Lead UX Researcher

About this task

Role Summary: About the UX Team

Join the Tax UX Research Team at Thomson Reuters as we transform into a truly digital company—reimagining our business around individual users. We're looking for curious, self-driven UX professionals who turn complex problems into elegant solutions. Our team promotes agile, collaborative, supportive environment where diverse thinking and experimentation are welcomed.

About The Role

This Lead position (individual contributor, no people management) drives end-to-end UX research for a high-impact product portfolio, including agentic-focused CoCounsel migration, Guided Assurance redesign, Confirmation NextGen, and GoFileRoom modernization. You'll lead both strategic generative research and evaluative studies, shaping how the team uncovers deep user insights.

Beyond execution, you'll partner with product, engineering, and design to identify high-impact research opportunities, advocate for user-centered decisions in roadmaps, and provide thought leadership on UX research methods. You'll also coach less experienced researchers through peer review and quality standards.

About You

End-to-end product development experience with proven ability to demonstrate business impact of UX research

Strong writing skills—clear, compelling, self-contained research findings

Deep expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methods: interviews, group facilitation, contextual inquiry, remote usability testing, persona development, unmoderated tools (e.g., UserZoom), statistical analysis, A/B testing, survey methodology, and other UCD methods

Practical experience with JTBD and CXO frameworks to connect user insights to business and product decisions

8+ years applying research to high-volume interactive B2B/B2C applications, rich web apps, or websites

Bachelor's in Social Sciences or Master's in Social Sciences, Interaction Design, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, or related field

Experience researching regulated/compliance-driven professional users (tax, audit, financial) strongly preferred

Ability to balance agile testing pace with strategic long-term vision; influence product/design decisions and navigate trade-offs effectively

AI & Research Acceleration (Priority for This Role)

Experience evaluating AI-powered or agentic product experiences with real users and production data—assessing trust, transparency, error recovery, and non-deterministic output quality (distinct from using AI to speed up your own workflow)

Experience building, using, or experimenting with AI tools (e.g., Claude and other platforms)

Practical experience applying AI to accelerate research workflows, synthesis, and insight generation

Experience building AI prototypes that draw directly from insight repositories to illustrate recommendations

Mindset focused on responsible, thoughtful AI adoption to raise UX research efficiency and impact

Lead Expectations in an Embedded Model

Proactive and self-directed—identifies opportunities and acts without waiting for direction

Provides strategic leadership on research practices, methods, and team approach

Partners with Product Marketing and Customer Experience teams for holistic research roadmap and data triangulation

Shapes research strategy, not just executes studies

Forms key partnerships with product, engineering, and design to uncover high-impact opportunities

Advocates for user-centered decisions and influences next steps with partners

Navigates trade-offs thoughtfully; helps teams make informed, user-grounded decisions under constraints

Coaches and mentors less experienced researchers (no formal people management)

Continuously raises the bar for "Lead-level" research quality, influence, and outcomes

Strong team player who collaborates naturally while owning end-to-end results autonomously

Responsibilities

Own the full research lifecycle—from intake and scoping to execution and measurable business impact:

Synthesize business objectives and customer needs to define research scope

Develop UX research approach, schedule, and test plan; partner with Research Ops on recruiting and facilitation

Lead strategic generative research to identify unmet needs and long-horizon opportunities

Identify user needs first, then usability issues—both verbally and in documentation

Transform data into prioritized, actionable recommendations within short turnaround

Influence product/design decisions—not just report findings, but drive next steps

Communicate qualitative analysis, recommendations, and design solutions clearly

Create persuasive presentations for product owners, developers, designers, and C-level executives

Facilitate internal meetings to triage and manage research findings

Demonstrate business impact through before/after framing, behavioral outcomes, or measurable product changes

Experience with complex workflows, large dataset visualization, OS-level tools, web/software environments is a plus

Preferred Qualifications (Hard Requirements)

Bachelor's or Master's degree as specified above

8+ years of relevant experience

Quantitative research expertise (statistical analysis, experimental design, survey methodology) in addition to qualitative

Strong analytical problem-solving, decision-making, and leadership skills

Deep understanding of UCD principles and tools

Familiarity with SharePoint, ADO, Linear, virtual lab environments, and data-logging tools (Tableau, Qualtrics, Pendo, V0, or similar BI tools)

Located within commuting distance of office or willing to relocate at own expense for hybrid schedule (2–3 days/week onsite)

Compensation (US & Canada)

US base range: $127,400 – $236,600 USD

Ontario, Canada base range: $132,800 – $182,800 CAD

Positioned within range based on knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity; may also be eligible for annual bonus based on enterprise and individual performance.

About Us (One Sentence)

Thomson Reuters serves professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media—combining specialized software and insights to empower informed decisions and uphold justice, truth, and transparency.