RQ00786 - UX Researcher - Senior

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: RQ00786 - UX Researcher - Senior

Company: Maarut

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: Contract

Category: User Experience (UX) / Customer Experience (CX) Research & Design

Date Posted: 2026-09-21

Experience Level: Senior (10+ years implied)

Remote Status: Remote OK (with potential for hybrid arrangements in Toronto)

🚀 Role Summary

• This Senior UX Researcher role focuses on driving user-centered design outcomes by conducting comprehensive CX/UX research and delivering critical design artifacts for complex digital health initiatives within a regulated environment.

• The position requires a deep understanding of user needs, pain points, and workflows to inform the design of intuitive and accessible digital services, aiming to reduce administrative burden for healthcare providers.

• Key responsibilities include planning and executing various research methodologies, synthesizing findings into actionable insights, and translating these into user-centric design outputs like wireframes, prototypes, and journey maps.

• The role emphasizes collaboration with cross-functional teams, including business, clinical, product, technical, and vendor partners, to ensure successful product and service design delivery aligned with accessibility standards (AODA, WCAG 2.1 Level AA).

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided job description and AI analysis strongly indicate a senior-level role requiring extensive experience in UX/CX research and design, particularly within complex, regulated environments like healthcare. The "10+ years" implied experience level and the depth of responsibilities suggest a strategic individual contributor role with significant autonomy. The "Contract" employment type is critical for candidates to note.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive research plans, including defining research objectives, selecting appropriate methodologies (user interviews, usability testing, heuristic evaluations, surveys, secondary research), and managing participant recruitment.

• Conduct in-depth qualitative and quantitative research to identify user pain points, risks, opportunities, and gather insights for product and service improvement.

• Synthesize complex research findings into clear, prioritized, and actionable insights, themes, and recommendations for diverse stakeholders.

• Translate research insights and business requirements into user-centered design artifacts, such as information architecture, task flows, user flows, wireframes, clickable prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups.

• Apply Customer Experience (CX) and Service Design methodologies to create essential artifacts like personas, journey maps, service blueprints, and ecosystem maps.

• Analyze complex workflows and task flows, collaborating with stakeholders to validate assumptions, assess solution feasibility, and identify practical improvement opportunities.

• Ensure digital services are designed inclusively and accessibly, meeting AODA and WCAG 2.1 Level AA expectations across all research, prototyping, testing, and UI review activities.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including business, product, clinical, technical, communications, and change management partners, to align on user needs and design solutions.

• Support the planning and facilitation of remote workshops, preparing materials, guiding activities, documenting outputs, and managing follow-up actions.

• Review and provide feedback on UI copy, design system components, pattern libraries, and vendor deliverables to ensure usability, accessibility, consistency, and adherence to CX/UX best practices.

• Manage the translation coordination and review of UI copy when necessary.

• Document findings, design rationale, decisions, risks, and recommendations in a clear, actionable format for various audiences, including leadership and product teams.

• Deliver assigned experience artifacts, ensuring adherence to established templates, standard operating procedures, governance, approval, and storage requirements.

• Provide regular (e.g., weekly) status updates on progress, blockers, and key findings to leads, project managers, and senior management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are highly detailed and reflect a senior practitioner role. The emphasis on documentation, cross-functional collaboration, and delivery of specific artifacts (research plans, personas, journey maps, wireframes, etc.) highlights the need for strong project management and communication skills alongside core UX/CX expertise. The mention of specific workstreams (eReferral/SRF, Central Intake) indicates the project context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Psychology, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for this level of expertise.

• Certification, training, or demonstrated professional development in CX, UX, Service Design, or Human-Centered Design is a strong asset. Experience:

• Minimum of 7+ years of end-to-end UX/CX research experience, encompassing planning, execution, synthesis, and presentation of actionable insights.

• Minimum of 7+ years of hands-on experience in inclusive UX/UI and Service Design for complex digital products.

• Minimum of 5+ years of experience delivering cross-functional solutions within complex, highly regulated environments.

• Demonstrated experience in translating research findings and requirements into user flows, journey maps, information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity AODA-compliant designs.

• Proven experience in workflow and task-flow analysis, stakeholder collaboration, and identifying practical improvement opportunities.

• Experience designing and testing for AODA/WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance is mandatory.

• Experience working with UI guidelines, design systems, reusable components, and pattern libraries.

• Experience supporting complex digital health, public sector, or highly regulated transformation initiatives is highly desirable.

• Experience working across multiple concurrent products, services, or workstreams with competing priorities.

• Familiarity with healthcare provider workflows, clinical environments, or digital health solutions is a plus.

• Experience supporting Voice of Customer programs is advantageous. Required Skills:

• Expertise in UX Research methodologies (interviews, usability testing, heuristic evaluations, surveys).

• Proficiency in CX and Service Design approaches (personas, journey maps, service blueprints).

• Advanced skills in synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights.

• Strong proficiency in translating insights into UX/UI design artifacts (information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, mockups).

• Deep understanding and practical application of AODA and WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards.

• Exceptional written, verbal, and facilitation skills, including remote workshop capabilities.

• Ability to manage ambiguity, competing priorities, and dependencies independently.

• Proficiency in design tools such as Figma, Adobe XD, or equivalent.

• Experience with collaboration tools like Miro, Mural, or FigJam. Preferred Skills:

• Experience in digital health or public sector transformation projects.

• Familiarity with healthcare provider workflows.

• Experience contributing to or applying design systems and pattern libraries.

• Experience supporting Voice of Customer programs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Must Haves" section of the original listing translates directly into the required experience years. The AI-derived "ai_experience_level": "10+" aligns with the cumulative experience requirements across different facets of the role, particularly when combining end-to-end research and design experience. The "10+" is a reasonable inference given the 7+ years in two core areas and 5+ years in a regulated environment.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate end-to-end UX/CX research projects, showcasing research plans, methodologies used, participant recruitment strategies, and synthesis of findings.

• Present case studies of complex digital product designs, illustrating the translation of research into user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and final high-fidelity mockups.

• Include examples of service design artifacts such as personas, journey maps, and service blueprints, highlighting their impact on product and service strategy.

• Showcase practical application of accessibility standards (AODA/WCAG 2.1 Level AA) in design deliverables and testing outcomes, with clear evidence of compliance.

• Evidence of experience working within regulated environments, demonstrating an understanding of governance, approvals, and documentation standards. Process Documentation:

• Examples of well-documented research plans, including clear objectives, methodologies, and participant criteria.

• Demonstrate the ability to document current- and future-state user flows, task flows, and service blueprints with a focus on identifying pain points and improvement opportunities.

• Showcase clear and actionable insight reports, synthesizing research findings into prioritized recommendations for product and service enhancements.

• Include examples of UX/UI guidelines, design system components, or pattern library contributions, illustrating consistency and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the senior nature of the role and the emphasis on deliverables and specific methodologies, a robust portfolio is essential. The requirements listed here are inferred from the detailed responsibilities and required deliverables, focusing on demonstrating practical application of UX/CX research, design principles, accessibility, and cross-functional collaboration in a regulated context.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Given the senior level (10+ years implied experience), contract nature, and location in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a competitive hourly or daily rate is expected. Based on industry benchmarks for senior UX/CX Researchers in Toronto and similar contract roles, the estimated range is CAD $70 - $110+ per hour, depending on the candidate's specific experience, expertise, and negotiation.

• Note: This is an estimation for a contract role. Full-time equivalent salary would be higher, but contract rates are typically paid hourly or daily.

Benefits:

• As a contract position, standard employee benefits (health insurance, paid time off, retirement contributions) are typically not provided by the hiring company.

• Contractors are often responsible for securing their own benefits.

• Potential for extended contract duration based on performance and project needs.

• Opportunity to work on impactful projects within the healthcare sector.

• Exposure to a collaborative, cross-functional team environment. Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week.

• Flexibility may be available, but the role requires dedicated time for research, design, collaboration, and documentation.

• The contract nature may offer some flexibility in scheduling, subject to project demands and team coordination.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on publicly available data for senior contract UX/CX Researcher roles in the Toronto market, considering the specified experience level and the nature of contract work. Benefits are described based on typical contract employment arrangements.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Healthcare, Government & Public Sector (implied by "digital health," "public sector," and "highly regulated transformation initiatives"). Maarut Inc. appears to operate within these interconnected sectors.

Company Size: Maarut Inc. is a medium-sized to large enterprise, indicated by the range of specialties and the formal recruitment process managed through Zoho Recruit. Company size can mean more structured processes and opportunities for specialized roles, but potentially less agility than a startup.

Founded: Founded in 2001 (based on company_founded data), Maarut Inc. has a long history, suggesting stability and established practices. This longevity can imply a mature operational framework and a focus on long-term projects and client relationships.

Team Structure:

• The UX/CX team is likely structured with Leads and Senior Managers overseeing specialized researchers. This role reports to a CX/UX Lead or Senior Manager.

• The researcher will be embedded within or closely collaborate with multiple "Pb4P" (likely "Provincial/Public Programs for Health" or similar) workstreams, indicating a project-based team structure.

• Cross-functional collaboration is a cornerstone, involving close partnerships with business analysts, product managers, clinical experts, technical teams, change management specialists, and potentially vendor partners. Methodology:

• The team emphasizes Human-Centered Design and Customer Experience principles, driving decisions through user research and data synthesis.

• Workflow and process analysis are critical for identifying pain points and opportunities in complex, regulated environments.

• A strong focus on delivering actionable insights and tangible design artifacts (wireframes, prototypes, blueprints) that directly inform product development and service delivery.

• Adherence to established standards, including accessibility (AODA/WCAG), governance, and documentation requirements, is paramount.

Company Website: www.maarutinc.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Information about Maarut Inc. was inferred from the provided LinkedIn data and the job description's context (digital health, regulated environment). The company's founding date and industry classification suggest a stable organization with established processes, which is important for understanding the operational environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role within the UX/CX discipline. It requires extensive expertise and the ability to work independently with minimal direct supervision, managing complex tasks and ambiguity. The role focuses on deep specialization in research and design rather than management of people.

Reporting Structure: The role reports to CX/UX Leads and/or Senior Managers. Collaboration is heavily emphasized, meaning interaction with a wide range of stakeholders across different departments and potentially external partners. The structure implies mentorship opportunities from senior leaders and the chance to contribute to strategic discussions.

Operations Impact: The UX Researcher's impact is direct and critical to the success of digital health initiatives. By ensuring user needs are met, workflows are optimized, and services are accessible, this role directly influences:

• Adoption Rates: User-friendly and accessible services are more likely to be adopted by healthcare providers.

• Efficiency Gains: Reducing administrative burden for clinicians through thoughtful design translates to more time for patient care.

• Risk Mitigation: Ensuring compliance with regulations like AODA/WCAG and designing for complex environments reduces legal and operational risks.

• Product Quality: High-quality UX/CX research and design lead to better-performing, more effective digital products.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific research methodologies, accessibility standards, or service design frameworks.

• Domain Expertise: Become a subject matter expert in digital health, eReferral systems, or central intake processes.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Influence product strategy and design direction through strong research insights and effective communication.

• Mentorship: Potentially mentor junior researchers or designers on specific projects.

• Contract Extension/Future Roles: Strong performance in a contract role can lead to extensions or opportunities for full-time positions within Maarut or its partner organizations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis focuses on the career trajectory within a specialized operations domain (UX/CX) and its impact on business outcomes, aligning with the principles of revenue operations and GTM by improving efficiency and user adoption.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is advertised as "Remote OK" with a primary location in Toronto, Ontario. This suggests a hybrid work model may be possible or preferred by some candidates, but remote work is a viable option.

Office Location(s): Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This implies potential access to Maarut's physical offices in Toronto if a hybrid arrangement is desired or required for specific meetings.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The role necessitates extensive collaboration, likely utilizing digital collaboration tools (Miro, Mural, FigJam) for remote workshops and design sessions.

• Technology & Tools: Access to standard UX/CX design and research software (Figma, Adobe XD, survey tools) is expected. The company likely provides necessary software licenses or expects contractors to use their own.

• Team Interaction: While remote, regular interaction with UX/CX Leads, project managers, and cross-functional teams will be crucial through video conferencing, instant messaging, and project management platforms.

Work Schedule:

• A standard work week of approximately 40 hours is expected.

• The contract nature may offer some flexibility, but responsiveness and adherence to project deadlines are critical.

• Availability during core business hours for collaboration with teams in Toronto and potentially other time zones might be required.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status combined with a specific office location points to a flexible work arrangement, common for contract roles. The emphasis on collaboration tools is a key indicator of how teams interact in a distributed or hybrid setting.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely involves a review of resumes and portfolios against the "Must Have" criteria. Candidates should ensure their resume clearly highlights years of experience in each specified area.

• Portfolio Review: A significant part of the process will involve a deep dive into the candidate's portfolio. Be prepared to walk through 2-3 key projects that demonstrate your end-to-end UX/CX research capabilities, design process, problem-solving skills, and impact.

• Technical/Skills Interview: Expect questions focused on specific research methodologies, design principles, accessibility standards (AODA/WCAG), and your experience with tools like Figma or Adobe XD.

• Behavioral/Situational Interview: Assess collaboration skills, ability to manage ambiguity, stakeholder management, and communication effectiveness. Questions will likely probe how you handle competing priorities and work within regulated environments.

• Case Study/Challenge (Potential): A practical exercise may be given, either in advance or during an interview, to assess your approach to a specific UX problem or research task.

• Final Interview: May involve meeting with senior leadership or key stakeholders to assess cultural fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the solutions you designed, and the measurable outcomes or impact achieved. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., "reduced task completion time by X%", "improved user satisfaction scores by Y%").

• Highlight End-to-End Process: Demonstrate your entire research and design journey, from initial problem definition and research planning through synthesis, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration.

• Emphasize Accessibility: Clearly show how you integrated AODA/WCAG 2.1 Level AA considerations throughout your design process and testing. Include examples of accessibility audits or how you addressed accessibility issues.

• Tailor to Role: Select projects that best align with the requirements of this Senior UX Researcher role, particularly those involving complex digital products, regulated environments, and healthcare contexts.

• Clarity and Conciseness: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, easy to navigate, and that your explanations are clear and concise. Use visuals effectively.

Challenge Preparation:

• If a case study is provided, allocate time to thoroughly understand the problem statement.

• Outline your approach before diving into solutions. Consider the research needed, potential methodologies, key stakeholders to involve, and expected deliverables.

• Focus on demonstrating your problem-solving process, not just the final output.

• Be prepared to articulate your rationale for design decisions and research choices.

• If presenting, practice your delivery to ensure clarity, confidence, and effective time management.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice tailored to a UX/CX role, emphasizing the importance of a strong portfolio and specific preparation for technical and behavioral assessments common in design and research hiring processes.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• UX/UI Design & Prototyping: Figma, Adobe XD (or equivalent tools like Sketch). Proficiency in at least one is essential for wireframing, prototyping, and creating high-fidelity mockups.

• Collaboration & Whiteboarding: Miro, Mural, FigJam, or similar digital whiteboarding tools for remote workshops, brainstorming, journey mapping, and service blueprinting.

• Research Platforms: Experience with survey tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Qualtrics) for quantitative data collection and potentially user interview platforms.

• Project Management: Familiarity with tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for tracking tasks, progress, and collaborating within workstreams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary focus for this role, familiarity with analytics concepts and tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) can be beneficial for understanding user behavior data.

• Proficiency in creating clear, data-informed reports and presentations summarizing research findings and recommendations. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly emphasized for this UX role, but understanding how user feedback and design inputs integrate into product development pipelines managed by CRM or project management systems is helpful.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are directly extracted or inferred from the job description's requirements for design, collaboration, and research activities. Emphasis is placed on tools critical for remote collaboration and modern UX/CX workflows.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A core value, ensuring all design decisions are grounded in user needs and research insights. This means advocating for the user throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on working effectively with diverse cross-functional teams. Open communication, active listening, and a willingness to share knowledge are key.

• Excellence & Quality: Commitment to delivering high-quality, well-documented, and impactful UX/CX artifacts that meet rigorous standards, including accessibility.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Utilizing qualitative and quantitative research findings to inform design choices and strategic recommendations, rather than relying solely on assumptions.

• Adaptability & Continuous Improvement: Embracing a mindset of learning and adapting to new methodologies, tools, and project requirements, especially within a dynamic and regulated sector.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership-Oriented: Proactively engaging with business, product, clinical, and technical teams to build understanding and alignment.

• Facilitative: Skilled in guiding discussions, workshops, and feedback sessions to achieve productive outcomes.

• Transparent: Openly sharing research findings, design rationale, and potential risks or challenges with stakeholders.

• Iterative: Embracing feedback loops and incorporating input from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and cross-functional partners to refine designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: These values and collaboration styles are inferred from the job description's emphasis on cross-functional work, user-centricity, and the need to deliver high-quality, documented outputs within a regulated environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Managing Ambiguity & Competing Priorities: Working across multiple workstreams with potentially shifting priorities requires strong organizational and time management skills.

• Navigating Complex Regulated Environments: Understanding and adhering to strict regulations (like AODA, WCAG) and internal governance processes in the healthcare sector can be demanding.

• Synthesizing Diverse Stakeholder Needs: Balancing the needs and perspectives of various groups (clinical, business, technical, end-users) to create cohesive and effective solutions.

• Translating Abstract Insights into Concrete Designs: Effectively bridging the gap between research findings and actionable design outputs that are feasible for development.

• Remote Collaboration Effectiveness: Ensuring seamless communication and collaboration with distributed teams and maintaining engagement throughout the project lifecycle.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Healthcare Domain Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in digital health, eReferral systems, and clinical workflows, becoming a sought-after expert in this niche.

• Advanced Accessibility Mastery: Become a go-to resource for AODA/WCAG compliance, potentially leading accessibility reviews and strategy.

• Service Design Specialization: Further hone skills in creating comprehensive service blueprints and ecosystem maps for complex service ecosystems.

• Cross-functional Exposure: Develop a broader understanding of product management, business analysis, and technical constraints by working closely with these disciplines.

• Mentorship from Senior Leaders: Benefit from guidance from experienced CX/UX Leads and Senior Managers, fostering professional growth and strategic thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the explicit requirements and implicit demands of the role, such as working in regulated environments and managing multiple projects. Growth opportunities are framed around specialization and leveraging the unique context of the role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for developing a research plan for a complex digital health product. What key elements would you include, and how would you ensure it aligns with business and clinical goals?" (Prepare to detail your methodology, stakeholder involvement, and output examples).

• "Walk me through a challenging project where you had to synthesize conflicting stakeholder requirements or research findings. How did you navigate this, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your problem-solving, communication, and decision-making skills).

• "How do you ensure AODA and WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance throughout your UX/UI design and testing process? Can you provide an example of a specific accessibility challenge you addressed?" (Be ready to discuss practical application and specific solutions). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about working on the eReferral/Central Intake workstreams at Maarut?" (Research the specific initiatives if possible, and connect your skills to their objectives).

• "How do you approach collaborating with clinical stakeholders who may have limited exposure to UX/CX processes?" (Demonstrate your ability to translate UX concepts and build rapport).

• "Describe a time you had to manage competing priorities or a high level of ambiguity. How did you maintain focus and deliver results?" (Highlight your organizational and risk management skills). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: For each project, clearly state the problem, your specific role and contributions, the methodologies used, the key insights derived, the design solutions, and the measurable impact or outcomes.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, prototypes, journey maps, service blueprints) to illustrate your process and final designs.

• Highlight the "Why": Explain the rationale behind your design decisions and research choices. Why did you choose a particular method? Why was a specific design implemented?

• Emphasize Collaboration: Discuss how you worked with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to gather input, validate assumptions, and gain buy-in.

• Focus on Accessibility: Dedicate time to showcase how accessibility was integrated into your work, referencing AODA/WCAG standards.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your process, tools, and decision-making for each project.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview questions and preparation tips are tailored to the specific requirements of a Senior UX Researcher role, focusing on research methodologies, accessibility, stakeholder management, and portfolio presentation, all within the context of a regulated environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Researcher contract position:

• Submit your application through the provided Zoho Recruit link.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your resume and portfolio are tailored to highlight 7+ years of end-to-end UX/CX research and 7+ years of inclusive UX/UI design experience, with specific emphasis on complex digital products and regulated environments.

• Resume Optimization: Clearly list your experience with AODA/WCAG compliance, Figma/Adobe XD, and service design artifacts. Quantify achievements and impact where possible.

• Portfolio Walkthrough Practice: Prepare to present 2-3 key projects that showcase your research process, design deliverables, accessibility integration, and collaboration skills. Practice articulating your role and the impact of your work concisely.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Maarut Inc., their work in the digital health sector, and if possible, the specific "Pb4P" workstreams (eReferral/SRF, Central Intake) to understand the context of the role.

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

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