UX Researcher

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Researcher

Company: Ruby Labs

Location: Remote (Within approx. ± 4 hours of CET)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: UX Research & Design

Date Posted: May 02, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior (2+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product strategy and enhance user experience through comprehensive UX research and intuitive wireframe design for desktop and mobile platforms.

• Analyze user behaviors, identify pain points, and translate complex needs into actionable design recommendations and data-informed product improvements.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, developers, and designers to ensure seamless, user-centered product development cycles.

• Leverage a variety of research methodologies, including user interviews, usability testing, and A/B testing, to validate design concepts and optimize user flows.

• Contribute to a fast-paced, innovative consumer products company by staying abreast of industry trends and UX best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically for a UX Researcher with strong UI/UX design capabilities, focusing on actionable research and wireframing. The remote work requirement is tied to specific time zone alignment for effective collaboration, rather than a global remote mandate.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth competitor and market research to thoroughly understand user behaviors, common flows, critical pain points, and unmet needs.

• Critically analyze existing user interfaces and the design architecture of current product solutions to identify areas for enhancement.

• Utilize design tools such as Visily (preferred) or Figma to meticulously create wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups.

• Develop comprehensive user personas, detailed customer journey maps, and conduct rigorous usability studies to provide robust, data-informed decision-making for product development.

• Foster close collaboration with product managers, engineering teams, and fellow designers to ensure the delivery of cohesive and intuitive user experiences across all products.

• Design and execute user validation strategies, including A/B testing, quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and in-depth analytics reviews.

• Systematically document research findings, translate them into clear, concise insights, and effectively present these recommendations to diverse stakeholder groups.

• Proactively stay informed about emerging industry trends, innovative UX methodologies, and accessibility standards to continuously refine and elevate the company's UX approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of research and design execution, with a clear directive to translate findings into tangible design artifacts (wireframes, prototypes) and present them to stakeholders. The inclusion of specific tools like Visily and Figma highlights the practical application of these responsibilities.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating practical application of UX research and design principles is paramount.

Experience: Minimum of 2 years of progressive experience in UX research and hands-on UI/UX design.

Required Skills:

• Proven proficiency in UX research methodologies, including user interviews, surveys, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations.

• Strong command of user-centered design (UCD) principles, usability best practices, and current accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex research insights and user feedback into actionable recommendations and design solutions.

• High proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Visily (preferred), Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.

• Experience in creating detailed user personas and customer journey maps to inform product strategy.

• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret quantitative and qualitative data for data-driven UX decisions.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate design rationale and research findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Skills:

• Basic understanding of front-end development concepts (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to inform design feasibility and collaboration.

• Familiarity with analytics and user behavior tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Hotjar, Mixpanel, or similar platforms.

• Experience with A/B testing frameworks and methodologies for design validation.

• Prior experience working in fast-paced, agile startup environments.

• Exposure to AI-driven UX research tools and emerging methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement is explicitly stated as "2+ years," and the preference for Visily is a key differentiator. The inclusion of front-end development knowledge and AI-driven tools as "nice-to-haves" provides additional context for candidate targeting.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio or collection of case studies is mandatory, showcasing a strong understanding of the UX research process from conception to execution.

• Demonstrations of wireframing, prototyping, and UI design skills, clearly illustrating the flow from research insights to final design artifacts.

• Examples of user personas, customer journey maps, and usability study reports that highlight your analytical process and problem-solving capabilities.

• Evidence of collaboration with cross-functional teams and the ability to present research findings and design recommendations effectively.

Process Documentation:

• The portfolio should reflect a structured approach to UX research, detailing the specific methodologies used for each project.

• Documentation of how user feedback and research data were synthesized to drive design iterations and strategic product choices.

• Examples of how design concepts were tested and validated, including any A/B testing results or usability testing outcomes.

• Clear articulation of the impact of your research and design work, ideally supported by metrics or qualitative feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio is critical for this role. The requirements are structured to assess not just the final designs but the entire research and design process, including collaboration and impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: While not explicitly stated, for a Mid-Senior UX Researcher role with 2+ years of experience, operating remotely across the specified European countries, a competitive salary range is estimated between €45,000 - €70,000 annually. This range considers the cost of living variations, required skill set, and the company's fast-paced startup environment.

Benefits:

• Remote Work Environment: Enjoy the flexibility and autonomy of working from anywhere within the designated remote locations, fostering a healthy work-life balance.

• Unlimited PTO: Take advantage of an unlimited Paid Time Off policy, empowering you to prioritize personal well-being and recharge as needed.

• Paid National Holidays: Receive paid time off for national holidays in your country of residence, ensuring time for rest and personal matters.

• Company-Provided MacBook: Utilize a high-performance, company-issued MacBook to ensure seamless productivity and access to necessary tools.

• Flexible Independent Contractor Agreement: Benefit from a flexible contractor arrangement that offers autonomy, potential tax advantages, networking opportunities, and reduced employment obligations.

Working Hours: The role is structured around a standard 40-hour work week, with an emphasis on collaboration within the CET (Central European Time) zone. This requires availability for meetings and collaborative work approximately within ± 4 hours of CET.

📝 Enhancement Note: A salary range is estimated based on the role's experience level, location flexibility, and industry standards for remote UX Researcher positions in Eastern Europe and the EU. The benefits are detailed as provided, highlighting the contractor agreement's unique aspects.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Consumer Products (Health, Education, Entertainment). Ruby Labs operates at the intersection of technology and consumer engagement, developing innovative products across diverse sectors.

Company Size: Ruby Labs is positioned as a fast-growing tech company, likely scaling rapidly from a startup phase. This implies a dynamic, agile, and potentially resource-constrained environment where individuals can have significant impact.

Founded: (Information not provided, but context suggests a relatively recent founding or a period of significant growth targeting innovative consumer products.)

Team Structure:

• The UX team likely comprises designers, researchers, and product managers working closely together.

• Collaboration is expected to be cross-functional, involving close partnerships with engineering and product leadership.

Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is a core tenet, with research findings and analytics heavily influencing product development.

• A strong emphasis on user-centered design (UCD) principles guides the entire product lifecycle.

• Agility and rapid iteration are key, requiring adaptability and quick responses to market feedback and user needs.

Company Website: https://rubylabs.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is described as fast-paced, ambitious, and results-oriented, typical of a growing tech startup. The operations context is framed around innovation in consumer products and the need for individuals who thrive under pressure.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Senior UX Researcher, requiring at least 2 years of dedicated experience. It involves a significant level of autonomy in research design and execution, as well as the ability to influence product direction through well-supported insights. The role demands a proactive approach to identifying research opportunities and translating findings into tangible design solutions.

Reporting Structure: The UX Researcher will likely report to a Head of Product, Lead Designer, or a dedicated UX Manager, depending on the team's current structure. Close collaboration with product managers and developers is a key aspect of the role, ensuring research is integrated throughout the development lifecycle.

Operations Impact: The UX Researcher's work directly impacts product success by ensuring that user needs and pain points are understood and addressed. This leads to more intuitive, engaging, and effective consumer products, ultimately driving user adoption, retention, and satisfaction, which are critical for revenue growth and market competitiveness.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific research methodologies (e.g., advanced qualitative methods, AI-driven research) or specialize in a particular product vertical (health, education, entertainment).

• Leadership: Potential to grow into a Senior UX Researcher or UX Lead role, mentoring junior researchers and taking ownership of larger research initiatives and strategy.

• Skill Expansion: Development in UI design, product strategy, and cross-functional leadership through exposure to diverse projects and close collaboration with product and engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career path is framed around deepening UX expertise and potentially moving into leadership roles within a growing company. The "operations impact" is specifically tied to user satisfaction and product success, which are key drivers in consumer tech.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. Ruby Labs embraces a distributed workforce, offering significant flexibility in where employees choose to work.

Office Location(s): Remote work is permitted for candidates located within approximately ± 4 hours of CET (Central European Time). This includes countries such as Turkey, Georgia, Serbia, Moldova, North Macedonia, and the European Union, as well as potentially parts of Eastern Europe.

Workspace Context:

• The work environment is highly independent and self-directed, requiring strong self-management skills.

• Collaboration is primarily conducted through digital tools (e.g., Slack, video conferencing, project management software).

• Access to essential design and research tools is provided, supported by a company-issued MacBook.

Work Schedule: While the role is full-time (40 hours/week), the remote nature and the time zone requirement (± 4 hours of CET) offer significant flexibility in scheduling daily work, allowing individuals to manage their time effectively around core collaboration hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment is characterized by its remote nature and the crucial time zone alignment requirement, which is key for effective team collaboration. The emphasis is on autonomy and digital collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Recruiter Screening (40 minutes): An initial conversation to assess overall fit, communication skills, and basic qualifications. Be prepared to discuss your UX philosophy and career aspirations.

• Technical Interview (60 minutes): A deep dive into your UX research and design skills. Expect questions about your methodologies, problem-solving approaches, and how you handle challenging research scenarios. You will likely be asked to walk through specific projects from your portfolio.

• Final Interview (30 minutes): A conversation likely with a hiring manager or key stakeholder to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, and your potential impact on the team and product.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Showcase 3-5 of your strongest, most relevant projects that demonstrate a clear UX research and design process.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, the research methodologies used, your design process, the challenges faced, and the outcomes or impact achieved. Quantify results where possible.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your research techniques, how you synthesized data, and how your insights directly informed design decisions.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your wireframes, prototypes, and final designs are presented clearly and professionally.

• Tailor to Ruby Labs: If possible, subtly align your portfolio examples with the types of consumer products Ruby Labs develops.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be ready to discuss how you would approach a hypothetical UX research problem relevant to Ruby Labs' product areas.

• Prepare to articulate your understanding of user-centered design principles and how you apply them in practice.

• Think about how you measure the success of your UX research and design efforts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured in three stages, with a clear emphasis on both technical expertise and cultural fit. Specific advice is provided for portfolio presentation, focusing on storytelling, process, and quantifiable impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Wireframing: Visily (preferred), Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD. Proficiency in at least one of these is essential, with a strong preference for Visily.

• Prototyping: Figma, InVision, or similar tools for creating interactive prototypes.

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting remote interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., Lookback, UserTesting.com, SurveyMonkey, Typeform).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics.

• User Behavior Analytics: Hotjar, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar tools for heatmaps, session recordings, and event tracking.

• Data Visualization: Tools for presenting research findings and data insights effectively.

CRM & Automation: While not primary for UX Research, familiarity with how CRM data (e.g., from Salesforce, HubSpot) might inform user segmentation or understanding customer lifecycles can be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack highlights specific tools crucial for this role, with a clear preference for Visily and Figma. Familiarity with analytics and user behavior tools is also a key requirement.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ambition & Drive: A core value at Ruby Labs is a high level of ambition and a drive to achieve significant results. Operations professionals are expected to be proactive and goal-oriented.

• Speed & Agility: The company operates at a fast pace, valuing individuals who can adapt quickly, iterate rapidly, and respond effectively to changing market dynamics.

• Impact-Oriented: There's a strong focus on delivering tangible impact. Operations professionals are encouraged to seek out opportunities where their work directly contributes to business growth and product success.

• Continuous Improvement: A commitment to constantly refining processes, learning new methodologies, and improving product offerings is integral to the company's ethos.

• Ownership & Accountability: Team members are expected to take ownership of their work, be accountable for outcomes, and contribute to a culture of high performance.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Seamless collaboration across product, design, and engineering teams is essential. Open communication and shared understanding of goals are prioritized.

• Data-Informed Dialogue: Discussions and decision-making are heavily influenced by data and research findings. Team members are expected to present evidence to support their proposals.

• Constructive Feedback: A culture of open and constructive feedback is encouraged to foster continuous learning and improvement, both at an individual and team level.

• Agile Iteration: The team embraces iterative development, with regular feedback loops and quick adjustments based on user testing and market response.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is strongly characterized by ambition, speed, and a focus on impact, which are critical for success in a fast-growing tech startup environment. Collaboration is data-driven and cross-functional.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Rapid Iteration in a Fast-Paced Environment: Keeping pace with frequent product updates and evolving user needs requires exceptional time management and adaptability.

• Balancing Research Rigor with Business Speed: The need to conduct thorough research while meeting tight deadlines is a constant challenge, requiring efficient methodologies and strong prioritization skills.

• Translating Complex Insights into Actionable Designs: Effectively communicating nuanced research findings to diverse teams and ensuring they translate into intuitive and effective design solutions.

• Navigating a Distributed Team: Maintaining effective communication and collaboration across different time zones and locations requires proactive effort and mastery of digital communication tools.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UX Methodologies: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge UX research techniques, including AI-driven tools and advanced qualitative analysis.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Gain exposure to product management and front-end development principles, broadening your understanding of the product lifecycle.

• Strategic Influence: Develop skills in presenting research findings to senior leadership and influencing product strategy, paving the way for leadership roles.

• Industry Exposure: Potential to attend relevant conferences or workshops focused on UX research and design innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed around the realities of a fast-paced, remote startup environment, emphasizing adaptability and effective communication. Growth opportunities focus on deepening UX expertise and expanding into strategic product roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to conduct UX research with limited resources or under a tight deadline. How did you prioritize and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your process, prioritization skills, and ability to deliver under pressure).

• "How do you approach translating ambiguous user feedback or complex data into clear, actionable design requirements for wireframes?" (Highlight your analytical process and ability to bridge research and design).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Ruby Labs' mission and its focus on consumer products in health, education, and entertainment?" (Research the company's products and values; connect your passion to their mission).

• "How do you see yourself contributing to a fast-paced, remote startup environment that values ambition and speed?" (Emphasize your adaptability, proactivity, and collaborative spirit).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin each case study with a clear overview: problem statement, your role, and key objectives.

• Detail the Process: Clearly articulate your research methodology, user recruitment strategy, data synthesis, and how your insights directly informed your wireframe and design decisions.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals of your wireframes, prototypes, personas, and journey maps. Explain the rationale behind key design choices.

• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, present metrics demonstrating the impact of your work (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction scores).

• Conciseness is Key: Be mindful of time during your presentation. Focus on the most critical aspects of each project.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation advice is tailored to the role's requirements, focusing on research methodologies, design translation, and cultural fit. Specific examples of questions and portfolio presentation tips are provided to guide candidates.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby HQ.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies showcasing your UX research process, wireframing skills, and ability to translate insights into user-centered designs. Tailor your presentation to highlight projects demonstrating impact in consumer product development.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly articulate your years of experience in UX research and UI/UX design, explicitly mentioning proficiency in Visily and Figma. Quantify achievements and responsibilities using keywords relevant to user research, wireframing, and data-driven design.

• Interview Preparation: Practice walking through your portfolio projects, preparing to discuss your research methodologies, design rationale, and the impact of your work. Be ready to articulate your understanding of user-centered design principles and how you thrive in remote, agile environments.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Ruby Labs' existing products and their stated mission. Understand their focus on health, education, and entertainment consumer products to better align your responses with their business objectives and company culture.

⚠️ 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.