritization and resource allocation  
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders to position research as a critical business function 
• Mentor and coach UX Researchers and Designers, providing guidance on research methodology, analysis techniques, and stakeholder management  
• Foster a culture of continuous learning by sharing industry trends, methodologies, and case studies  
• Contribute to onboarding processes for research and design team members  
• Support training initiatives to build research literacy across product teams 
• Stay at the forefront of UX research methodologies, emerging technologies, and automotive retail trends  
• Experiment with innovative research approaches including remote testing tools and AI-assisted analysis 
• Drive adoption of inclusive research practices that ensure diverse customer perspectives inform our products 
• Regularly assess dashboards and communicate findings and assessment to stakeholders and leadership 
• Is informed of UXR and Segment level KPIs and uses data to drive tactical outcomes 

Qualifications:  

• 5+ years of professional UX research experience with demonstrated progression of responsibility  
• Extensive experience leading strategic research initiatives for complex physical and digital products and services  
• Expert-level proficiency across diverse research methodologies including ethnographic studies, in-depth interviews, diary studies, usability testing, card sorting, tree testing, surveys, and advanced analytics interpretation  
• Proven ability to design and execute mixed-methods studies that combine qualitative and quantitative approaches  
• Strong track record of influencing product strategy and business decisions through research insights  
• Exceptional presentation and storytelling skills with experience presenting to C-level executives  
• Experience mentoring researchers or designers and elevating team capabilities  
• Deep understanding of Lean UX, Agile, and Design Thinking methodologies  
• Proficiency with modern research and collaboration tools (UserTesting, Optimal Workshop, Qualtrics, dscout, Figma, Atlassian suite)  
• Experience working across distributed teams and time zones  
• Outstanding organizational and project management skills with ability to balance multiple complex initiatives  
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and ability to connect research to ROI 

Preferred: 

• Experience in automotive, retail, e-commerce, or service-oriented industries 
• Background researching omnichannel experiences that bridge digital and physical touchpoints 
• Experience with accessibility research and inclusive design practices 
• Experience in highly regulated industries (automotive, healthcare, finance) 
• Familiarity with advanced analytics platforms (Adobe Analytics, Quantum Metric) 
• Experience establishing research operations (ResearchOps) practices 
• Track record of driving customer experience transformation initiatives 

Educational Requirements:  

• Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Sociology, or related behavioral science field required  
• Master’s degree in HCI, Human Factors, or related field preferred 
• Equivalent professional experience at senior level will be considered 

Work Days: 

Normal work days are Monday through Friday. Occasional Saturdays and Sundays may be necessary. 

Work Hours: 

Normal work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Additional hours may be necessary. 

Discount Tire provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. 

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