POSITION SUMMARY: The Design Researcher will design studies, recruit participants, moderate, analyze, identify key insights, and develop recommendations that improve our customer experience. This role will define, plan, and execute a wide range of human-centered discovery and validation activities, including both generative and evaluative research with current and potential customers. Having a broad toolkit of research techniques to draw from, and can recommend the right research methodology for any scenario. You have experience researching across digital e-commerce mobile and desktop platforms, as well as in physical retail stores. Drawing on experience to build relationships with product, business, and technology stakeholders; collaborate and influence in a cross-functional context; and help teams leverage research and data to inform the design of the experience.
GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
(This is a representative list of the general duties the position may be asked to perform, and is not intended to be all-inclusive)
- Develop a comprehensive research strategy to drive qualitative insights and quantitative data into decisions across the product and experience lifecycle
- Lead, plan, recruit, and execute a range of formative and iterative research studies, including empathy interviews, ethnographic/field research, diary studies, heuristic evaluations, rapid and iterative usability and concept testing, surveys, etc
- Conduct research for both digital (web/mobile) and retail (in-store) experiences, across all development stages from conception to design to release
- Translate research findings from multiple data sources into actionable recommendations. Communicate and evangelize research results in compelling ways to cross-functional teams and leadership
- Assist in influencing leadership with a persuasive insight-driven stance on difficult customer experience and business issues
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including CX, design, product, business, IT, and marketing, to define and prioritize research needs across a breadth of experiences and platforms
- Provide recommendations for appropriate research to inform customer strategy, vision, roadmaps, and initiatives. Practice and help evolve the team's research techniques and toolset to work effectively within a rapid product and experience development cadence
- Partner with business and product teams to leverage quantitative research into insights. Leverage analytics tools and quantitative techniques to measure success, present opportunities, and support decision-making and prioritization
- Leverage deep human-factors expertise to guide design teams in the development of highly intuitive user interactions and interfaces across a variety of experiences, including online and in-store.
- Identify and champion opportunities for infusing a learning mindset throughout the organization and promoting transparency and accessibility to collective insights across teams and departments
- Build and maintain reusable knowledge base of customer/experience research. Assist team members with leveraging previous research studies and insights to drive strategy and decisions for current initiatives
- Provide coaching to team members who are developing and conducting user research activities. When needed, oversee the research relationship with vendors and contractors
- All other duties as needed or required
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree, preferably in behavioral science, HCI, human factors, user-centered design, psychology, anthropology, or sociology or equivalent experience
- Masters degree a plus
- 7+ years professional experience in full-cycle design research methods which range from ethnography to statistically-based user testing
- 3+ years of experience researching for retail omni-channel services, including digital e-commerce and physical retail store interactions
- Portfolio of work samples demonstrating experience influencing customer experience and strategy through research planning, execution, data, and insights
- Hands-on experience with lab-based user testing, remote testing, paper prototype testing, iterative prototype testing, concept testing, field research, and survey design
- Strong understanding of strengths and shortcomings of different research methods, including when and how to apply them
- Exceptional behavioral data-collection and analysis skills (e.g., designing, conducting, and analyzing all kinds of user data)
- Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze situations, identify existing or potential opportunities, and recommend solutions
- Experience working on cross-functional teams and synthesizing feedback and input from CX, product, business, IT, marketing
- Experience presenting to and advising senior management; able to comfortably and confidently present to all levels within the organization in both written and verbal communication
- For new hires, must meet all FedEx Office employment qualifications in force at time of hiring
- For current FedEx Office team members, must meet hiring criteria for the position and transfer requirements as outlined in the Team Member Handbook
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Ability to travel as required in order to meet with customers, vendors, other team members, and/or other business necessities
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to maintain attention and concentration for extended periods of time
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to read and interpret documents and instructions from customers, vendors, and other team members
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to communicate effectively with customers, vendors, and other team members
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to perform work activities requiring cooperation and instruction
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to function in a fast-paced environment, under substantial pressure
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to work within the appropriate level of independence
- Ability, on a consistent basis, to report regularly to work and maintain established business hours in order to support the FedEx Office business; regular attendance and/or reporting could include regular attendance at a physical location and/or maintaining established business hours depending on the scope and nature of the position
Additional InformationYour research will directly shape experiences used across our national retail network, spanning our in-store employee application (which powers retail services and point of sale across multiple location types), partner retail experiences, online content pages, online customer ordering experiences, and creative tools integrated into the retail experience. This role owns a comprehensive research strategy and has the autonomy to recommend the right methodology for any scenario, drawing on a full toolkit from generative through evaluative research, across both digital and physical touchpoints. You'll also help coach and grow research practice across the team, not just execute studies. The team blends design and research: design builds the visual workflows used across these platforms, working closely with business and technology partners through iterative requirement cycles. Research is primarily evaluative, testing whether those designs actually solve the problem through interviews, observation, and surveys, both in-store and via remote testing platforms.
Preferred Qualifications:- Experience conducting research across both digital interfaces (.com, mobile) and physical retail/operational environments
- Proficiency with UX research and testing tools (UserTesting, Figma)
- Strong mixed-methods background: contextual inquiry, usability testing, heuristic evaluation
- Ability to translate research findings quickly into visual artifacts and actionable recommendations for UX/Product partners
- Comfort conducting in-person interviews and store visits (this role requires talking directly with customers in-store, not just remote/digital research)
- Experience using AI tools to support research workflows (synthesis, analysis, rapid prototyping); our team is early in AI adoption and would value someone who can help grow this practice
Location Details: This is a hybrid position located in Memphis, TN, Pittsburgh, PA or Plano, TX. Candidates must live within 50 miles of the campus location. Employees will be required to work at the FedEx campus location several times per week.
Preferred Qualifications: Pay Transparency: Dallas, TX & Pittsburgh $5,960.29/mo - $9,834.48/mo; Memphis $5,662.27/mo - $9,342.75/mo
Pay: Additional Details: For details on our comprehensive benefits, click here. 
