Principal Research Operations Manager

The Walt Disney Company

Principal Research Operations Manager scaling UX research infrastructure for Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology. Designing governance, tooling, budgets, and workflows to accelerate research.

Posted 8/17/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $171,600 - $252,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in designing and evolving ResearchOps infrastructure, including governance frameworks, budgeting, and knowledge management. Proven ability to build scalable systems and mentor junior team members while managing cross-functional partnerships and vendor relationships.

Highest-signal resume keywords

ResearchOps ManagementVendor Contract ManagementBudget ForecastingGovernance Framework DesignCross-Functional Collaboration

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Research OperationsProcess DesignParticipant RecruitmentOperational OKRs TrackingFinancial Modeling

Soft Skills

MentoringInfluencingProblem Solving

Tools & Technologies

Research ToolsGovernance Tools

Industry Keywords

UX ResearchProgram ManagementOperational StrategyComplianceKnowledge Management

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design and evolve ResearchOps infrastructure, including tools, vendors, governance, budgeting, and knowledge management
Assess organizational challenges and connect fragmented workflows into cohesive, scalable systems
Design processes for participant recruitment and conduct participant recruitment
Consolidate and rationalize research tools and vendors
Establish standardized workflows, governance frameworks, best practices, and documentation standards
Develop and mentor junior ResearchOps team members, if applicable
Support responsible distribution of research across the organization
Own annual operational roadmaps aligned to research and product strategy
Forecast research operations capacity and budget needs
Define and track operational OKRs, including study throughput, cost per study, vendor performance, and time saved
Partner with Legal, Finance, Procurement, IT, and Security to streamline research approvals and compliance
Influence investment decisions related to tools, panels, and vendors
Translate operational constraints into executive-ready insights
Build research systems that connect UX research, experience design, product, legal, finance, procurement, and security
Drive research velocity and efficacy through scalable operational systems

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years in ResearchOps, UX Research, Program Management, or a similar operational role
Demonstrated experience doing day-to-day research operations while designing scalable systems
Experience managing vendor contracts and research tooling ecosystems
Experience working cross-functionally with Legal, Procurement, Finance, or Security
Bachelor’s degree required
Experience building and scaling a ResearchOps function and team preferred
Budget forecasting and financial modeling preferred
Governance and compliance framework design preferred
Building operational strategy aligned to product or research roadmaps preferred
Experience managing or mentoring others preferred

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical benefits
Financial benefits
Other benefits
Bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided
Research tools, panels, and vendors investment opportunities
Professional development through developing and mentoring junior ResearchOps team members