Senior Product/User Researcher – Contract

Tilt (formerly Empower)

Senior Product/User Researcher at Tilt establishing and leading product research practices in a remote environment. Developing actionable insights for product development based on user research.

Posted 5/13/2026contractRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $75 - $100 per hourWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Research program development
Establish research philosophy, standards, and best practices across the organization
Define frameworks, templates, and governance that improve rigor and mitigate bias in research execution
Educate product, design, and PM teams on research methodology, interpretation, and appropriate application
Build scalable research infrastructure including participant recruitment, insight synthesis, and knowledge management
Continuous rolling research program
Own and operate a continuous rolling research program enabling ongoing user feedback across product development
Partner with teams to intake research needs and translate them into structured, methodologically sound test plans
Recruit and facilitate participant sessions on an ongoing basis, adjusting cadence based on product priorities and research complexity
Synthesize findings into actionable insights that inform product direction and design decisions
Maintain a sustainable research rhythm that balances responsiveness with depth and methodological rigor
Mixed-methods research execution
Determine and apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies across discovery and evaluative research
Conduct interviews, usability testing, concept validation, surveys, diary studies, and experiments
Ensure research rigor, bias mitigation, and methodological clarity across studies
Strategic research initiatives
Define and lead longer-term research programs to deepen understanding of users, behaviors, and mental models
Manage external research agencies for larger scoped studies (1–2 per quarter or half-year) with leadership approval
Drive synthesis across studies to develop durable user insights and profiles that guide product strategy.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Senior-level experience in product/UX research within digital product organizations
Demonstrated ability to establish research practices in environments without mature research infrastructure
Strong mixed-methods expertise with clear judgment on methodology selection
Experience operating continuous or rolling research programs
Deep understanding of research rigor, bias mitigation, and insight synthesis
Ability to elevate organizational research literacy and coach non-researchers on best practices
Strong partnership with design and product leadership
Comfortable operating with high autonomy, ambiguity, and program ownership.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Virtual-first teamwork: The Tilt team is collaborating across 14 countries, 12 time zones, and counting. You’ll get started with a WFH office reimbursement.
Competitive pay: We're big on potential, and it's reflected in our competitive compensation packages and generous equity.
Complete support: Find flexible health plans at every premium level, and substantial subsidies that stand up to global standards.
Visibility is yours: You can count on direct exposure to our leadership team — we’re a team where good ideas travel quickly.
Paid global onsites: Magic happens IRL: we gather twice yearly to reconnect over shared meals or kayaking adventures. (We’ve visited Vail, San Diego, and Mexico City, to name a few.)
Impact is recognized: Growth opportunities follow your contributions, not rigid promotion timelines.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

mixed-methods researchqualitative methodologiesquantitative methodologiesusability testingconcept validationsurveysdiary studiesexperimentsinsight synthesisresearch execution

Soft Skills

research literacycoachingpartnershipautonomyambiguity managementprogram ownershipjudgmentcommunicationleadershipcollaboration