UX Researcher - Officer at Citi

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Researcher - Officer

Company: Citi

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Research

Date Posted: 2025-06-10T00:00:00

Experience Level: Junior (0-2 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🎨 Role Summary

Contribute to the development of financial applications with a focus on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions technologies.
Apply a diverse range of UX research methodologies to inform product direction and ensure user-centered design.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including UX Design, Product, Business (Compliance), and Engineering.
Translate research findings into actionable insights and recommendations for product development and design iteration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Officer" title in a large financial institution like Citi typically indicates a professional level role within the organizational hierarchy, often corresponding to a junior or mid-level position depending on the specific context and internal leveling. Given the "Junior UX Researcher" description, this aligns with an early career stage Officer role focused on execution and contribution within a defined team structure.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

Co-lead and execute various qualitative and quantitative research studies, including user interviews, co-creation sessions, journey mapping workshops, usability tests, concept tests, and surveys.
Design and implement research studies adhering to best practices and established methodologies to ensure rigor and validity of findings.
Present and effectively communicate research results, insights, and actionable recommendations to stakeholders across different teams and levels within the organization.
Facilitate the sharing of research findings and insights across the organization to foster a user-centric culture and inform decision-making.
Provide guidance on research methodologies and best practices to team members and collaborators, ensuring consistency and quality.
Contribute to the definition of relevant metrics for benchmarking and measuring the impact of user experience and design interventions.
Integrate qualitative research insights with quantitative data sources to develop a deep understanding of client journeys and support data-driven prioritization of initiatives.
Understand existing and planned Citi infrastructure and projects to ensure research initiatives are feasible and can lead to measurable impact within the technical constraints.
Actively participate in the wider Functions UX community of practice, sharing knowledge and learning from peers.
Work in close collaboration with UX Designers, providing detailed research insights to inform the creation of user-centered designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly emphasize a hands-on research execution role with a strong focus on collaboration and communication within a large, potentially complex organizational structure. The inclusion of "co-lead" suggests opportunities for taking initiative on specific research projects, even at a junior level. The focus on highly regulated industries and B2B/enterprise settings is critical context for tailoring application materials.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s/University degree required; Master’s degree preferred, ideally in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Design, or a related field focusing on research methodologies and user behavior.

Experience: Relevant UX research experience is required, specifically within a highly regulated industry (like finance, healthcare, or government) and a B2B or enterprise setting. This experience should demonstrate hands-on involvement in leading and conducting both qualitative and quantitative research studies across the Design Thinking lifecycle. A portfolio showcasing research process, methodologies, and impact in complex environments is highly beneficial.

Required Skills:

Extensive hands-on experience leading and conducting qualitative research studies (e.g., user interviews, focus groups, ethnographic research).
Extensive hands-on experience leading and conducting quantitative research studies (e.g., surveys, usability testing with metrics, data analysis).
Proficiency in applying Design Thinking methodologies throughout the research process.
Experience in conducting generative research to explore user needs and define problem spaces.
Experience in conducting evaluative research to test designs and gather feedback.
Ability to co-lead and facilitate design thinking workshops.
Creative problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and uncertainty in research projects.
Strong self-starter with the ability to define research goals, develop research strategies, and execute plans independently.
Ability to balance strategic thinking with pragmatic execution, ensuring research is both insightful and actionable within project constraints.
Proactive and positive attitude with strong attention to detail and analytical skills for interpreting complex data.
Outstanding written and oral communication skills for presenting research findings and collaborating with stakeholders.
Familiarity with research tools such as EnjoyHQ (or similar research repositories), Qualtrics (or other survey platforms), and collaborative design tools like Figma/Figjam for incorporating research insights into design workflows.

Preferred Skills:

Experience working within an Agile development methodology environment.
Advanced degree (Master's or higher) in a relevant field.
Experience with statistical analysis software or advanced data visualization tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on experience in highly regulated industries and B2B/enterprise settings is a significant requirement. Applicants should explicitly highlight this experience and provide examples in their resume and portfolio. The combination of qualitative and quantitative skills is also crucial, indicating a need for a well-rounded researcher.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Your portfolio should feature case studies demonstrating your end-to-end UX research process, particularly in complex or regulated environments.
Highlight projects where you utilized a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Clearly articulate the research questions, methodologies used, participants recruited, findings, and their impact on product or design decisions.
Showcase your ability to translate research data into actionable insights and communicate them effectively to diverse stakeholders.

Process Documentation:

For each case study, document your research process from initial problem definition and research planning through data collection, analysis, and synthesis.
Include details on your approach to recruiting participants, conducting interviews or usability tests, analyzing data (e.g., thematic analysis, statistical analysis), and synthesizing findings into compelling narratives.
Show examples of research artifacts created, such as research plans, interview scripts, usability test protocols, affinity diagrams, journey maps, user personas, and research reports.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a UX Researcher role, the portfolio should heavily emphasize the research process and the impact of the research on design and product outcomes. Simply showing final designs is insufficient; the focus must be on the methodologies, analysis, insights, and recommendations derived from user research.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £35,000 - £55,000 per annum. This estimate is based on typical junior to mid-level UX Researcher salaries in London, considering the financial services industry and the "Officer" level designation at a large institution like Citi. Actual compensation may vary based on experience, specific skills, and internal leveling. Data sources include Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and UK-specific salary benchmarks for the design and technology sectors in London.

Benefits:

Comprehensive health insurance package (details likely vary based on full-time employment status).
Retirement savings plan or pension scheme (details subject to company policy and local regulations).
Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and public holidays (specifics vary).
Professional development opportunities, potentially including training budgets for conferences, workshops, or further education relevant to UX research and financial services.
Potential for performance-based bonuses or incentives.
Employee assistance programs and wellness initiatives.
Access to internal training platforms and resources for continuous learning in design, technology, and financial regulations.

Working Hours: Full-time employment, typically requiring standard business hours. Flexibility may exist depending on project needs and team arrangements, but the role is on-site in London.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary range is an estimate based on publicly available data for similar roles in London within the financial services sector and accounting for the junior/officer level. Benefits are inferred based on common offerings at large financial institutions in the UK. Candidates should seek clarification on the specific benefits package during the interview process.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Financial Services. Citi is a global bank with a broad range of services including banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wealth management, and capital markets. The financial services industry is highly regulated, which significantly impacts the design and research processes, requiring a strong understanding of compliance and security considerations.

Company Size: 10,001+ employees globally, with over 195,000 employees on LinkedIn. Working in a large organization like Citi means navigating complex structures, collaborating with numerous stakeholders, and contributing to projects with significant scale and impact. Design and research often operate within established frameworks and require strong communication and collaboration skills to influence across departments.

Founded: 1812. Citi has a long history in the financial sector, which influences its culture, processes, and focus on stability and compliance alongside innovation.

Team Structure:

The role is within the Financial Crimes UX Research team, focusing on applications related to AML and Sanctions technologies.
The team collaborates closely with UX Design, Product, Business (Compliance), and Engineering colleagues.
Expect a structured team environment with clear reporting lines, likely within a larger Technology or Operations division.

Methodology:

The job description mentions working across Design Thinking stages, indicating an emphasis on a user-centered and iterative design and research process.
Experience with Agile methodology is preferred, suggesting the team likely operates in sprints with regular feedback loops and iterative development.
Research methods mentioned include user interviews, co-creation, journey mapping, usability testing, concept testing, and surveys, covering both generative and evaluative approaches.

Company Website: citi.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the industry and company size, the design and research culture likely emphasizes process, compliance, and collaboration across diverse teams. Experience working within large, matrixed organizations and highly regulated environments will be particularly valuable. The focus on financial crimes technology highlights a need for understanding complex domain knowledge alongside user needs.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: This is positioned as a Junior UX Researcher - Officer role, indicating an entry to early-mid level position focused on developing core research skills and contributing to specific projects within a defined scope. Responsibilities involve executing research studies and collaborating with senior team members.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, the role likely reports to a more senior UX Researcher, a UX Research Lead, or potentially a Design Manager within the Financial Crimes or broader Technology/UX organization.

Design Impact: As a UX Researcher, your direct impact will be on informing the design and development of financial applications by providing data-driven insights into user behavior, needs, and pain points. Your work will help ensure that critical financial technologies are usable, efficient, and meet the needs of compliance professionals and other users.

Growth Opportunities:

Advancement within the UX Research track to Mid-Level and Senior UX Researcher roles, taking on more complex projects and leading research initiatives independently.
Potential to specialize in specific areas of financial technology or research methodologies (e.g., quantitative research, accessibility research, specific domain expertise like AML/Sanctions).
Opportunities to mentor junior researchers as you gain experience.
Participation in internal training programs and external conferences to enhance research skills and domain knowledge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Officer" title suggests a formal career path within Citi's structure. While starting as a Junior, there are clear opportunities for growth within the UX Research discipline by taking on more responsibility, complexity, and potentially specializing. Demonstrating initiative and a willingness to learn about the financial domain will be key to career progression.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: On-site office environment in London. This implies working from a physical Citi office location, collaborating directly with colleagues in person.

Office Location(s): London, United Kingdom. Citi has a significant presence in London, with likely multiple office buildings. The specific office location for this role would be confirmed during the application process.

Design Workspace Context:

Expect a corporate office environment, potentially with dedicated spaces for collaborative work, meetings, and individual focus.
Access to necessary hardware and software for conducting research, analysis, and reporting.
Opportunities for informal and formal interactions with team members and colleagues from other functions.

Work Schedule: Full-time, standard business hours. As an on-site role, adherence to office hours is expected, though some flexibility might be possible depending on team norms and project needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site nature of the role emphasizes the importance of in-person collaboration with the team and stakeholders. Candidates should be prepared for a traditional office setting within a large financial institution.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

Initial screening call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications and fit.
Interview(s) with members of the UX Research team and potentially the hiring manager, focusing on your research experience, methodologies, and approach to problem-solving. Be prepared to discuss your portfolio case studies in detail.
Potential interview rounds with cross-functional partners (e.g., UX Design, Product Management, Engineering, Compliance) to assess collaboration skills and ability to communicate research insights to non-researchers.
A design challenge or case study presentation might be required, where you analyze a provided scenario or present a detailed walkthrough of a past project, focusing on your research process and rationale.
Final interview(s) with senior leadership or key stakeholders to assess overall fit with the team and organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Tailor your portfolio presentation to highlight projects relevant to the financial services industry, highly regulated environments, or complex enterprise applications if possible.
For each case study, clearly articulate the business problem, research objectives, methodologies chosen (and why), key findings, and the impact of your research on the final product or decision-making.
Focus on demonstrating your research process, showing how you planned, conducted, analyzed, and synthesized your research.
Be prepared to discuss challenges encountered during research and how you overcame them.
Practice presenting your case studies concisely and engagingly, focusing on storytelling and the "so what" of your findings.

Challenge Preparation:

If given a take-home challenge, allocate sufficient time to understand the problem, plan your research approach (even if hypothetical), and structure your response clearly.
For an in-person challenge, practice thinking through research problems aloud and explaining your rationale.
Focus on demonstrating your research process, critical thinking, and ability to translate a problem into a research plan.
Be prepared to discuss your design challenge solution and research approach during the interview, articulating your assumptions and limitations.

ATS Keywords: UX Research, User Research, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Design Thinking, User Interviews, Usability Testing, Journey Mapping, Surveys, Financial Services, AML, Sanctions, Enterprise, B2B, Compliance, Stakeholder Management, Collaboration, Communication, Analytical Skills, Attention to Detail, Problem Solving, Agile, EnjoyHQ, Qualtrics, Figma, Figjam, Research Methodology, Data Analysis, User-Centered Design, Insight Generation, Report Writing, Presentation Skills, Facilitation, Affinity Mapping, User Personas, Research Planning, Synthesis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a UX Researcher in a large financial institution is likely to be thorough, involving multiple rounds and stakeholders. Emphasis will be placed on demonstrating both research expertise and the ability to collaborate effectively within a complex organizational structure and regulated environment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Figma/Figjam: Used for collaboration with UX Designers, potentially for creating research artifacts like journey maps or affinity diagrams, and for reviewing design prototypes.
EnjoyHQ or similar research repository: Likely used for storing, organizing, and analyzing research data and insights. Proficiency with research repositories is valuable for managing large amounts of qualitative data.
Qualtrics or similar survey platform: Used for creating and distributing quantitative surveys.

Collaboration & Handoff:

Collaboration tools integrated with Figma/Figjam for design team interaction.
Likely use of standard corporate communication and project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Confluence).

Research & Testing:

Usability testing platforms (specific tools not mentioned, but experience with remote or in-person testing tools is beneficial).
Potential use of analytics tools to integrate quantitative data with qualitative insights (specific tools not mentioned).

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools beyond those mentioned are not listed, experience with a range of research software and platforms will be advantageous. The focus is on the ability to utilize tools effectively to conduct research, analyze data, and communicate findings.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

Emphasis on user-centered design and research, ensuring that user needs inform product development, particularly in the complex domain of financial crimes technology.
Value for data-driven decision-making, integrating research insights with quantitative data to prioritize initiatives and measure impact.
Importance of rigor and best practices in research methodologies to ensure the validity and reliability of findings, especially in a regulated environment.
Culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing, working closely with cross-functional teams and within the wider UX community of practice to disseminate insights.

Collaboration Style:

Collaborative approach with UX Designers, Product Managers, Engineers, and Compliance stakeholders throughout the product lifecycle.
Expect regular communication and feedback loops within the team and with project stakeholders.
Likely involvement in design critiques and team meetings to share progress and gather feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture likely values thoroughness, compliance, and collaboration given the industry and organizational size. Demonstrating an understanding of the importance of user research in a regulated financial environment and the ability to work effectively with diverse teams will be crucial.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

Navigating the complexities of a highly regulated industry (financial services) and understanding the specific domain knowledge required for AML and Sanctions technologies.
Recruiting and conducting research with specialized user groups (e.g., compliance professionals, financial analysts) who may have limited availability and require understanding of their specific workflows and terminology.
Integrating research findings with existing quantitative data and business requirements to provide holistic insights that inform product strategy.
Communicating complex research findings effectively to diverse stakeholders with varying levels of familiarity with UX research and the specific domain.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Deepen expertise in UX research methodologies, particularly those relevant to complex enterprise systems and regulated environments.
Gain valuable domain knowledge in financial crimes technology, which is a specialized and in-demand area.
Develop skills in collaborating with stakeholders in a large, global organization.
Opportunities to attend industry conferences and workshops related to UX research, financial technology, or compliance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges stem from the highly regulated nature of the industry and the complexity of the domain. Candidates should highlight their ability to learn complex subjects quickly and adapt research methods to challenging recruitment or data environments.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

Be prepared to walk through your end-to-end UX research process for a past project, explaining your rationale at each step.
Discuss how you choose appropriate research methodologies for different research questions and project phases.
Explain your approach to analyzing qualitative and quantitative data and synthesizing findings into actionable insights.

Company Culture Questions:

Research Citi's values and recent news, particularly related to technology, compliance, or user experience initiatives.
Be prepared to discuss how you approach collaboration with cross-functional teams, particularly Product, Engineering, and Business/Compliance stakeholders.
Ask questions about the team structure, how research insights are integrated into the product development process, and the biggest challenges the team is currently facing.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Select 1-3 case studies that best demonstrate your relevant experience, particularly in complex or regulated environments.
Structure your presentation to clearly articulate the problem, your research approach, key findings, and the impact of your work.
Focus on storytelling and highlighting your critical thinking and problem-solving skills throughout the research process.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of UX research fundamentals, the ability to apply them in complex contexts, and excellent communication and collaboration skills. Researching Citi and the financial services industry will also be beneficial.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

Submit your application through this link
Tailor your resume to highlight relevant UX research experience, particularly in regulated industries or B2B/enterprise settings, and include relevant keywords from the job description.
Prepare a portfolio showcasing your research process, methodologies, and the impact of your work, focusing on case studies that demonstrate your ability to handle complex projects.
Practice articulating your research process and insights clearly and concisely, preparing for potential interview questions and a portfolio walkthrough.
Research Citi's business, the financial services industry, and the specific area of financial crimes technology to demonstrate your interest and understanding of the domain.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and design industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

UX Researcher - Officer