Design Research Manager

Data is the new currency of the digital world, and Microsoft is uniquely positioned to help business and consumers get the most out of theirs.

With the leading database in the world
– SQL Server, and the quickly expanding Azure data platform, Microsoft has made an enormous bet on cloud-based platform components that companies will need to derive knowledge and insights from big data and analytics in the cloud.We’re looking for leaders whose work reflect a passion for helping people get emotionally attached to software and achieve more.

Creative impact at this scale is rare and is an enormous opportunity for the right candidate.

Come join us!As the Principal UX Research Manager for Azure Data you will be responsible for building and leading a high-performing team to inject the voice of customers into all of our planning and decision making.

The UX Research team takes a multi-methods approach combining expertise with surveys, interviews and big data analysis to identify emerging patterns and usage, and uncover user insights, unarticulated needs, and new product/service priorities.The consumers of your insights will span engineering, executive leadership, marketing and other stakeholders around the globe.

Therefore, success in the role is dependent on synthesizing knowledge derived from different types of learning into coherent, credible and easy to understand stories told primarily through visuals and numbers.

The members of your team will be similarly varied, with expertise in different modes of inquiry.

Knitting them together into a high-performing whole will require pulling the best from each in a respectful and collaborative manner.The team’s areas of focus include but are not limited to customer satisfaction and its drivers, customer profiling (eg: who is using our services and why), behavioral trends and usability research to support design and engineering.

In all cases the team aims for the highest quality but recognizes that good information at the time a decision needs to be made is better than the perfect answer later.

What the team won’t compromise on is adherence to data security and privacy rules.**Responsibilities**+ Build a high-performing UX Research team with expertise in all types of research including qualitative, survey and usability, plus partnering with big data experts for analyses of behavioral data.

Integrate team members into PM teams throughout the Data Organization so the team stays close to our stakeholders and their challenges.+ Build and maintain tools to quickly get insights from customers and partners while maintaining privacy and compliance.+ Generate organization-wide priorities and success criteria for a research program that meets the organization’s needs.

Manage human and other resources to maximize impact; being clear about what we are doing and what we are not.+ Play a central role in annual and semester planning informing short, medium and long-term investments.**Qualifications**+ 7+ years of experience conducting customer or UX research in technical domains.+ 5+ years of experience leading high-performance cross-functional and direct teams.+ Experience conducting research globally.+ Must possess an applicable undergraduate degree or commensurate industry experience.**Preferred Qualifications:**+ Customer obsessed, with excellent interpersonal skills.+ Ability to impact and influence business decisions across boundaries, often in ambiguous situations.+ Strong storytelling and communication skills across executive leadership, engineering teams, and customers and partners.+ Advanced degree in Social Science or Human-Computer Interaction.+ Expertise in multiple research techniques.+ Knowledge of Microsoft’s customer privacy policies and tools.Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form (icrosoft.com/us/en/accommodationrequest) .Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.