Senior User Experience Researcher

Company: M&T Bank
Location: Buffalo
Posted on: January 11, 2021

Job Description:

Location: Buffalo, NY or Fully RemoteOverview: Creates understanding and empathy around user needs, stated and unstated, for the product team including designers, product managers and engineers. Develops and conducts primary research studies and explores behaviors and motivations of users through field visits, ethnography, surveys, usability testing and logs analysis. Based on research findings, assists with creation of new products and features, as well as continually innovates existing products. Delivers written, in-person, and visual presentations on research findings to support all stages of product development.Primary Responsibilities:* Strategize, implement and maintain a consistent research discipline, discovering how users interact with modern financial products and enabling a deep understanding of the Bank's current and potential customers.* Create and execute brainstorm sessions and research studies with customers, stakeholders and internal users for concept generation, concept validation and usability.* Gain user insight through qualitative in-depth interviews, stakeholder interviews, usability testing, quantitative surveys and contextual inquiries.* Build and maintain a strong partnership with Market Research to leverage existing research, stay aligned across scheduled research efforts and inform the Company's overall understanding of user needs and expectations.* Communicate research results, set baseline requirements for design and implementation and recommend strategic improvements to teams.* Understand and adhere to the Company's risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.* Promote an environment that supports diversity and reflects the M&T Bank brand.* Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.* Complete other related duties as assigned.Scope of Responsibilities:At M&T Bank, user experience (UX) is at the forefront of how we create intuitive, innovative and visually appealing products that people love. The job holder strives to learn and understand our users' needs, behaviors, and emotions to yield insights that inform product strategy and guide design of the experiences created. The position develops relationships and works closely with leaders in Product Management, Software Engineering, Marketing, and Business to solve complex challenges and craft powerful experiences that highlight our products' unique capabilities and personalities.Education and Experience Required:Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 5 years' related experience, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 9 years' higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 5 years' related experienceBackground in the user experience researcher field, designing and conducting user research studies and applying design-thinking methodologiesPrior experience with innovative thinking, the value of research and working with stakeholders to deliver resultsStrong understanding of strengths and shortcomings of different research methods, including when and how to apply them during product development processesExperience dealing with ambiguity and leveraging design research as a means to bring clarity to abstract ideasExperience with accessibility standards, cross-platform issues, mobile user interfaces and systems-thinkingExperience using modern design, prototyping and collaboration toolsExperience interacting with various multi-disciplinary teams of professionalsStrong time management skillsStrong problem-solving skillsStrong critical thinking skillsStrong verbal and written communication skillsStrong collaboration skillsEducation and Experience Preferred:Minimum of a master's degree in a related fieldExperience in survey design, including working knowledge of statistics and experimental designExperience in creating use cases, flow diagrams, prototypes, scenarios and wireframes in the context of user researchProficiency in industry best practices for desktop, mobile and web applicationsExperience working with Product Managers, Product Designers and Product MarketersExperience working in the financial industryLocationBuffalo, New York, United States of America

Keywords: M&T Bank, Buffalo , Senior User Experience Researcher, Other , Buffalo, New York