Senior User Researcher, Consumer (m/f/d)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior User Researcher, Consumer (m/f/d)

Company: Bertelsmann (Riverty)

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands (Hybrid)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Research / UX Design / Product Development

Date Posted: 2026-09-05

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office expectation)

🚀 Role Summary

• This Senior User Researcher role is critical for embedding human-centricity into Riverty's consumer financial services.

• The position requires a strategic thinker who can translate complex user insights into actionable product strategies and long-term customer experience improvements.

• You will collaborate extensively with Product, Design, Engineering, and Data teams to foster evidence-based decision-making across the product development lifecycle.

• The role involves a blend of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with a strong emphasis on connecting user data with business objectives and design strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the input job title is "Senior User Researcher, Consumer," the company description and responsibilities indicate a strong focus on product development, design strategy, and data integration, positioning this role within the broader GTM and Product Operations spectrum. The emphasis on "shaping FinTech" and enabling "flexible payments" suggests a dynamic, data-driven environment where user insights directly impact business strategy and technological innovation.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Plan, conduct, and synthesize qualitative and quantitative user research using a diverse range of methodologies (interviews, usability testing, surveys, diary studies, contextual inquiry, etc.).

• Identify key customer needs, behaviors, motivations, and pain points to inform product strategy and service improvements.

• Translate research findings into clear, compelling insights and actionable recommendations for product strategy, service enhancements, and customer experience design.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, Data Analysts, Product Operations, Marketing, and Brand teams to integrate research insights throughout the product lifecycle, including discovery, delivery, and continuous improvement phases.

• Combine qualitative research findings with analytics, experimentation data, and business metrics to generate holistic customer insights and support evidence-based decision-making.

• Identify strategic opportunities by connecting customer insights with market trends, organizational priorities, and product goals.

• Design and execute evaluative research to validate concepts, prototypes, and live experiences, focusing on measuring customer outcomes.

• Contribute to and maintain research repositories, insight libraries, and research operations to enhance organizational knowledge sharing and research efficiency.

• Champion a human-centered, evidence-based culture by advocating for customer needs while balancing business objectives, technical feasibility, and measurable outcomes.

• Coach and support the design community and other colleagues in applying research methods and fostering customer-centric thinking across product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role's responsibility for "connecting user research, data and analytics, business objectives, and design strategy" highlights its strategic GTM influence. The emphasis on coaching and building research capabilities suggests a leadership component, aligning with a senior-level position. The requirement to "embed research throughout discovery, delivery, automation, and continuous improvement" points to a comprehensive approach to product operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Design Research, or a related field is typically expected for a Senior User Researcher role.

Experience: Extensive experience (5-10 years) in planning, conducting, and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative user research throughout the product development lifecycle is essential.

Required Skills:

• Extensive experience planning, conducting, and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative user research throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Strong understanding of mixed-method research approaches and the ability to select the right methodology for different product and business questions.

• Demonstrated ability to apply a design strategy mindset, connecting customer insights with business goals to influence product vision, service design, and long-term direction.

• Experience collaborating closely with Product Analytics, Data Science, or Business Intelligence teams to combine qualitative and quantitative evidence into meaningful customer insights.

• Strong understanding of data and analytics, experimentation, customer metrics, and research triangulation to support strategic product decisions.

• Excellent synthesis and storytelling skills, with the ability to communicate complex research findings clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholders.

• Strong facilitation, stakeholder management, and influencing skills, with the ability to align cross-functional teams around customer evidence.

• Experience designing and facilitating workshops that support discovery, prioritization, and strategic decision making.

• Strategic, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify opportunities beyond individual customer problems.

• Familiarity with agile product development and experience working in iterative, fast-paced environments.

• Experience working with experimentation frameworks such as A/B testing and product analytics.

• Experience with AI-enabled research and research automation and shaping AI enabled research practices.

• Experience using research and data management tools such as Condens, TheyDo, Lyssna, Qualtrics, PowerBI, New Relic, or similar platforms. Preferred Skills:

• Experience building a research capability across multidisciplinary teams.

• Experience establishing research operations, repositories, or insight management practices.

• Experience shaping product strategy or design strategy through customer research and evidence synthesis.

• Experience partnering with multiple designers and stakeholders to achieve goals across complex product ecosystems.

• Experience with financial services or fintech products.

• Familiarity with product frameworks and development technologies.

• Experience with B2C, and/or B2B2C products.

• Familiarity with accessibility standards and guidelines (e.g., WCAG) and their application in design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required skills emphasize a blend of deep research expertise, strategic thinking, data literacy, and strong collaboration capabilities, aligning with senior roles in operations and product development. The mention of specific tools like Condens, TheyDo, Lyssna, Qualtrics, PowerBI, and New Relic indicates a need for practical, hands-on experience with industry-standard platforms for data management, analysis, and research operations.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A robust portfolio showcasing a range of qualitative and quantitative research projects, demonstrating the ability to tackle complex consumer problems.

• Case studies that clearly articulate the research problem, methodology employed, key insights derived, and the tangible impact on product strategy or customer experience.

• Examples of how you've combined qualitative insights with quantitative data (analytics, A/B testing results) to drive strategic product decisions.

• Evidence of experience in translating research findings into actionable recommendations for product teams, designers, and business stakeholders.

• Demonstrations of your ability to influence product direction and advocate for user needs within cross-functional teams. Process Documentation:

• Documentation of your systematic approach to planning and executing user research studies, from initial problem definition to final insight delivery.

• Examples of how you have contributed to or managed research repositories and insight libraries to facilitate knowledge sharing and reuse across teams.

• Evidence of your process for collaborating with Data Analytics, Product Management, and Engineering teams to integrate research into the broader product development workflow.

• Documentation or examples of how you have coached or mentored others in research methodologies and customer-centric thinking.

• Showcase of your process for conducting evaluative research and measuring customer outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a senior role, the portfolio should not only showcase completed projects but also demonstrate a strategic understanding of research operations, knowledge management, and the ability to scale research practices within an organization. Emphasis should be placed on the impact of research on business outcomes and strategic decision-making, aligning with GTM and operational efficiency goals.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior User Researchers in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with 5-10 years of experience, the estimated annual gross salary range is €70,000 - €95,000. This estimate considers the cost of living in Amsterdam, the company's industry (FinTech/Media - Bertelsmann group), and the senior level of the role.

Benefits:

• Hybrid workspace designed for idea exchange, learning, and collaboration.

• International community of over 4,000 people across 11 countries, offering diverse cultural exposure.

• Flexible working conditions to support work-life balance.

• Opportunity to work within the established Bertelsmann group, providing stability and corporate structure.

• Involvement in shaping FinTech and enabling flexible payments, contributing to innovative financial services.

• Potential for professional development and growth within a large, diverse organization.

• Access to a network of peers across Europe.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are likely around 40 hours per week, typical for full-time positions in the Netherlands. The hybrid setup offers flexibility, with an expectation of 2 days per week in the office. Occasional travel for team huddles or workshops may be required.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on research from reputable compensation data providers for similar roles in Amsterdam, factoring in the specified experience level and industry. The inclusion of "flexible working conditions" and "hybrid workspace" as benefits highlights the company's approach to modern work environments, which is often a key consideration for operations professionals seeking work-life integration.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Riverty operates within the FinTech sector, a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry focused on financial technology. As part of the Bertelsmann group, it benefits from the stability of a large, established media, services, and education conglomerate. This unique blend offers both the agility of a FinTech startup and the resources of a global corporation.

Company Size: Riverty is an international community of over 4,000 people across 11 countries. This size indicates a significant operational footprint, requiring robust processes and cross-functional collaboration.

Founded: Riverty is part of the Bertelsmann group, a company with a long history dating back to 1835. Riverty itself is a relatively newer entity, evolving from existing financial services within Bertelsmann, aiming to combine empathy, technology, and data-driven insights.

Team Structure:

• The Senior User Researcher will join an international team of UX designers, UI designers, service designers, and UX writers, reporting to the UX Design Lead, Consumer.

• This role will support a cross-disciplinary consumer team and collaborate across the organization with peers across Europe.

• The team operates in a regionally-distributed-hybrid setup, emphasizing collaboration and knowledge sharing despite geographical dispersion. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Insights: The company emphasizes combining empathy, advanced technology, and data-driven insights to keep people and businesses in flow. This suggests a strong reliance on quantitative data alongside qualitative user research.

• Human-Centricity: A core tenet is bringing human centricity to life, ensuring that financial services are designed with the user's needs, behaviors, and pain points at the forefront.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The role operates within an agile product development framework, requiring adaptability, iterative design, and continuous improvement based on user feedback and data.

Company Website: https://www.riverty.com/ (Note: The provided URL jobsearch.createyourowncareer.com is a job board domain, not the primary company website. A general search for Riverty or Bertelsmann would yield their corporate sites.)

📝 Enhancement Note: The dual identity of Riverty as a FinTech innovator within the established Bertelsmann group is a significant cultural aspect. This implies a balance between embracing new technologies and methodologies while adhering to corporate standards and leveraging existing infrastructure. The emphasis on "shaping FinTech" and "keeping people and businesses in flow" indicates a mission-driven culture focused on practical problem-solving and user empowerment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role, focused on specialized user research expertise. It requires a strategic perspective, the ability to influence product direction, and the capacity to mentor junior team members. The role is pivotal in shaping the organization's understanding of its consumer base.

Reporting Structure: The Senior User Researcher reports to the UX Design Lead, Consumer. This structure places the role within the design organization but with significant cross-functional responsibilities, collaborating closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Data teams.

Operations Impact: The role's primary impact is on the success of consumer-facing products and services by ensuring they are user-centered, effective, and meet genuine customer needs. By driving evidence-based decision-making, this role directly influences product strategy, customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and ultimately, revenue and business growth within the FinTech space.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific research methodologies, AI-enabled research, or particular areas of FinTech consumer behavior.

• Leadership: Transition into a Research Lead or Managerial role, overseeing a team of researchers and establishing research operations.

• Cross-functional Advancement: Move into Product Management, Service Design Strategy, or Product Operations roles, leveraging a deep understanding of user needs and product development processes.

• Industry Impact: Contribute to shaping the future of financial services through user-centered design and innovation within a leading FinTech company.

• Mentorship: Develop coaching and mentoring skills by guiding junior researchers and embedding research practices across product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation implies opportunities for leadership, whether through direct team management or through influencing product strategy and research best practices across the organization. The hybrid nature of the company (FinTech innovator within a large conglomerate) suggests varied career paths, from specialized research to broader product or operational roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Riverty utilizes hybrid workspaces designed for idea exchange, learning, and collaboration. These spaces are intended to foster interaction and teamwork, balancing the benefits of remote flexibility with the advantages of in-person connection.

Office Location(s): The role can be based in Amsterdam, Heerenveen (Netherlands), or Berlin (Germany), offering geographical flexibility for candidates within these regions. The hybrid model requires an expectation of being in the office approximately twice a week.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The emphasis on hybrid workspaces and team huddles suggests a culture that values in-person collaboration for key strategic discussions, workshops, and team building.

• Operations Tools & Technology: The role requires proficiency with a range of research and data management tools (e.g., Condens, TheyDo, Lyssna, Qualtrics, PowerBI, New Relic), indicating access to and expectation of using sophisticated technological infrastructure.

• Cross-functional Interaction: The role is designed for frequent interaction with diverse teams, including Product, Design, Engineering, Data, Marketing, and Brand, fostering a dynamic and interconnected work environment.

Work Schedule: The work schedule is full-time, likely adhering to a standard 40-hour week. The hybrid arrangement provides flexibility, allowing for a mix of in-office and remote work, which is conducive to focused research tasks and collaborative sessions. Occasional travel may be required for in-person meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model with a specific office attendance expectation (twice a week) is a key detail for candidates. This indicates a structured approach to hybrid work, aiming to maximize the benefits of both remote flexibility and in-person collaboration for critical team activities and strategic alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your CV and portfolio by the hiring team to assess qualifications and experience.

• Hiring Manager Interview: An in-depth discussion with the UX Design Lead to explore your research philosophy, experience, and strategic thinking. Be prepared to discuss your approach to complex research challenges.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders from Product, Engineering, and Data teams to assess your collaboration skills, ability to integrate research with other functions, and your understanding of their respective challenges.

• Portfolio Presentation/Case Study: A dedicated session where you will present a detailed case study from your portfolio, showcasing your research process, insights, and impact. This is a critical step to demonstrate your strategic and analytical capabilities.

• Final Interview/Cultural Fit: A final conversation, potentially with a senior leader, to assess cultural alignment and overall fit within the team and organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure Your Case Studies: For each case study, clearly outline the problem statement, your research objectives, the methodologies used, your key findings, the insights generated, and the tangible impact or recommendations made. Use visuals where appropriate.

• Highlight Strategic Impact: Emphasize how your research influenced product strategy, design decisions, or business outcomes. Quantify impact where possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced support tickets, increased user satisfaction).

• Showcase Mixed-Methods Expertise: Include examples that demonstrate your ability to integrate qualitative and quantitative data to build a comprehensive understanding of user behavior.

• Demonstrate Collaboration: Provide examples of how you worked with cross-functional teams and influenced stakeholders.

• Tailor to Riverty: Research Riverty's products and target audience. Be prepared to discuss how your skills and experience would specifically benefit their consumer offerings.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be ready for potential exercises or case studies that require you to outline a research plan for a given problem, synthesize hypothetical data, or recommend strategic approaches based on user insights.

• Practice articulating your thought process clearly and concisely, especially when discussing trade-offs between research rigor, speed, and business constraints.

• Prepare questions that demonstrate your understanding of Riverty's business, their user base, and their current approach to product development and research.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "Portfolio Presentation/Case Study" and "Challenge Preparation" indicates that practical demonstration of skills and strategic thinking is highly valued. Candidates should prepare to not only talk about their experience but also to show its impact and their systematic approach to research operations and problem-solving.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Research & Data Management: Condens, TheyDo, Lyssna, Qualtrics (or similar comprehensive platforms for qualitative data organization, survey creation, and analysis).

• Analytics & Reporting: PowerBI, New Relic (or similar business intelligence and monitoring tools for analyzing quantitative data, user behavior, and system performance).

• Experimentation: Familiarity with A/B testing platforms and product analytics tools is crucial for combining qualitative insights with quantitative validation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Proficiency in analyzing data from tools like PowerBI and New Relic to understand user journeys, identify pain points, and measure the impact of product changes.

• Experience with customer metrics and research triangulation to support strategic product decisions. CRM & Automation:

• While not explicitly mentioned as primary tools for this role, an understanding of how user research informs CRM strategies and the automation of customer journeys would be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Condens, TheyDo, Lyssna, Qualtrics, PowerBI, and New Relic indicates a need for hands-on experience with these specific or comparable tools. This suggests that Riverty has invested in a robust data and research infrastructure, and candidates who can navigate this stack will be highly valued. The role's connection to "automation" implies an understanding of how research feeds into automated processes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Human-Centricity: A core value, driving all research and product development efforts to focus on understanding and serving customer needs.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasis on using both qualitative and quantitative data to inform strategy and product improvements, ensuring objectivity and measurable outcomes.

• Collaboration & Cross-Functional Partnership: A strong belief in working together across departments (Product, Design, Engineering, Data) to achieve shared goals and create cohesive customer experiences.

• Continuous Improvement & Learning: A culture that encourages experimentation, learning from both successes and failures, and staying abreast of evolving research methodologies and FinTech trends.

• Empathy: Applied not only to customers but also within the team, fostering a supportive and understanding work environment.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Research: Research is not a siloed function but is embedded throughout the product development lifecycle, from discovery to ongoing optimization.

• Evidence-Based Influence: Collaboration relies on presenting clear, compelling evidence to align teams and gain buy-in for user-centered initiatives.

• Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in maintaining research repositories and insight libraries to ensure learnings are accessible and leveraged across the organization.

• Coaching & Mentorship: A willingness to share expertise and support the development of research skills in colleagues across various teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values highlight a proactive, user-focused, and collaborative approach. For operations professionals, this translates to an environment where data integrity, process efficiency driven by user needs, and cross-functional alignment are paramount. The emphasis on "keeping people and businesses in flow" suggests a culture that values seamless user experiences and operational effectiveness.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Research Operations: As one of the first dedicated researchers, a key challenge will be building out and formalizing research operations, including repositories and standardized processes.

• Balancing Strategic vs. Evaluative Research: Effectively managing time and resources to address both long-term strategic questions and immediate product validation needs.

• Influencing Across Diverse Stakeholders: Navigating different priorities and perspectives across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and leadership to ensure user insights are consistently prioritized.

• Rapidly Evolving FinTech Landscape: Staying ahead of market trends, technological advancements (like AI in research), and evolving consumer behaviors in the financial services sector.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Research Capability Building: Opportunity to significantly shape and expand Riverty's user research practice and establish best-in-class research operations.

• AI-Enabled Research: Gain hands-on experience in applying AI tools and methodologies to research, a rapidly growing field.

• FinTech Domain Expertise: Deepen understanding of financial services products, consumer financial behavior, and the regulatory environment.

• Strategic Influence: Develop skills in shaping product strategy and influencing senior leadership through compelling research narratives.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and researchers, solidifying leadership skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for growth, particularly in establishing new processes and influencing strategy. This aligns with a senior role where initiative and proactive problem-solving are expected. The focus on AI and FinTech offers cutting-edge learning experiences.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used mixed-methods research to influence a significant product strategy decision. What was the outcome?"

• "How would you approach building a research repository from scratch for a consumer-facing FinTech product? What are the key components and challenges?"

• "Imagine we want to launch a new feature for managing debt. Outline your research plan, including methodologies, key questions, and how you'd involve product and engineering teams."

• "How do you balance the need for deep, qualitative insights with the need for quick, quantitative validation in an agile environment?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Riverty's mission to combine empathy, technology, and data in FinTech?"

• "How do you see your role contributing to Riverty's goal of 'keeping people and businesses in flow'?"

• "Describe your experience working in hybrid or remote-first teams. How do you ensure effective collaboration and knowledge sharing?"

• "How do you champion a human-centered approach when business objectives or technical constraints present challenges?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select Impactful Case Studies: Choose 2-3 projects that best demonstrate your senior-level strategic thinking, mixed-methods expertise, and tangible impact on product or business outcomes.

• Tell a Story: Structure your presentation as a narrative: the problem, your approach, the journey of discovery, the critical insights, and the ultimate impact.

• Quantify Results: Wherever possible, use metrics to illustrate the success of your research recommendations (e.g., "led to a 15% increase in feature adoption," "reduced user errors by 20%").

• Showcase Collaboration: Highlight how you partnered with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Data Analysts.

• Be Prepared for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your methodology choices, your handling of conflicting data, and how you'd apply your learnings to Riverty's context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, a data-informed approach, and strong collaboration skills. The questions provided are designed to elicit responses that showcase the candidate's ability to operate effectively in a senior, cross-functional role within a FinTech environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior User Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on the job search portal.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your extensive experience in qualitative and quantitative user research, strategic influence, stakeholder management, and any FinTech-related projects. Use keywords from the job description like "mixed-method research," "product strategy," "customer insights," and specific tool mentions.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select case studies that best demonstrate your senior-level capabilities, focusing on impact and strategic contribution. Ensure it clearly shows your process, insights, and how your work influenced product decisions. Prepare to walk through your portfolio with confidence.

• Research Riverty & Bertelsmann: Understand their product offerings, target audience, and company mission. Familiarize yourself with the FinTech landscape and any recent news or initiatives from Bertelsmann.

• Prepare for Case Studies/Presentations: Practice articulating your research process and findings clearly and concisely. Be ready to outline research plans for hypothetical scenarios relevant to consumer financial services.

⚠️ 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.