Senior UX Researcher & Strategist

Hi, We're THRIVE! We are a people-centered design and innovation firm partnering with ambitious brands to create meaningful experiences that win hearts and shape the future. Our work gives leaders, teams, and organizations 
the clarity, courage, and conviction to move confidently forward and design what’s next. Why should you work with us? You will lead client partners to achieve their business objectives by defining compelling human insights, actionable business opportunities, and user experiences that create new value, strengthen brands, and improve market share. (1) You'll Be Challenged. Every organization talks about development and evolving your career, but here, it’s part of the job description. You’re going to show us what you’re great at, and we’re going to help you break into all the other things you’ve always wanted to do, from Design to Strategy to Branding and on and on. If you’re insatiably curious and ready to give your career all you’ve got by stepping beyond the title on your business card, we’d love to chat. (2) You'll Help Solve the Right Problems. Our clients come to us because they have a problem. And boy, do we love a challenge, so we attack each and every one with incredible rigor, discipline, and a quality-or-die attitude. Work with THRIVE, and you’ll get a chance to make a real difference for businesses and people through the products and services they interact with every day. (3) You'll Work With People As Passionate (I.E. Crazy Dedicated) As You Are. There’s no shame in being mega-enthusiastic about what you do, especially if that’s code for entrepreneurial. If this sounds like you, you’re going to fit in just fine around here. Here’s the thing: We’re growing. And if your idea of a good time is being a part of something big, then this is the place—and the team—for you. RESPONSIBILITIES • Plan, lead, and manage end-to-end UX research programs—from defining research questions and selecting methods to executing fieldwork, synthesizing findings, and delivering strategic recommendations. • Design and conduct qualitative research, including user interviews, contextual inquiry, ethnographic observation, diary studies, think-aloud usability sessions, and participatory co-design workshops—matching method to question with precision. • Develop and execute usability evaluation plans, including formative and summative testing, heuristic analysis, cognitive walkthroughs, and task analysis to assess and improve product experiences across complex workflows. • Translate raw behavioral data and user insight into UX strategy artifacts: experience principles, design criteria, UX frameworks, mental model diagrams, journey maps, and service blueprints that directly inform design direction. • Lead the development of comprehensive UX strategy documents that define the user experience vision, interaction philosophy, and design priorities for a product or platform—connecting human needs to measurable business outcomes. • Architect and map end-to-end user journeys, ecosystem maps, and touchpoint analyses that expose pain points, unmet needs, and experience gaps across complex multi-stakeholder environments. • Define information architecture, navigation systems, and user flow logic in collaboration with interaction designers and product teams—grounding structural decisions in research evidence. • Lead UX research for regulated product development environments, including human factors engineering studies aligned with FDA guidance (IEC 62366, HE75) for medical device and healthcare technology clients. • Conduct competitive UX analyses and benchmark studies that evaluate the interaction patterns, design conventions, and experience standards shaping a client’s category. • Facilitate structured co-design and ideation workshops with client teams, end users, and cross-functional stakeholders to generate, pressure-test, and refine concepts grounded in user insight. • Deliver polished research reports, strategy briefs, and executive-level presentations that communicate complex insights with clarity, confidence, and visual impact. • Serve as the UX research and strategy lead on client engagements—managing timelines, client expectations, and deliverables with senior professionalism. • Build and maintain a strong network within the UX research, design, and innovation communities; contribute to THRIVE’s growing body of thought leadership through writing, speaking, and publishing. • Mentor junior researchers and designers in human-centered methods, synthesis techniques, and strategic thinking. • Support business development by contributing UX expertise to proposals, capability presentations, and new client conversations. REQUIREMENTS • Have 8+ years of experience in UX research or experience strategy—with a portfolio that demonstrates the full arc from research insight to strategic design direction. Consulting background strongly preferred. • Hold a degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design Research, Cognitive Psychology, or a closely related field. A graduate degree is a plus. • Demonstrate mastery of qualitative UX research methods—user interviews, contextual inquiry, ethnographic observation, usability testing, diary studies—and a working knowledge of quantitative approaches, including surveys, analytics interpretation, and task performance metrics. • Show a proven ability to develop UX strategies that synthesize research into clear design criteria, experience principles, and interaction frameworks that guide design teams and inform product roadmaps. • Have hands-on experience producing UX strategy deliverables: journey maps, service blueprints, mental model diagrams, design principles, experience frameworks, UX vision documents, and research-to-design briefs. • Possess a strong understanding of interaction design principles, information architecture, and user interface conventions—enough to collaborate fluently with UX and UI designers and to ground strategic recommendations in design reality. • Have experience in healthcare, medical device, or regulated product environments, with familiarity with FDA human factors guidance (IEC 62366 and/or ANSI/AAMI HE75) and the requirements of formative and summative usability studies. Direct experience with FDA submissions is a significant plus. • Be an expert facilitator—comfortable leading co-design sessions, stakeholder alignment workshops, and research debrief sessions with mixed audiences, including clinicians, engineers, executives, • Be fluent in presentation and document design tools, including Figma, Adobe Suite, Keynote, or equivalent, with the ability to produce polished, visually compelling deliverables. • Possess exceptional written communication skills—able to write rigorous research plans, nuanced findings reports, tight strategy briefs, and compelling executive narratives. • Be comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing multiple workstreams, and maintaining research integrity in a fast-paced, deadline-driven project environment. • Possess an innate curiosity for understanding people, systems, and the cultural contexts that shape human behavior. SUBMISSION DETAILS PLEASE NOTE: This position is onsite in Atlanta, GA at THRIVE’s studio. Interested candidates should submit a resume and portfolio samples. Please limit submissions to 10MB. Submissions without a portfolio will not be considered. Portfolio samples must include examples of UX research deliverables, synthesis outputs, UX strategy artifacts (journey maps, experience frameworks, design principles), and evidence of how your research shaped design or product direction. No calls, please. All international candidates must hold a valid US working permit. THRIVE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER At THRIVE, we don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it! We believe difference and inclusion are critical to creating an innovative environment capable of delivering groundbreaking products, services, and experiences. All aspects of employment at THRIVE, including hiring, promoting, and disciplinary issues, are based on competence and the needs of the business. We celebrate diversity and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law.