Senior User Researcher

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior User Researcher Company: Ciklum Location: Ukraine Job Type: Full-time Category: User Experience / Product Research Date Posted: 2025-08-29 Experience Level: 4+ Years (Senior) Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end user research initiatives for product development, from identifying opportunities to embedding insights into product strategy and delivery.
• Apply a diverse range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to inform product design and validate concepts across various project stages.
• Collaborate with a global team of researchers to elevate the user research practice through shared guidelines, knowledge sharing, and mentorship.
• Act as a research consultant for pre-sales activities, advising on appropriate user research approaches for potential new client projects.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Independently own the user research stream for assigned projects, encompassing planning, user recruitment, execution, analysis, and synthesis of findings.
• Establish and manage robust user research processes within agile workflows, ensuring seamless integration with product discovery and delivery cycles.
• Conduct a variety of research methods, including but not limited to exploratory research, usability testing, concept validation, customer segmentation, and surveys.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the user research practice by developing guidelines, sharing best practices, and supporting junior researchers.
• Provide expert consultation to pre-sales teams on user research strategies and methodologies for prospective client engagements.
• Facilitate workshops, design sprints, and co-creation sessions to foster creativity, drive alignment, and ensure customer-centricity.
• Connect research insights to business objectives, creating compelling, evidence-based narratives that influence stakeholder thinking and product decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the input data doesn't explicitly state a Revenue Operations or Sales Operations focus, the role of a Senior User Researcher in a custom product engineering company like Ciklum inherently contributes to GTM (Go-to-Market) strategies by ensuring product-market fit and user adoption. The research conducted directly impacts product success, which in turn influences revenue generation and sales effectiveness. Therefore, skills in customer segmentation, concept validation, and stakeholder communication are critical for GTM operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong academic foundation in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Design Research, or a related field is highly beneficial for understanding user behavior and research methodologies.

Experience: Minimum of 4 years of hands-on experience in a dedicated user research role, demonstrating a proven ability to manage research projects autonomously.

Required Skills:

• Proficiency in core user research methods (e.g., user interviews, usability testing, surveys, contextual inquiry) and the ability to execute them independently.
• Demonstrated ability to define and execute research plans tailored to specific project goals and constraints.
• Proven experience in assessing and validating early-stage product concepts using a variety of research techniques beyond interviews.
• Skilled in defining customer segmentation strategies and applying them to research design.
• Experience managing participant recruitment processes, including screening and scheduling.
• Exceptional facilitation skills for leading workshops, design sprints, and co-creation sessions.
• Strong sense of ownership and proactive work ethic, capable of driving initiatives with minimal direction.
• Stellar communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex findings clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholders.
• Adept at connecting research insights with business objectives to create impactful, evidence-led narratives.
• Excellent ability to manage priorities, deadlines, and adapt to changing project requirements.
• Proficiency with research tools such as Maze, Dovetail, UserTesting.com, or similar platforms for synthesis, data management, and unmoderated testing.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in data analytics and statistical interpretation to complement qualitative findings.
• Basic design skills or a strong understanding of design principles to better collaborate with design teams.
• Experience supporting pre-sales activities by articulating research value and methodologies.
• Familiarity with A/B testing methodologies and experimental design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "connecting the dots," creating "evidence-led narratives," and influencing "product decisions" highlights the strategic importance of this role within the GTM framework. The ability to translate user insights into actionable business recommendations is a key differentiator for senior operations roles.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of research methodologies and their application through case studies showcasing end-to-end research projects.
• Highlight your ability to translate research findings into actionable product recommendations and strategic insights that drove tangible improvements.
• Include examples of how you've defined customer segments and used this segmentation to tailor research approaches and product strategies.
• Showcase your experience with participant recruitment, including strategies for finding and screening relevant user groups.
• Provide evidence of your facilitation skills, perhaps through examples of workshop outputs or descriptions of successful design sprints.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of research plans you've developed, detailing objectives, methodologies, participant criteria, and timelines.
• Include synthesized research findings, demonstrating your ability to extract key insights and present them in a clear, compelling manner.
• Illustrate how you've integrated user feedback and research insights into product development cycles, ideally with examples of iterative design improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio for this role should emphasize the impact of research on product outcomes and business goals, mirroring the ROI-focused approach common in operations roles. Demonstrating how research influenced product strategy, user adoption, or market positioning will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior User Researcher in Ukraine with 4+ years of experience, the estimated salary range is typically between 60,000 UAH to 120,000 UAH per month, depending on specific skills, project complexity, and negotiation. This estimate is based on general market data for experienced tech professionals in Ukraine.

Benefits:

• Strong community and collaborative work environment with top professionals.
• Opportunities for growth and skill expansion through large-scale projects with global impact.
• Tailored learning and development: access to internal events, Udemy, language courses, and company-paid certifications.
• Diverse career paths through internal mobility and exposure to cutting-edge technologies.
• Radical flexibility: choice to work remotely or from an office.
• Comprehensive care package: company-paid medical insurance, mental health support, and financial & legal consultations.

Working Hours: The role is advertised as full-time, typically implying a standard 40-hour work week. However, the company emphasizes "radical flexibility," suggesting that while the core workload is full-time, there may be flexibility in daily hours to accommodate personal needs, provided project deliverables and team collaboration are maintained.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "radical flexibility" aspect is a significant benefit for operations professionals who often need to balance deep analytical work with team collaboration and stakeholder availability. The extensive learning and development opportunities are also highly valuable for staying current in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Custom Product Engineering and IT Services. Ciklum operates within the broader technology sector, providing engineering solutions to a diverse client base ranging from large multinational corporations to scaling startups. This means exposure to various industries and business models, requiring adaptability and a broad understanding of user needs across different markets.

Company Size: Over 4,000 employees globally. This indicates a large, established organization with structured processes and ample resources, but also a need for clear communication and efficient collaboration to maintain agility. For operations professionals, this size often means opportunities for specialization and career advancement within dedicated departments.

Founded: Over 20 years ago. Ciklum has a long history in the IT services industry, suggesting stability, established methodologies, and a deep understanding of client needs and market dynamics. This longevity implies a mature organizational structure and a commitment to long-term growth and innovation.

Team Structure:

• The User Research team likely comprises specialists who collaborate on best practices and support each other. As a Senior User Researcher, you would be a key contributor, potentially mentoring less experienced researchers.
• The role involves close collaboration with product managers, designers, developers, and potentially client stakeholders, requiring strong cross-functional partnership skills.
• Reporting lines would likely be within a Product Development or UX department, with potential interaction with business development or pre-sales teams.

Methodology:

• Emphasis on supporting clients in solving complex business challenges, implying a data-driven and results-oriented approach.
• Agile workflows are mentioned, suggesting iterative development and a focus on continuous feedback loops.
• The company culture values innovation, empowerment, and collaboration ("One Team culture").

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on "engineering technology that redefines industries" and "solving their most complex business challenges" positions operations roles as critical enablers of client success and business transformation. The "One Team" culture suggests a collaborative environment where operations professionals are expected to work seamlessly with diverse teams.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role. It requires a high degree of autonomy, expertise in user research methodologies, and the ability to influence product strategy. It's a step beyond mid-level roles, demanding leadership in research execution and contribution to practice development.

Reporting Structure: You would likely report to a Head of UX, a Lead User Researcher, or a Product Management lead. Collaboration will be extensive with product teams (Product Managers, Designers) and potentially client-facing roles.

Operations Impact: As a Senior User Researcher, your impact is directly tied to ensuring product-market fit, improving user experience, and ultimately driving product adoption and customer satisfaction. These factors are crucial for revenue generation, customer retention, and the overall success of client projects, thus having a significant indirect impact on the company's revenue operations and GTM strategy.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific research methodologies or user segments.
• Leadership: Transition into a Lead User Researcher role, managing a team of researchers, or a UX Manager position.
• Cross-functional: Move into Product Management or UX Strategy roles by leveraging a deep understanding of user needs and product development.
• Consulting: Develop expertise in pre-sales, advising clients on research strategies.
• Skill Development: Continuous learning through internal and external training, certifications, and exposure to diverse projects and technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "growth focus" and "endless opportunities" mentioned in the benefits section are particularly relevant for operations professionals who often seek clear career progression paths. The ability to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies is also a significant draw for those in technically oriented operations roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Ciklum offers "radical flexibility," meaning employees can choose to work remotely or from one of their offices. This caters to diverse working preferences and geographic locations within Ukraine.

Office Location(s): While specific office locations are not detailed, Ciklum is a significant IT employer in Ukraine, suggesting a presence in major tech hubs. The remote option allows candidates across Ukraine to apply.

Workspace Context:

• The emphasis on "strong community" and "friendly, open-door environment" suggests a collaborative and supportive atmosphere, even in a remote setting.
• Expect access to standard digital collaboration tools and potentially specialized user research software provided by the company.
• Opportunities for interaction with a global team of professionals, fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour week is implied, the "radical flexibility" offers potential for adaptable scheduling, which can be beneficial for balancing intensive research tasks with team syncs and stakeholder availability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The flexibility in work arrangement is a key consideration for operations professionals who often require focused time for analysis and strategic planning, alongside collaborative sessions. This flexibility can enhance productivity and work-life balance.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a brief call with an HR representative to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit. Be prepared to discuss your motivation for applying to Ciklum and your understanding of the Senior User Researcher role.
• Technical Interview/Portfolio Review: Expect a detailed discussion about your user research experience. This will heavily involve reviewing your portfolio, where you'll be asked to walk through specific case studies. Prepare to discuss your process, methodologies, challenges faced, and the impact of your research.
• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with potential peers, lead researchers, product managers, or designers to evaluate your collaboration skills, problem-solving approach, and ability to integrate into existing teams.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss strategic alignment, career aspirations, and finalize the offer.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Select Case Studies: Choose 3-4 projects that best showcase your end-to-end research capabilities, diverse methodologies, and impact.
• Structure Your Narratives: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your research approach, key findings, the insights derived, and the subsequent impact or recommendations implemented. Quantify impact whenever possible (e.g., "reduced task completion time by X%", "identified usability issues leading to Y% decrease in support tickets").
• Highlight Process & Tools: Detail the specific research methods used and the tools (e.g., Dovetail, Maze) that aided your process.
• Demonstrate Collaboration: Show how you worked with cross-functional teams (designers, PMs) and stakeholders to integrate research findings.
• Emphasize Ownership: Clearly articulate your role and the ownership you took in driving the research process forward.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for scenario-based questions asking how you would approach a specific research problem or challenge.
• Practice articulating your thought process for defining research objectives, selecting methodologies, and recruiting participants for hypothetical scenarios.
• Consider how you would present complex data and insights to non-research audiences in a clear and actionable way.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations roles, interview preparation often involves demonstrating a proactive, problem-solving mindset and the ability to quantify impact. For this User Researcher role, translating user insights into business value and demonstrating a structured, data-informed approach will be crucial.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Research Synthesis & Repositories: Dovetail, Condens, or similar tools for organizing, tagging, and analyzing qualitative research data.
• Unmoderated Testing & Surveys: Maze, UserTesting.com, Typeform, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms for remote testing, surveys, and quick feedback collection.
• Collaboration & Whiteboarding: Miro, Mural, Figma for remote collaboration, brainstorming, journey mapping, and workshop facilitation.
• Analytics & Data Visualization (Desirable): Tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Tableau, Power BI for quantitative data analysis and reporting.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Familiarity with web analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics) to understand user behavior metrics.
• Ability to interpret quantitative data from surveys and testing platforms.
• Skills in creating clear, concise reports and presentations summarizing research findings.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct requirement, understanding how user research insights can feed into CRM strategies or inform automation workflows can be a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with modern research tooling, particularly those that support efficient synthesis and unmoderated testing, is critical. The ability to leverage data analytics tools to complement qualitative findings enhances the strategic value of a researcher.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and advocating for the user's needs and perspectives in all product decisions.
• Rigour and Experimentation: Balancing a structured, methodical approach to research with a willingness to experiment with new tools and methods.
• Impact-Driven: Focusing on delivering actionable insights that lead to tangible product improvements and business outcomes.
• Collaboration: Working effectively within cross-functional teams and contributing to a shared understanding of user needs.
• Ownership: Taking initiative and responsibility for research outcomes, driving projects forward autonomously.
• Continuous Improvement: Actively contributing to the enhancement of research practices and sharing knowledge within the team.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Actively partnering with Product Managers, Designers, Developers, and potentially client stakeholders to ensure research is integrated throughout the product lifecycle.
• Knowledge Sharing: Participating in regular team syncs, sharing learnings, and contributing to internal documentation and best practices.
• Feedback Exchange: Openness to receiving and providing constructive feedback to improve research quality and team effectiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "empowering each other," "One Team culture," and "collaboration" suggests an environment where operations professionals are valued for their contribution to collective success and are encouraged to share knowledge and best practices.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Rigour and Speed: Effectively conducting rigorous research within fast-paced agile development cycles and client expectations.
• Managing Diverse Stakeholders: Communicating research findings and influencing decisions across various levels and departments, each with different priorities.
• Recruitment for Niche Audiences: Finding and engaging specific user segments for research, especially for specialized B2B products or niche markets.
• Quantifying Research Impact: Clearly demonstrating the ROI and business value of user research to stakeholders who may be less familiar with its methodologies.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Methodology Expansion: Opportunity to deepen expertise in advanced qualitative and quantitative research techniques.
• Cross-Domain Exposure: Working on projects across various industries and product types, broadening your understanding of user needs in different contexts.
• Mentorship: Potential to mentor junior researchers and develop leadership skills.
• Industry Events: Access to conferences and workshops to stay abreast of the latest trends in User Experience and Research.
• Certifications: Company support for relevant professional certifications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges listed are common in operations roles, requiring adaptability, strong communication, and strategic thinking to overcome. The growth opportunities align with typical career progression paths in specialized operations functions, offering avenues for deeper expertise and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to convince a stakeholder to prioritize a user-centric feature based on your research. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on communication, data-driven narrative, and impact).
• "How do you determine the most appropriate research method for a given project objective and timeline? Walk me through your decision-making process." (Focus on methodological expertise and strategic planning).
• "Imagine you are working on a new feature for a mobile app. How would you approach user research to validate the core concept and identify potential usability issues before development begins?" (Focus on exploratory and evaluative research planning).
• "How do you ensure that your research findings are actionable and effectively integrated into the product development process?" (Focus on synthesis, communication, and collaboration).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Ciklum and this specific role?" (Research the company's mission, values, and recent projects).
• "How do you contribute to a collaborative team environment?" (Provide examples of teamwork, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional interaction).
• "How do you stay updated on the latest trends and best practices in user research?" (Mention industry publications, conferences, online communities).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the 'Why': Clearly articulate the business problem or user need your research addressed.
• Detail Your Role: Be specific about your contributions, especially if it was a team project. Use "I" statements for your direct actions.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, data points, and key quotes from users to illustrate your findings and their impact.
• Focus on Impact: Quantify the results of your research whenever possible (e.g., improvements in conversion rates, task success, user satisfaction).
• Address Challenges: Be prepared to discuss any obstacles you encountered and how you overcame them.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations roles, interview preparation often emphasizes demonstrating strategic thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to drive measurable results. For this research role, it means linking user insights directly to product success and business objectives.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior User Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Ciklum career portal.
• Portfolio Preparation: Curate your portfolio to highlight 3-4 key research projects. For each, clearly outline the problem, your methodology, key insights, and the resulting impact on the product or business. Quantify outcomes where possible.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 4+ years of standalone user research experience, proficiency in core research methods, and your ability to independently manage research streams. Use keywords from the job description such as "exploratory research," "usability testing," "customer segmentation," and "participant recruitment."
• Interview Practice: Prepare to articulate your research process, decision-making, and findings clearly and concisely. Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on storytelling and demonstrating impact. Be ready to discuss your experience with research tools like Dovetail or Maze.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Ciklum's custom product engineering services, their approach to client challenges, and their company culture, particularly their emphasis on collaboration and innovation.

⚠️ 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.