UX Researcher, Selling Partner Services

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Researcher, Selling Partner Services Company: Amazon Location: Sunnyvale, California, United States Job Type: Full-time Category: User Experience Research / Product Operations Date Posted: 2025-09-18 Experience Level: 7+ Years (Advanced degree holders may have slightly different expectations, but 7 years is a strong baseline) Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead user research initiatives within the Selling Partner Services (SPS) organization, focusing on the Brand Registry platform, to drive product innovation and enhance the seller experience.
• Employ a blend of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to deeply understand B2B customer needs, enabling data-driven product decisions and strategic planning for enterprise solutions.
• Collaborate intimately with product managers, designers, and engineers to translate complex user insights into actionable recommendations that shape product roadmaps and business strategy.
• Drive research programs across multiple stakeholders and teams, adeptly managing complex relationships and building consensus in fast-paced, often ambiguous environments.
• Actively contribute to the strategic planning of the UX research roadmap, championing agile research practices and evolving methodologies to meet dynamic business and user requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is "UX Researcher," the context of "Selling Partner Services," "Brand Registry," and the focus on B2B customers and enterprise solutions positions this role within a broader Product Operations or GTM Operations sphere. The emphasis on influencing product strategy and driving business objectives through research aligns with how operations professionals leverage user insights to optimize Go-To-Market strategies and operational efficiency for seller-facing platforms.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and execute a comprehensive suite of qualitative and quantitative research studies, including but not limited to user interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiries, surveys, and diary studies, across all stages of the product lifecycle.
• Analyze and synthesize insights derived from diverse data sources such as behavioral data, survey responses, and in-depth qualitative interviews to uncover high-impact user needs, identify critical trends, and detect emerging patterns within the selling partner ecosystem.
• Translate complex research findings into compelling narratives, clear reports, and actionable recommendations that directly inform product improvements, feature enhancements, and overarching business strategy for the Brand Registry platform.
• Partner closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Design, and Engineering, to align on research objectives, influence key product decisions, and ensure a consistent customer-centric approach throughout the development process.
• Proactively identify research opportunities for new and existing business initiatives, contributing significantly to foundational documents like Press Releases and Working Backward documents to ensure user needs are embedded from the outset of strategic planning.
• Lead and manage research programs that span multiple stakeholders and teams, effectively navigating complex relationships and fostering consensus, particularly when addressing divergent viewpoints or priorities.
• Deliver well-structured, insightful, and persuasive research reports tailored for various audiences, including peers, product teams, and senior leadership, potentially contributing to broader organizational strategic planning efforts.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging research methodologies, and best practices in UX research and B2B product development, actively implementing innovative approaches and sharing knowledge to elevate the team's capabilities.
• Contribute to the strategic planning and evolution of the UX research roadmap, advocating for and implementing agile research practices that enhance efficiency and responsiveness to changing business and user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a need for strategic thinking and influencing beyond just research execution. This indicates a role that requires operations-minded individuals to connect user insights directly to business outcomes, process improvements, and strategic GTM planning for the Selling Partner Services.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Cognitive Science, or a closely related field. This academic foundation is crucial for understanding user behavior and research methodologies. Experience: A minimum of 7 years of dedicated experience in user experience research, with a strong emphasis on B2B or enterprise-level products and services. Experience in managing customer recruitment, outreach, and relationship management is highly valued, particularly with specialized business populations.

Required Skills:

• User Research Expertise: Proven ability to design and execute a wide array of user research methodologies, including user interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiries, surveys, and ethnographic studies.
• Analytical & Synthesis Skills: Exceptional ability to analyze and synthesize data from diverse qualitative and quantitative sources, deriving clear, actionable insights from complex datasets.
• Communication & Storytelling: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to craft compelling narratives and present findings effectively to various audiences, including senior leadership.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven experience working effectively with product managers, designers, engineers, and other stakeholders to influence product strategy and drive user-centered decision-making.
• Agile Research Acumen: Ability to balance research rigor with the need for quick, actionable insights in a fast-paced, agile development environment.
• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated skill in managing relationships with diverse stakeholders, building consensus, and driving research initiatives across multiple teams.
• Problem Solving: Comfort with ambiguity and a proactive approach to identifying and solving complex user problems within a dynamic business context.

Preferred Skills:

• B2B/Enterprise Research: Specific experience conducting research for business-to-business (B2B) products, services, or enterprise solutions, understanding the unique needs of business users.
• Research Tools Proficiency: Familiarity with a variety of user research tools and platforms, such as Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Dovetail, and general analytics platforms.
• Behavioral Science & UX Design: A deep passion for understanding and applying the latest learnings and innovations in behavioral science, research methods, and UX design principles.
• Global Research Experience: Experience managing and executing large-scale, global research projects, considering cultural nuances and diverse user populations.
• Project Management: Proven project management skills to effectively plan, prioritize, and execute research initiatives, manage timelines, and allocate resources.
• Data Analysis Tools: Proficiency with data analysis tools and statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R, Python for data analysis) to support quantitative research efforts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "7+ years" experience level suggests a senior or lead researcher role. The emphasis on B2B, enterprise solutions, and influencing strategy points towards a need for researchers who can connect user insights to business operations and strategic GTM initiatives, not just product design.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies: A portfolio showcasing 3-5 in-depth case studies demonstrating a proven ability to conduct end-to-end UX research, from problem definition to actionable recommendations and impact measurement.
• Methodology Diversity: Examples that highlight the application of a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods, clearly explaining the rationale for choosing specific methods for different research questions.
• Insight Generation: Demonstrations of how research insights were synthesized and translated into concrete product improvements, strategic recommendations, or operational process enhancements.
• Impact & ROI: Evidence of the impact of your research on product decisions, business outcomes, or user experience improvements, ideally with quantifiable metrics or ROI where possible.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Examples that illustrate effective collaboration with product, design, engineering, and other business stakeholders to drive research initiatives and influence outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• The ability to document research processes clearly and concisely, detailing study design, participant recruitment strategies, data collection methods, analysis techniques, and reporting formats.
• Experience in creating research plans that align with agile development cycles and product roadmaps, ensuring research activities are integrated seamlessly into the product development workflow.
• Familiarity with creating and managing research repositories or knowledge bases to ensure research findings are accessible and actionable for broader teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role like this, a portfolio isn't just about showcasing research skills but also about demonstrating how research directly impacts business operations, product strategy, and the overall Go-To-Market success for selling partners. It needs to show an understanding of the operational impact of user needs.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $117,100 - $193,600 per year. This range reflects the varying cost of labor across different US geographic markets, with the higher end of the range typically associated with higher cost-of-living areas. Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical benefits are provided, likely including options for medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Financial Well-being: Access to financial benefits, which may include retirement savings plans (e.g., 401k), financial advisory services, or other wealth-building programs.
• Equity Opportunities: Potential for equity compensation, such as Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), which aligns employee success with company performance.
• New Hire Incentives: Possibility of sign-on payments, often provided to attract top talent and provide initial financial support.
• Other Benefits: A full range of additional benefits, which could include paid time off, parental leave, employee discounts, professional development opportunities, and wellness programs.

Working Hours: Typically a 40-hour work week is expected, aligning with standard full-time employment. However, given the agile nature of the role and Amazon's fast-paced environment, flexibility may be required to meet project deadlines and critical research needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is broad, indicating that compensation will be heavily influenced by specific location, the candidate's overall experience, and their demonstrated skills and impact. The mention of "total compensation" emphasizes that equity and other benefits are significant components beyond base salary, a common practice in tech companies like Amazon.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Advertising, Consumer Electronics, Artificial Intelligence. Amazon operates across a vast spectrum of industries, with Selling Partner Services specifically focused on enabling third-party sellers on its e-commerce platform. Company Size: Extremely Large (Amazon is one of the world's largest companies by revenue and employee count, with hundreds of thousands of employees globally). This size offers immense resources, opportunities for specialization, and the potential for significant impact, but also requires individuals to be proactive and navigate a complex organizational structure. Founded: 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Amazon's history is rooted in a customer-centric approach, relentless innovation, and a long-term vision, which permeates its culture and operational philosophy.

Team Structure:

• Selling Partner Services (SPS): A large, division-focused organization within Amazon dedicated to supporting and enabling third-party sellers.
• Core Selling Partner Experience (CSPE) Team: This specific team within SPS is responsible for defining, implementing, and enforcing quality standards for all Amazon-built experiences for selling partners globally.
• UX Research Team within CSPE: A collaborative, creative, and cohesive group of tenured researchers, likely comprising 10+ researchers with diverse specializations. This role reports into this research team, likely with a direct manager who oversees research strategy and execution.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Close partnerships are expected with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, and potentially Marketing and Legal teams to ensure a holistic approach to product development and seller enablement.

Methodology:

• Customer-Centricity: A foundational principle at Amazon, driving all decisions and initiatives to prioritize the customer (in this case, the selling partner).
• Agile Development: Research is expected to be nimble and keep pace with rapid innovation, supporting iterative product development cycles.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: A strong emphasis on using both qualitative and quantitative data to inform product strategy, design choices, and operational improvements.
• Working Backwards: A core Amazon methodology where product development begins with a customer-facing press release and FAQs, ensuring user needs are central from the outset.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's culture is known for its intensity and focus on metrics and results. For a researcher, this means insights must be directly tied to business impact and operational efficiency for selling partners. Understanding the "Working Backwards" process is key to influencing strategy.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a senior or lead level within UX Research, directly impacting product strategy and business operations for a critical segment of Amazon's e-commerce ecosystem. The expectation is for an individual who can operate independently, mentor junior researchers (potentially), and drive research initiatives with significant autonomy. Reporting Structure: The UX Researcher will report into a manager within the Selling Partner Services UX Research team. They will work closely with Product Managers and Design Leads within the Brand Registry product group, forming a core part of the product development triad. Operations Impact: The research conducted will directly influence the design and functionality of the Brand Registry platform, which is crucial for selling partners to protect their intellectual property and maintain an authentic presence. This has a direct impact on seller satisfaction, trust, compliance, and ultimately, the health and growth of the third-party seller marketplace, which is a significant revenue driver for Amazon.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Potential to deepen expertise in B2B user research, brand protection technologies, or specific areas of the Amazon seller ecosystem.
• Leadership: Opportunities to lead research programs, mentor junior researchers, and potentially move into a Senior/Principal UX Researcher role or a UX Research Manager position.
• Cross-functional Mobility: Potential to transition into Product Management, Program Management, or other operational roles within Amazon, leveraging deep customer understanding and strategic thinking.
• Skill Development: Access to Amazon's extensive internal training programs, workshops, and opportunities to attend industry conferences to stay current with research methodologies and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon provides clear career paths. Success in this role could lead to more senior research positions, management, or influential roles in product strategy and operations due to the direct impact on a key business segment.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role, indicating a traditional office-based work environment. Amazon offices are typically modern, well-equipped, and designed to foster collaboration. Office Location(s): Sunnyvale, California, a hub for technology companies in Silicon Valley. This location offers access to a vibrant tech ecosystem, talent pool, and networking opportunities. Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Expect an environment with shared workspaces, meeting rooms, and informal areas designed to encourage interaction and brainstorming among team members.
• Technology & Tools: Access to state-of-the-art research tools, software, and technology infrastructure necessary for conducting sophisticated user research.
• Team Interaction: Frequent opportunities for direct collaboration and knowledge sharing with fellow UX Researchers, Product Managers, Designers, and Engineers, both within the immediate team and across related product groups.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is typical. However, in line with Amazon's culture, there may be an expectation for flexibility and dedication to meet project timelines and deliver critical research insights, which could occasionally require working beyond standard hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Working on-site in Sunnyvale provides immersion in a tech-centric culture and facilitates the close collaboration essential for agile product development. The expectation of flexibility is common in high-growth tech environments.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely conduct an initial phone screen to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A more in-depth discussion with the hiring manager focusing on your research experience, methodology, strategic thinking, and alignment with the role's responsibilities.
• Research Deep Dive / Portfolio Review: This is a critical stage where you will present your portfolio. Expect to walk through 2-3 case studies in detail, discussing your process, insights, challenges, and impact. This may involve presenting to a panel of researchers, product managers, and designers.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders (e.g., Product Managers, Designers, Engineers) to assess your collaboration skills, ability to influence, and how you integrate research into the product development lifecycle.
• Leadership Principle Interviews: As an Amazon role, expect behavioral questions aligned with Amazon's Leadership Principles (e.g., Customer Obsession, Bias for Action, Dive Deep, Ownership, Deliver Results). Be prepared to provide specific examples from your past experience.
• Final Round (Optional): Potentially a final interview with a senior leader or director to confirm fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your research approach (including methodology rationale), key findings, insights, recommendations, and the impact of your work.
• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the value and impact of your research on product decisions, user experience, or business outcomes.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, prototypes, or user quotes to bring your research to life and illustrate your findings effectively.
• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize how you partnered with cross-functional teams and influenced product direction.
• Tailor to the Role: Focus on case studies that align with B2B research, enterprise solutions, and influencing product strategy, showcasing your ability to work in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your research process, how you handle conflicting data or opinions, and how you prioritize your work.

Challenge Preparation:

• Leadership Principles: Thoroughly review Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles and prepare STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) stories for each. Focus on principles like Customer Obsession, Dive Deep, Bias for Action, Ownership, and Deliver Results.
• Problem-Solving: Be ready for hypothetical scenarios or challenges related to researching complex B2B products or understanding niche user segments.
• Methodology Depth: Prepare to discuss your expertise in various research methodologies and justify your choices for specific research scenarios.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Amazon's Leadership Principles is paramount. Candidates must be able to demonstrate these principles through concrete examples during the interview process, especially how they relate to research impact and operational execution.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Research Platforms: Proficiency with various user research platforms for remote usability testing, surveys, diary studies, and session analysis (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey).
• Data Analysis Software: Strong skills in analyzing qualitative data (e.g., using tools like Dovetail, NVivo, or affinity mapping) and quantitative data (e.g., Excel, SPSS, R, Python for statistical analysis).
• Collaboration Suites: Familiarity with tools like Confluence, Jira, and Slack for project management, documentation, and team communication.
• Presentation Software: Expertise in creating clear and impactful presentations using tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Experience with web analytics tools (e.g., Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics) to understand user behavior on the platform.
• BI Tools: Familiarity with Business Intelligence tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) for data visualization and dashboard creation to communicate research insights effectively.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a direct CRM role, understanding how CRM data (e.g., Salesforce) can inform user research and segment analysis is beneficial.
• Automation Tools: Awareness of how automation impacts user workflows and potentially how research can inform automation strategies for selling partners.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is research-focused, an understanding of how research findings integrate with broader operational systems (like CRMs and analytics platforms) and influence automation strategies for selling partners would be a significant advantage.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: A deep commitment to understanding and advocating for the selling partner, ensuring their needs are paramount in product development and operational processes.
• Bias for Action: A proactive approach to identifying research opportunities and executing studies swiftly to provide timely insights, even with incomplete data.
• Dive Deep: A commitment to thorough analysis and understanding of complex user behaviors and business contexts to uncover root causes and high-impact solutions.
• Ownership: Taking full responsibility for research projects from conception to completion, ensuring high quality and impactful delivery.
• Deliver Results: Focusing on research outcomes that drive tangible improvements in product functionality, seller satisfaction, and business performance.
• Invent and Simplify: A drive to find innovative research methods and simplify complex user problems into actionable insights and user-friendly solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Researchers are expected to be integral members of product teams, working closely with PMs, Designers, and Engineers, sharing insights openly and contributing to shared goals.
• Data-Driven Dialogue: Fostering a culture of collaborative discussion grounded in data and user insights, encouraging constructive debate to arrive at the best solutions.
• Knowledge Sharing: Actively participating in team meetings, sharing learnings, and contributing to the collective knowledge base of the UX research practice within Amazon.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's culture is heavily influenced by its Leadership Principles. Demonstrating these principles in how you approach your work, collaborate, and drive results is critical to fitting into the team and succeeding in the role.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Pace and Ambiguity: Operating effectively in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment with a high degree of ambiguity, requiring strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize effectively.
• Large Scale & Complexity: Navigating the complexities of a massive platform and a diverse user base (selling partners of all sizes globally) to conduct impactful research.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Driving consensus and alignment on research findings and recommendations across multiple teams with potentially competing priorities.
• Influencing Product Strategy: Translating research insights into actionable changes that influence senior leadership and product roadmaps in a large organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Methodologies: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge research techniques and tools relevant to B2B and platform-based user research.
• Industry Exposure: Participation in internal Amazon forums, external conferences, and workshops focused on UX research, product management, and e-commerce operations.
• Mentorship: Access to experienced researchers and leaders within Amazon who can provide guidance and career development support.
• Impactful Projects: The chance to work on highly visible projects that have a direct and significant impact on millions of businesses worldwide and Amazon's core e-commerce business.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical of senior roles in large tech companies. Embracing these challenges and demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and a proactive learning mindset will be key to growth.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Research Strategy: "How would you approach understanding the primary pain points for selling partners using the Brand Registry platform? What research methods would you prioritize and why?" (Focus on your process, methodology selection, and how you'd address ambiguity).
• Collaboration & Influence: "Describe a time when your research findings conflicted with existing product assumptions or stakeholder opinions. How did you communicate your findings and influence the decision-making process?" (Highlight your communication and stakeholder management skills).
• Problem Solving: "Imagine a scenario where user adoption of a new Brand Registry feature is low. How would you diagnose the problem using research and what steps would you take to improve it?" (Demonstrate your analytical and problem-solving approach).

Company & Culture Questions:

• Leadership Principles: "Tell me about a time you had to 'Dive Deep' to understand a complex user problem. What did you do, and what was the outcome?" or "Describe a situation where you demonstrated 'Bias for Action' on a research project." (Prepare specific STAR examples for multiple principles).
• Team Dynamics: "How do you typically collaborate with Product Managers and Designers? What makes for a successful partnership between UX research and these functions?" (Showcase your understanding of cross-functional team dynamics).
• Impact Measurement: "How do you measure the success of your research? What metrics do you use to demonstrate the impact of your work on the business or product?" (Focus on connecting research to business outcomes).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Structure your case studies as compelling narratives that guide interviewers through your process and highlight your critical thinking.
• Visuals: Use clear, concise visuals (e.g., journey maps, personas, key quotes, screenshots) to support your findings and recommendations.
• Conciseness: Be mindful of time. Aim for 10-15 minutes per case study, leaving ample time for Q&A.
• Ownership: Clearly delineate your specific contributions within team projects.
• Actionability: Emphasize how your research led to concrete actions and measurable results.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare extensively for questions related to Amazon's Leadership Principles. This is a significant differentiator for Amazon interviews and demonstrates your cultural alignment and potential for success within the company's operational framework.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the official Amazon Jobs career site using the provided URL.
• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience with B2B research, enterprise solutions, and driving product strategy through user insights. Select case studies that best showcase your ability to work in an agile, fast-paced environment and demonstrate impact.
• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly states your years of experience, relevant methodologies, and quantifiable achievements. Use keywords from the job description such as "qualitative," "quantitative," "user interviews," "usability testing," "stakeholder management," and "product strategy."
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your research process, findings, and impact using the STAR method, especially focusing on Amazon's Leadership Principles. Prepare to present your portfolio case studies confidently and concisely.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Amazon's mission, values, and specifically the Selling Partner Services and Brand Registry offerings. Understand the importance of customer obsession and data-driven decision-making within Amazon's operational 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.