UX Researcher, Director

UX Researcher

Location
Toronto, Canada

About Us

Join our innovative team at Fitch Ratings, where we strive to create exceptional user experiences that drive our business forward. We are looking for a passionate UX Researcher to help us understand our users' needs and behaviors, ensuring our products are intuitive, engaging, and impactful. The prospective candidate will join our Ratings Workflow Solutions team, dedicated to enhancing user experiences across our suite of applications.

Position Overview

The UX Researcher will play a pivotal role in shaping the user experience strategy for our products. You will lead and conduct research studies, collaborate closely with the Director of UX Research, members of the UX team, product owners, and stakeholders, and advocate for the user at every stage of the development process. Your insights will directly influence product design and business decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborative Research Leadership: Work closely with the Director of UX Research, product owners, and stakeholders to plan, run, and analyze user research. This includes interviews, surveys, personas, journey maps, information architecture and sitemaps, usability tests, and design thinking workshops. Use Figma Make for prototyping and documentation, and apply generative AI to synthesize findings, analyze patterns, and accelerate insight generation.
• Insight Analysis and Solution Development: Thoroughly analyze and synthesize research findings to develop actionable solutions and recommendations that enhance user experiences with wireframes and prototypes.
• Effective Communication of Insights: Develop and maintain user personas, journey maps, and other research artifacts to effectively communicate insights. Present research findings and recommendations clearly to stakeholders at all levels, ensuring they are informed and aligned with user needs.
• Foster teamwork and ensure seamless project transitions: Partner with Product Designers and Software Engineers to ensure accurate implementation of designs by providing Redline Documents, Spec Sheets, and/or Annotations in Figma DevMode during the Development phase.
• Team Mentorship and Development: Mentor and guide junior UX researchers while collaborating with fellow designers to streamline and improve our research and design processes. Foster a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and skill development to elevate the team's capabilities.
• Continuous Improvement and Industry Awareness: Stay informed on industry trends and best practices in UX research. Continuously refine and improve research methodologies to ensure our approaches remain innovative and effective.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in UX research and/or product design, degree or background in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Computer Science, or related field.
• Strong portfolio showcasing your ability to translate research into actionable insights.
• Expertise in a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to synthesize complex data into clear and concise insights.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team.

How You'll Make an Impact

• Conduct in-depth research to gather insights about our users' needs, wants, behaviors, and pain points, directly influencing the design and development of user-centered solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that our products align with user expectations and business goals, contributing to higher user satisfaction and engagement.
• Apply your research findings to design intuitive and efficient user flows and interfaces, streamlining workflows and enhancing the overall user experience.
• Bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the team, challenging existing assumptions, and driving innovation in our design processes and methodologies.
• Serve as a strong advocate for end-users in all stages of product development, ensuring their voices are heard, and their needs are prioritized in decision-making.

You May be a Good Fit if

• You have a strong passion for understanding user behavior and translating insights into actionable design strategies.
• You possess excellent analytical skills and can effectively interpret qualitative and quantitative data to inform design decisions.
• You are naturally curious and constantly seeking to learn about users and improve their experiences.
• You enjoy mentoring others and sharing research best practices across teams.
• You are committed to continuous learning and staying updated with the latest UX research methodologies and industry trends.

What Would Make You Stand Out

• Experience working within the financial services industry or with complex data-driven products.
• Demonstrated ability to establish or enhance user research practices within an organization.
• Strong facilitation skills for design thinking workshops and collaborative ideation sessions.
• A portfolio showcasing how your research directly influenced design decisions and business outcomes through artifacts like journey maps, personas, quantitative analysis of user behavior data, usability tests, and service blueprints

About the Team

The UX Team consists of 20 UX professionals, including researchers, product designers, and design system developers. Our mission is to deeply understand the needs of Fitch's end users, both internal and external. We focus on aligning the applications we build to meet or exceed these needs by delivering intuitive and simple user flows and user interfaces that enable end users to complete their workflows with precision and speed.

We pride ourselves on a collaborative and innovative team culture. Our team values open communication, creativity, and continuous learning. We believe in fostering an inclusive environment where every team member can contribute ideas and challenge the status quo to drive exceptional user experiences.

The UX Team collaborates daily with product managers, developers, testers, business stakeholders, and end users. This cross-functional collaboration ensures that we integrate diverse perspectives and insights into our design process, ultimately enhancing the quality and effectiveness of our products.

About Fitch Group and The Technology & Data Team

As a leading, global financial information services provider, Fitch Group delivers vital credit and risk insights, robust data, and dynamic tools to champion more efficient, transparent financial markets. With over 100 years of experience and colleagues in over 30 countries, Fitch Group's culture of credibility, independence, and transparency is embedded throughout its structure, which includes Fitch Ratings, one of the world's top three credit ratings agencies, and Fitch Solutions, a leading provider of insights, data and analytics. With dual headquarters in London and New York, Fitch Group is owned by Hearst.

Fitch's Technology & Data Team is a dynamic department where innovation meets impact. Our team includes the Chief Data Office, Chief Software Office, Chief Technology Office, Emerging Technology, Shared Technology Services, Technology, Risk and the Executive Program Management Office (EPMO). Driven by our investment in cutting-edge technologies like AI and cloud solutions, we're home to a diverse range of roles and backgrounds united by a shared passion for leveraging modern technology to drive projects that matter to our organization and clients. We are also proud to be recognized by Built In as a "Best Place to Work in Technology" 3 years in a row. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your career, we offer an exciting and supportive environment where you can grow, innovate, and make a difference.

Want to learn more about a career in technology and data at Fitch? Visit:

Why Choose Fitch

• Hybrid Work Environment: 2 to 3 days a week in office required based on your line of business and location
• A Culture of Learning & Mobility: Dedicated trainings, leadership development and mentorship programs designed to ensure that your time at Fitch will be a continuous learning opportunity
• Investing in Your Future: Retirement planning and tuition reimbursement programs that empower you to achieve your short and long-term goals
• Promoting Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive healthcare offerings that enable physical, mental, financial, social, and occupational wellbeing
• Supportive Parenting Policies: Family-friendly policies, including a generous global parental leave plan, designed to help you balance career and family life effectively
• Inclusive Work Environment: A collaborative workplace where all voices are valued, with Employee Resource Groups that unite and empower our colleagues around the globe
• Dedication to Giving Back: Paid volunteer days, matched funding for donations and ample opportunities to volunteer in your community

Fitch is committed to providing global securities markets with objective, timely, independent and forward-looking credit opinions. To protect Fitch's credibility and reputation, our employees must take every precaution to avoid conflicts of interest or any appearance of a conflict of interest. Should you be successful in the recruitment process at Fitch Ratings you will be asked to declare any securities holdings and other potential conflicts prior to commencing employment. If you, or your immediate family, have any holdings that may conflict with your work responsibilities, you may be asked to divest yourself of them before beginning work.

Fitch is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, and other statuses protected by law.