Principal Experience User Researcher, AI Platform (Canada | Remote)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Experience User Researcher, AI Platform

Company: Autodesk

Location: Canada (Remote)

Job Type: Full time

Category: User Experience Research / AI Product Development

Date Posted: 2026-07-29

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the user research strategy for Autodesk's AI Platform, focusing on understanding customer needs and informing AI product direction.

• Drive the development of next-generation AI-powered experiences, including Autodesk Assistant and agentic capabilities, ensuring they are useful, trustworthy, and impactful.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, engineering, and data science leaders to translate research insights into actionable product strategies and roadmap decisions.

• Elevate user research practices within Autodesk, mentor junior researchers, and contribute thought leadership in the AI and user experience domain.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is deeply embedded within AI product development, requiring a strong understanding of both cutting-edge AI technologies and user-centric design principles. The "Principal" title indicates a senior leadership expectation, focusing on strategic influence and mentorship rather than just execution. The emphasis on "Platform Services" suggests a role impacting multiple Autodesk products, requiring a broad perspective on user workflows across architecture, construction, manufacturing, and media/entertainment.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive research strategy that aligns customer needs with key business objectives for AI platform investments.

• Conduct mixed-methods research programs, encompassing discovery, concept evaluation, and measurement of AI-powered experiences to minimize product development risks.

• Deliver actionable insights that directly influence product strategy, roadmap prioritization, and the evolution of AI features like Autodesk Assistant.

• Evaluate the value proposition, usability, trustworthiness, and effectiveness of AI capabilities across the Autodesk product portfolio.

• Establish and nurture cross-team connections to coordinate research efforts, identify emerging trends in AI adoption, and ensure research findings are actioned.

• Collaborate closely with experience design, product management, engineering, and marketing stakeholders to integrate user insights into product development lifecycles.

• Act as a domain expert on customer experience and emerging trends impacting AI adoption and implementation within Autodesk's target industries.

• Mentor and guide other user researchers, fostering a strong research culture and advancing research practices within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic, leadership-oriented role. The emphasis on "minimizing product development risk" and "evaluating value, usability, trust, and effectiveness" points to a need for rigorous, data-driven research methodologies that directly tie into business outcomes and product success metrics for AI initiatives.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: MS/MFA or higher in Human Factors, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Engineering, Psychology, Product Design, or a related field.

Experience: Minimum 8 years of professional experience in user research, with a proven track record of influencing UX and business decisions.

Required Skills:

• Proven ability to impact user experience and business decisions through impactful user research findings.

• Expertise in designing and conducting mixed-methods research, including usability studies, statistical analysis of survey data, heuristic evaluations, participatory design activities, and focus groups.

• Strong capability in producing exceptional user research deliverables, demonstrated through a robust portfolio.

• Experience contributing user research within an agile, platform development environment.

• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders across various divisions, including senior directors, VPs, and C-suite executives.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills in English, with outstanding visual and oral storytelling capabilities. Preferred Skills:

• Experience defining and scaling a research roadmap in a fast-paced product area.

• Genuine curiosity and strong understanding of AI, particularly generative AI, and its impact on customer expectations and workflows.

• Experience researching AI-powered products, assistants, copilots, search, or recommendation systems.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity at a platform and ecosystem level, influencing multiple products and teams.

• Proficiency in evaluating customer value, trust, adoption, and behavioral change in emerging AI experiences.

• Skill in mapping complex customer journeys and identifying optimal points for AI intervention.

• Experience fostering research culture, championing quality, and evolving research methodologies and practices.

• Demonstrated curiosity and learning about Autodesk tools and markets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" level requires not just execution but also strategic thinking, roadmap definition, and significant stakeholder influence. The preferred skills strongly indicate a need for experience with emerging AI technologies and their user implications, positioning this role at the forefront of innovation. Experience with platform-level research is crucial due to the broad impact of the AI Platform Services team.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a range of user research projects, with a clear emphasis on AI-related products or complex platform initiatives.

• Demonstrate a clear process for defining research questions, selecting appropriate methodologies, and executing research plans that align with product development phases.

• Include case studies that highlight how your research insights directly informed product strategy, roadmap decisions, and resulted in measurable improvements in user experience or business outcomes.

• Showcase your ability to translate complex research findings into clear, compelling, and actionable recommendations for diverse stakeholders, including executive leadership. Process Documentation:

• Evidence of designing and implementing research strategies that address key areas of uncertainty and mitigate product development risks.

• Examples of research plans that effectively incorporate mixed-methods approaches (qualitative and quantitative) to provide a holistic understanding of user needs and AI adoption.

• Documentation of how research findings were disseminated, integrated into product backlogs, and used to measure the ongoing value, usability, and trustworthiness of AI-powered features.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal Researcher role, the portfolio must go beyond showcasing individual studies. It needs to demonstrate strategic thinking, the ability to define research roadmaps, influence product direction, and measure the impact of research on business objectives, particularly within the context of AI product development.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $112,000 - $163,900 CAD annually.

• Note: This range is an estimate for Canada based on the provided information. Actual offers will depend on the candidate's experience, skills, and geographic location within Canada.

Benefits:

• Annual cash bonuses: Performance-based incentives that can supplement base salary.

• Stock grants: Equity awards, offering ownership and potential for long-term financial growth.

• Comprehensive benefits package: Includes health, dental, vision insurance, retirement savings plans (e.g., RRSP matching), paid time off, and other wellness programs.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week.

• Note: While a standard 40-hour work week is outlined, the remote nature and senior level of this role may offer flexibility in scheduling, allowing for adaptation to research needs and team collaboration across North American time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific to Canada. The benefits listed are typical for a large tech company like Autodesk, with stock grants being a significant component for senior roles. The mention of "comprehensive benefits package" implies robust healthcare, retirement, and wellness offerings. The 40-hour work week is standard, but flexibility is often inherent in remote, senior positions.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software & Technology, specifically focused on design, engineering, and construction software, with a growing emphasis on AI integration.

Company Size: Over 10,000 employees. This large size indicates significant resources, established processes, and a broad impact across multiple industries. For operations professionals, it means more structured environments, opportunities for specialization, and cross-functional collaboration across vast teams.

Founded: 1982. Autodesk has a long history and deep expertise in its core markets, now actively innovating in AI and cloud platforms, suggesting a culture that balances established strengths with forward-looking technological advancements.

Team Structure:

• Platform Services Team (PSET): This team designs common capabilities used across Autodesk's portfolio, acting as an internal platform provider. Roles within PSET often have broad impact, touching many product surfaces.

• AI Platform Focus: The specific team is focused on AI, implying close collaboration with Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, and Product Management teams dedicated to AI strategy and development.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong emphasis on working with designers, researchers, product managers, and developers, indicating a highly collaborative and integrated product development process.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Research findings are expected to inform product strategy, roadmap decisions, and investment choices.

• Agile Development: The role requires contributing to research within an agile, platform development environment, emphasizing iterative development and continuous feedback.

• User-Centricity: A core tenet is understanding and prioritizing customer needs to create valuable and impactful AI experiences.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Autodesk's culture is described as valuing "meaningful work that helps build a better world" and fostering "belonging." For an operations role, this means working within a structured, large organization that prioritizes impact, collaboration, and employee well-being. The Platform Services team's internal "customer" focus is key – they support other Autodesk product teams.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Principal User Researcher. This is a senior individual contributor role, often on par with Senior Manager or Director levels in other functions, signifying deep expertise, strategic responsibility, and significant influence. It implies a focus on shaping research strategy, mentoring others, and driving high-impact projects.

Reporting Structure: The role will likely report into a Director or VP of Research, Product, or Platform. This individual will also work closely with leaders in Product Management, Design, and Engineering for the AI platform.

Operations Impact: The research conducted will directly influence Autodesk's AI strategy, product roadmap, and the development of core AI capabilities that underpin many of Autodesk's software offerings. This has a downstream effect on customer satisfaction, product adoption, and ultimately, revenue across the entire Autodesk ecosystem.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in AI Research: Advance to a lead research role for broader AI initiatives or specialize further in specific AI domains (e.g., generative AI, agentic systems).

• Strategic Influence: Grow influence within Autodesk's executive ranks, shaping long-term product and technology strategy.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior researchers and contributing to the growth of the user research practice.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Potentially transition into product management, design leadership, or other strategic roles leveraging deep customer and technology insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" title strongly suggests a career path focused on deep expertise and strategic leadership within research, rather than a move into direct people management unless desired. The impact on AI strategy for a company like Autodesk offers significant intellectual challenges and career advancement opportunities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Remote-first environment with opportunities for in-person collaboration in Autodesk offices if desired by the employee.

Office Location(s): While remote within Canada is supported, Autodesk has key offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, which may serve as hubs for occasional team gatherings or optional workdays.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Expect to work extensively using virtual collaboration tools (e.g., video conferencing, shared documents, digital whiteboards) to connect with distributed teams.

• Technology Access: Autodesk provides employees with the necessary hardware and software to perform their roles effectively, including access to advanced research tools and AI development platforms.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Frequent engagement with diverse teams (design, product, engineering, data science) will be standard, fostering a dynamic and intellectually stimulating work environment.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week. Flexibility is often available for remote employees to manage their schedules, accommodating different time zones and personal needs, while ensuring availability for critical team meetings and research activities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is explicitly remote within Canada. The environment will be highly collaborative, relying heavily on digital tools. The "Platform Services" nature of the team means a constant stream of interaction with internal "customers" (other product teams), demanding strong communication and stakeholder management skills in a virtual setting.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or Recruiter call to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the hiring manager to delve deeper into experience, research philosophy, and strategic thinking related to AI. Expect questions about past projects and how you've influenced product decisions.

• Portfolio Review / Research Deep Dive: A critical stage where you'll present a selection of your work. Be prepared to walk through 2-3 relevant case studies, focusing on your process, insights, impact, and how you navigated challenges. Expect questions about your methodology, stakeholder management, and your approach to AI research.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with peers or senior stakeholders from Product, Design, and Engineering teams. These will assess your collaborative abilities, technical understanding, and how you communicate research to non-researchers.

• Executive/Senior Leadership Interview: Final interview with a senior leader (e.g., VP) to assess strategic alignment, leadership potential, and overall fit for the Principal role and Autodesk's AI vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best showcase your experience with AI, platform development, mixed-methods research, and influencing product strategy. Prioritize impact and outcomes.

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role and approach, the methodologies used, key insights, how these insights influenced decisions, and the resulting impact (quantifiable if possible).

• Highlight AI Relevance: Emphasize any experience with AI, machine learning, generative AI, or complex intelligent systems. Discuss how you approach researching user trust, value, and adoption of these novel technologies.

• Showcase Leadership: Include examples of mentoring, driving research initiatives, or influencing stakeholders at senior levels.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate deep dives into your methodology, decision-making process, and how you handle ambiguity and conflict.

Challenge Preparation:

• Scenario-Based Questions: Be ready for hypothetical scenarios related to researching a new AI feature, defining a research roadmap for an evolving platform, or addressing conflicting stakeholder needs.

• Strategic Thinking: Prepare to discuss your views on the future of AI in design and make industries, and how user research can shape this future.

• Communication & Storytelling: Practice articulating complex research concepts and findings concisely and persuasively, both verbally and visually.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio review is paramount for a Principal Researcher. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not just research execution but strategic thinking, leadership in defining research direction, and a deep understanding of AI's user implications. The interview process is designed to assess strategic impact and cross-functional influence.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• User Research Platforms: Tools for participant recruitment, scheduling, and remote usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Qualtrics).

• Collaboration Suites: Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) or Google Workspace for document sharing, communication, and project management.

• Prototyping & Design Tools: Familiarity with tools used by design partners such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD will facilitate collaboration.

• Data Analysis Software: Proficiency in statistical analysis tools (e.g., SPSS, R, Python with libraries like Pandas/SciPy) and qualitative analysis software (e.g., Dovetail, NVivo) is expected.

Analytics & Reporting:

• BI/Dashboard Tools: Experience with tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker for visualizing research data and tracking key metrics (e.g., user adoption, satisfaction, task success rates).

• Survey Tools: Proficiency in platforms like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Qualtrics for designing and deploying quantitative research instruments.

CRM & Automation:

• Internal Tools: While not directly a CRM role, understanding how user research integrates with product feedback loops and customer data platforms (potentially Salesforce or similar) is beneficial.

• Project Management: Tools like Jira, Confluence, or Asana for managing research projects, documenting findings, and tracking progress within agile workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this is a research role, familiarity with the tools used by product, engineering, and data science teams is crucial for effective collaboration. The emphasis on data analysis and visualization tools highlights the quantitative aspect of the role, essential for a Principal Researcher influencing strategy.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: Focus on delivering research that tangibly influences product strategy, user experience, and business outcomes, particularly in the AI space.

• Curiosity & Learning: A strong drive to understand emerging AI technologies, customer needs, and industry trends, with a commitment to continuous learning.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Cultivating strong working relationships with product, design, engineering, and data science teams to ensure research is integrated and actionable.

• Trust & Transparency: Building trustworthy AI experiences and fostering transparent communication about research findings and their implications.

• Efficiency & Rigor: Applying robust research methodologies to generate reliable insights efficiently, minimizing development risk and maximizing ROI.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive & Consultative: Actively engaging with internal stakeholders to understand their research needs and proactively offering research solutions.

• Cross-functional Integration: Working seamlessly within agile teams, contributing research perspectives at all stages of the product development lifecycle.

• Knowledge Sharing: Regularly sharing research findings and best practices through presentations, documentation, and informal discussions to elevate the entire team's understanding.

• Feedback-Oriented: Open to receiving and providing constructive feedback to improve research quality, processes, and team effectiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: Autodesk's stated values of "belonging" and "making a better world" likely translate into a supportive, inclusive, and purpose-driven work environment. For operations roles, this means a focus on ethical practices, user advocacy, and contributing to meaningful innovation.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating AI Ambiguity: Researching novel AI capabilities where user understanding, expectations, and optimal use cases are still emerging. This requires adaptability and innovative research approaches.

• Platform-Scale Research: Addressing research questions that impact multiple Autodesk products and diverse user segments across various industries (architecture, engineering, construction, media).

• Influencing Senior Stakeholders: Communicating complex research findings and advocating for user needs effectively to executive leadership to secure buy-in for AI strategy and product investments.

• Balancing Speed and Rigor: Conducting thorough research within fast-paced agile development cycles, ensuring insights are timely yet robust enough to drive confident decisions.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific AI domains relevant to Autodesk's product portfolio, such as generative AI, agentic systems, or AI ethics in design and make workflows.

• Strategic Leadership Development: Opportunities to refine strategic planning, roadmap definition, and thought leadership within the broader Autodesk organization.

• Mentorship Programs: Formal and informal mentorship to hone research skills, develop leadership capabilities, and navigate career progression within Autodesk.

• Industry Engagement: Potential to represent Autodesk at conferences, contribute to industry publications, and stay at the forefront of UX research and AI trends.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a Principal role in a cutting-edge field like AI. The growth opportunities are geared towards increasing strategic impact, subject matter expertise, and leadership within the research community and the company.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you develop a research strategy for a new AI assistant feature within Autodesk's platform, considering potential risks and unknowns?" (Focus: Strategic planning, risk mitigation, AI context)

• "Describe a time you had to influence senior leadership with research findings that contradicted their initial assumptions. What was your approach and the outcome?" (Focus: Stakeholder influence, communication, data-driven persuasion)

• "How do you approach researching user trust and adoption for emerging AI technologies? Provide an example." (Focus: AI research methodologies, user psychology, trust-building) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Autodesk's AI strategy and its potential impact on the design and make industries?" (Focus: Company alignment, industry perspective, AI enthusiasm)

• "How would you foster collaboration between user research, product management, and engineering teams working on the AI platform?" (Focus: Cross-functional collaboration, team dynamics)

• "How do you measure the success and impact of your user research efforts?" (Focus: Metrics, ROI, value demonstration) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: Frame each case study as a narrative: the challenge, your journey (research process), the discoveries, the impact, and the lessons learned.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data to demonstrate the impact of your research (e.g., "led to a 15% increase in feature adoption," "reduced task completion time by 20%").

• Focus on "Principal" Level Thinking: Emphasize strategic contributions, how you defined research direction, how you managed ambiguity, and how you influenced key decisions beyond just delivering findings.

• Tailor to AI: Ensure your examples clearly articulate your understanding of AI's unique research challenges and opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, leadership in research, deep understanding of AI user experience, and strong communication skills. The portfolio is the centerpiece, so practicing its presentation to highlight impact and strategic contributions is crucial.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Experience User Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your CV and portfolio to highlight your experience with AI research, platform development, mixed-methods research, and influencing product strategy. Select 2-3 key projects that best exemplify your strategic impact and leadership.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 8+ years of experience, educational background, and key skills, using keywords from the job description such as "AI strategy," "mixed-methods research," "stakeholder influence," and "generative AI."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your research process, insights, and impact for your chosen portfolio projects. Prepare to discuss your approach to AI research challenges and your understanding of Autodesk's market.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Autodesk's products, its AI initiatives, and its stated company values, particularly around innovation, collaboration, and "belonging." Understand the industries Autodesk serves (architecture, engineering, construction, media & entertainment).

⚠️ 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.