EverWell - Senior UX Researcher (Remote, NZ)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Researcher (Remote, NZ) Company: Evercommerce Location: Wellington, New Zealand (Remote) Job Type: Full-Time Category: User Experience Research / Product Operations Date Posted: 2025-11-14 Experience Level: 7+ Years Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead user advocacy by championing user needs and translating research insights into impactful product decisions.
• Drive the product research strategy and execution by planning, conducting, and analyzing a diverse range of qualitative and quantitative research studies.
• Foster a culture of user-centricity by mentoring colleagues and establishing best practices for UX research across product teams.
• Contribute to strategic product development by translating complex user behaviors and systems into clear, actionable recommendations for product roadmaps.
• Build and maintain a robust research repository, ensuring consistent application of UX research methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the sole dedicated UX Researcher within a product team, implying a significant opportunity to shape the research function and establish its practices. The emphasis on mentoring and growing UX research capability suggests a senior individual contributor role with potential for influence. The "Remote, NZ" designation indicates location-specific requirements for legal work entitlement in New Zealand, with remote work flexibility across the country.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Champion user needs by advocating for community insights and translating them into meaningful product decisions that drive user satisfaction and business value.
• Plan, design, and execute a comprehensive suite of research studies, including generative research, discovery, validation, usability testing, field studies, and surveys, to uncover user behaviors, needs, and pain points.
• Proactively recruit and engage research participants, fostering rapport to elicit honest thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that inform product development.
• Synthesize research findings into clear, compelling, and actionable recommendations, effectively communicating insights to product managers, designers, engineers, and other stakeholders to influence product strategy and design.
• Develop and maintain key research artifacts such as personas, journey maps, user stories, and insight summaries to build a shared understanding of the user across cross-functional teams.
• Own and prioritize the UX research roadmap, balancing strategic, long-term initiatives with immediate project-based research needs to ensure alignment with business objectives.
• Present research insights and recommendations effectively to diverse audiences, including senior leadership, influencing decision-making at all levels of the organization.
• Contribute to the growth of UX research capability within EverWell by guiding other teams, sharing best practices, and establishing a centralized research repository for knowledge sharing and efficiency.
• Identify and analyze cross-product value and user experience opportunities by understanding complex systems and user flows across the EverWell suite.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly outline a foundational role where the Senior UX Researcher will not only conduct research but also establish and mature the practice within the organization. This includes defining the research roadmap, creating shared understanding artifacts, and mentoring others, indicating a need for strong leadership and strategic thinking in addition to execution skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in User Experience (UX) research roles.
• Demonstrated experience within the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry is highly desirable.
• Proven track record of building and maintaining outcomes-focused research operations and communities of practice.
• Experience coaching and mentoring colleagues in UX research craft and methodologies.

Required Skills:

• Expertise in planning and conducting a wide array of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including generative research, discovery research, validation research, usability testing, field studies, and surveys.
• Ability to design robust, bias-aware studies that yield pragmatic, evidence-based insights.
• Strong analytical skills to translate complex user behaviors and systems into clear, actionable insights that effectively shape product strategy and roadmaps.
• Excellent communication and storytelling abilities to articulate compelling user stories that build empathy and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Proficiency in creating and presenting key UX research artifacts such as personas, journey maps, user flows, and insight summaries.
• Experience in participant recruitment and engagement, building rapport to uncover authentic user feedback.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize a research roadmap, balancing strategic initiatives with project-specific needs.
• A growth mindset, humility, and a collaborative spirit.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with research operations (ResearchOps) principles and practices.
• Familiarity with data analysis tools for quantitative research.
• Experience in the beauty or wellness industry, or in serving small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
• Understanding of cross-product value identification and strategic opportunity assessment.
• Experience in establishing and managing research repositories.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 7+ years of experience, coupled with the emphasis on mentoring and building research operations, signifies a senior-level role. The preference for SaaS experience highlights the need for understanding recurring revenue models and ongoing product development cycles.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A strong, demonstrable portfolio showcasing a minimum of 7 years of UX research work, with a focus on SaaS products if possible.
• Case studies that clearly articulate the research problem, methodology employed, participant profile, key findings, and the direct impact of the research on product decisions and business outcomes.
• Evidence of designing and executing a variety of research studies (generative, discovery, validation, usability testing, etc.) with a focus on actionable insights.
• Examples of how user insights have been translated into tangible product improvements, strategic recommendations, or influence on roadmaps.
• Demonstrations of creating user-centered artifacts like personas, journey maps, and user story maps.

Process Documentation:

• Evidence of establishing or contributing to research processes, including participant recruitment strategies, study design templates, and data synthesis methodologies.
• Examples of how research findings were effectively communicated and embedded into product development workflows.
• Ability to articulate the value and process of creating a research repository and sharing best practices.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to integrate quantitative and qualitative data to form comprehensive insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, as it will be the primary tool for assessing the candidate's experience, methodology, and impact. The emphasis on "outcomes-focused" research and "evidence-based insights" means the portfolio should highlight quantifiable results and direct contributions to business objectives.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior UX Researchers in New Zealand with 7+ years of experience, particularly in remote SaaS roles, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between NZD $120,000 - $160,000 per annum. This range is an estimate and may vary based on the candidate's specific experience, skills, and qualifications.

Benefits:

• Additional Annual Leave: Extra days off to ensure proper rest and work-life balance.
• Flexible Work Environment: The ability to work remotely from anywhere in New Zealand, with options for office-based work if preferred.
• Professional Development Budget: An annual budget allocated for continuous learning, training, conferences, or certifications to support career growth.
• Annual Wellness Allowance: A financial allowance to support personal well-being initiatives.
• High-spec Home Office Setup: Provision for equipment to ensure a productive and comfortable remote working environment.
• Comprehensive Health and Retirement Benefits: (Details typically provided during the offer stage, but standard for such roles).
• Culture of Inclusion and Growth: Working in a supportive environment that values diversity and encourages continuous improvement.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week. While remote, candidates will need to be available during core business hours in New Zealand (Pacific/Auckland time zone) for effective collaboration with local and international teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on typical Senior UX Researcher compensation in New Zealand's tech sector, adjusted for the remote nature and the specific company's industry. The provided benefits are a strong draw and highlight EverCommerce's commitment to employee well-being and professional development.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software and Technology (SaaS Solutions for Service-Based Businesses). Specifically, EverWell operates within the beauty and wellness industry, providing SaaS solutions to professionals. Company Size: EverCommerce is a significant player with over 600,000 global service-based business customers and a large employee base. The specific "EverWell" vertical (comprising Timely and SalonBiz) serves over 24,000 customers in 100 countries. Founded: EverCommerce was founded with the mission to build a leading platform for service-based businesses, integrating various SaaS solutions. The specific brands within EverWell have established histories serving the beauty industry.

Team Structure:

• The Senior UX Researcher will be a dedicated member of a product team within the EverWell vertical.
• This role is positioned to be the primary UX research resource, suggesting close collaboration with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, and potentially Marketing and Customer Success teams.
• Reporting structure likely involves a Lead Product Manager or Head of Product, with opportunities to interact with broader leadership within EverCommerce.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasis on using research insights to inform product strategy and design.
• User-Centricity: A core tenet of the role is to champion user needs and behaviors.
• Agile Development: Implied by the need to balance strategic roadmap items with project-based research, suggesting integration within agile development cycles.
• Continuous Improvement: The focus on growing research capability and establishing best practices points to a culture of ongoing learning and refinement.

Company Website: https://www.evercommerce.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: EverCommerce's mission to empower service-based businesses and its focus on specific verticals like beauty and wellness provide a strong context for the UX research. Understanding the challenges and workflows of these businesses will be key for the Senior UX Researcher. The company's size suggests a structured environment with established processes, while the "vertical" model offers a more focused, entrepreneurial feel within a larger organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor role, requiring significant autonomy and strategic input. The position is ideal for an experienced UX Researcher looking to establish and lead research practices within a dedicated product team, with opportunities to influence product direction and company-wide UX maturity.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Researcher will likely report to a Product Lead, Head of Product, or a Director of Product Management within the EverWell vertical. They will collaborate extensively with Product Designers, Product Managers, Engineers, and other cross-functional stakeholders.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is directly tied to deepening the understanding of user needs and behaviors, which translates into more effective product development, increased user satisfaction, higher customer retention, and ultimately, revenue growth for EverWell's SaaS solutions. By championing user insights, the researcher influences strategy, design, and feature prioritization, directly contributing to the success of the products.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in ResearchOps: Opportunity to build and formalize the UX research function, establishing processes, tools, and best practices that can scale across the organization.
• Strategic Influence: Direct impact on product strategy and roadmap development through compelling research insights and stakeholder influence.
• Mentorship and Skill Development: Coach and mentor junior researchers or team members interested in UX research, further honing leadership and communication skills.
• Cross-Vertical Exposure: As EverCommerce is a platform company, there may be opportunities to learn about or contribute to research in other verticals over time.
• Professional Development: Leverage the provided professional development budget for advanced training, certifications, or attending industry conferences to stay at the forefront of UX research.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is designed for someone who can not only execute research but also strategize and mature the research practice. This offers significant growth potential beyond traditional individual contributor roles, leaning towards a thought leader or practice lead position within the product organization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, offering flexibility to work from anywhere within New Zealand. The company also maintains office spaces in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin, which employees can utilize if desired.

Office Location(s): While remote, the company has physical offices in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin, New Zealand. This allows for potential in-person collaboration or the use of office facilities if geographically convenient.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Flexibility: Employees are trusted to work where they are most productive, fostering a culture of autonomy and work-life balance.
• Home Office Support: A high-spec home office setup is provided, ensuring a professional and efficient work environment.
• Collaborative Tools: Expect to use a suite of digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Miro, project management software) to connect with team members across different locations.
• Team Interaction: Regular virtual meetings, stand-ups, and collaboration sessions will be essential for staying connected with the product team and wider organization.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with an expected commitment of approximately 40 hours per week. While flexible, candidates will need to align with New Zealand's core business hours for effective collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on remote work and provided home office setup indicates a commitment to supporting distributed teams. The existence of physical offices, however, suggests that occasional in-person collaboration might be possible or preferred for certain team events, though not mandatory.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review applications and conduct a brief screening call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.
2. Portfolio Presentation & Deep Dive: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, showcasing key UX research projects. This stage will involve in-depth discussions about methodologies, insights, impact, and problem-solving approaches. Expect questions about how you handle challenging research scenarios.
3. Skills-Based Interview / Case Study: A more in-depth interview focusing on specific research methodologies, analytical skills, and strategic thinking. This may involve a take-home assignment or a live case study exercise to assess practical application of UX research principles to a business problem.
4. Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with key team members such as Product Managers, Designers, and potentially Engineering leads to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to influence cross-functional partners.
5. Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager or a senior leader to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and alignment with company values and strategic goals.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the problem you solved, your approach, and the tangible business outcomes or product improvements resulting from your research. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., "reduced task completion time by X%", "increased conversion by Y%").
• Showcase Methodology Diversity: Include examples of various research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and explain why you chose each method for a particular project.
• Highlight Strategic Contributions: Demonstrate how your research influenced product strategy, roadmaps, or decision-making beyond just design recommendations.
• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by project or by research methodology. Use clear visuals and concise descriptions.
• Tell a Story: For each project, frame it as a narrative: the challenge, your role, your process, your findings, and the impact.
• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize experience relevant to SaaS, user advocacy, and establishing research practices, as highlighted in the job description.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the beauty and wellness industries, and the types of SaaS solutions EverCommerce offers (e.g., Timely, SalonBiz). Research common challenges faced by businesses in these sectors.
• Prepare Research Scenarios: Be ready to discuss how you would approach research for a new feature, a user retention problem, or understanding a new customer segment within the beauty/wellness SaaS context.
• Demonstrate ResearchOps Thinking: Since this role involves building research practices, be prepared to discuss how you would establish a research roadmap, recruit participants efficiently, manage a research repository, or mentor others.
• Articulate Value: Practice clearly articulating the value of UX research to different stakeholders (e.g., how it mitigates risk, drives revenue, improves customer loyalty).

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "setting the culture and practice of UX research" means candidates should be prepared to discuss not only their research execution skills but also their ability to evangelize research, mentor others, and build scalable research operations.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• UX Research Platforms: Proficiency in tools for conducting remote usability testing, surveys, and participant management (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey).
• Collaboration & Whiteboarding: Experience with tools like Miro, Mural, or Figma for collaborative ideation, journey mapping, and affinity diagramming.
• Prototyping Tools: Familiarity with tools used by designers (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) to understand and test prototypes.
• Product Analytics: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo to complement qualitative research with quantitative user behavior data.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization: Ability to interpret data from analytics platforms and present findings clearly.
• Reporting Tools: Experience in compiling research findings into comprehensive reports and presentations.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a primary research tool, understanding how user data is managed in CRMs (like Salesforce, HubSpot) can provide context for customer segmentation and user journey mapping.
• Project Management: Familiarity with tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for managing research projects and timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools aren't listed, the responsibilities imply a need for proficiency in a standard UX research toolkit. The ability to integrate qualitative findings with quantitative data from product analytics tools is crucial for a holistic understanding of user behavior.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User Advocacy: A deep commitment to understanding and representing the needs and perspectives of the end-users.
• Data-Driven Insights: A belief in using evidence from research to inform decisions and strategies.
• Collaboration & Empathy: Working effectively with cross-functional teams, fostering mutual understanding and shared goals.
• Growth Mindset: A continuous drive for learning, improvement, and embracing new challenges and feedback.
• Humility: Approaching work with an open mind, a willingness to learn from others, and acknowledging that there's always more to discover.
• Inclusion: Valuing diversity and ensuring that research practices are inclusive and representative.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Proactively engaging with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, Marketing, and Customer Success to ensure research insights are integrated into all stages of the product lifecycle.
• Transparent Communication: Openly sharing research plans, findings, and recommendations to build trust and alignment.
• Constructive Feedback Culture: Willingness to both give and receive feedback to improve research processes and outcomes.
• Knowledge Sharing: Actively contributing to a culture of learning by sharing best practices, insights, and learnings through presentations, documentation, and informal discussions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "championing users," "growth mindset," and "humility" suggests a culture that values learning, user-centricity, and personal development. The collaborative style is essential, given the researcher's role in influencing multiple teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Research Practice: As the dedicated researcher, a primary challenge will be defining, implementing, and scaling UX research processes and practices from the ground up within EverWell.
• Balancing Strategic vs. Tactical Research: Effectively managing the research roadmap to address both long-term strategic questions and immediate project needs.
• Influencing Stakeholders: Gaining buy-in and driving action on research insights across different teams and levels of seniority.
• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong connections and effective collaboration with a distributed team.
• Domain Expertise: Quickly developing a deep understanding of the beauty and wellness industries and the specific needs of their business owners.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership in ResearchOps: Opportunity to define and build a mature UX research function, including processes, tools, and best practices.
• Strategic Product Influence: Directly contribute to shaping the direction of SaaS products serving significant market segments.
• Mentorship: Guide and mentor colleagues, enhancing leadership and coaching skills.
• Industry Exposure: Gain in-depth knowledge of the beauty and wellness service industries and their technology needs.
• Professional Growth: Utilize the provided development budget for advanced training, conferences, or certifications in UX research, product strategy, or related fields.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a foundational role, offering significant opportunities for impact and growth for a proactive and strategic individual. The growth opportunities are well-defined and align with advancing a career in UX research leadership and product strategy.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe how you would approach building a UX research roadmap for a product team that currently has no dedicated researcher." (Assesses strategic planning, prioritization, and understanding of research operations).
• "How do you balance generative research (understanding needs) with evaluative research (testing solutions) when resources are limited?" (Tests prioritization and methodological approach).
• "Walk us through a time your research findings significantly shifted product strategy or design. What was the outcome?" (Assesses impact, influence, and storytelling).
• "How do you ensure your research findings are understood and acted upon by product managers, designers, and engineers?" (Focuses on communication, collaboration, and driving adoption of insights).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about EverCommerce and the EverWell vertical specifically?" (Tests research into the company and industry).
• "How do you approach building empathy for users within a product team?" (Assesses understanding of user advocacy and cultural impact).
• "Describe your experience working in a remote-first or hybrid environment. How do you ensure effective collaboration?" (Evaluates remote work skills and collaboration strategies).
• "How do you embody a 'growth mindset' and humility in your work?" (Assesses alignment with company values).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: Begin with a high-level overview of your career and key strengths, then dive into 2-3 of your most impactful projects.
• The STAR Method: For each project, use the Situation, Task, Action, Result framework to clearly articulate your contributions and their outcomes.
• Visuals Matter: Use screenshots, diagrams, and concise summaries to illustrate your process and findings. Avoid dense text.
• Focus on "Why" and "So What": Explain why you chose specific methodologies and so what the impact of your research was.
• Be Prepared for "What Ifs": Anticipate questions about alternative approaches, ethical considerations, or how you'd handle challenges encountered during a project.
• Highlight ResearchOps: Since this role involves building practice, be ready to discuss how you'd establish processes for participant recruitment, data management, and knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not only their research execution skills but also their strategic thinking, ability to influence, and their vision for developing a robust UX research practice within the organization.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Evercommerce careers website.
• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your 7+ years of UX research experience, specifically mentioning SaaS, generative/evaluative research methods, portfolio development, and any experience in building research practices or mentoring. Use keywords from the job description naturally.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful UX research projects that showcase your ability to conduct diverse studies, derive actionable insights, and influence product decisions. Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates the impact of your work on user experience and business outcomes.
• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your experience, research process, and the value you bring to product teams. Be ready to discuss your approach to establishing and growing UX research functions.
• Research EverCommerce and EverWell: Understand the company's mission, its verticals (especially beauty/wellness), and its commitment to culture and values. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

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

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