Sr. Director, Customer Insights & UX Research

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Director, Customer Insights & UX Research

Company: Alteryx

Location: Washington, USA - Remote

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Customer Insights & UX Research Operations

Date Posted: 2025-08-18

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and scale a cohesive customer insights function, integrating UX Research, Customer Voice Programs, and Product Telemetry to drive product strategy and decision-making.

• Manage and mentor senior leaders and specialized teams across qualitative and quantitative UX research, Voice of Customer (VoC) programs, and product telemetry analysis.

• Shape strategic insights that directly influence product vision, roadmap prioritization, and go-to-market strategies, ensuring a customer-centric approach.

• Champion the democratization of customer insights through the development of dashboards, training initiatives, and self-service tools to empower data-driven decision-making across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a strategic leadership role within the Product & UX leadership team, indicating a significant influence on product development direction and a focus on building and scaling operational capabilities for customer insights. The emphasis on unifying three distinct functions (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry) suggests a need for strong operational management and process integration skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Unify and scale the Customer Insights function, integrating UX Research, Voice of Customer (VoC) programs, and Product Telemetry operations into a cohesive unit.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of senior managers and specialists responsible for qualitative and quantitative UX research, customer voice programs (including Preview Programs), and product telemetry/analytics enablement.

• Shape and communicate strategic insights that directly influence product vision, roadmap prioritization, and go-to-market strategies, ensuring customer needs are central to product development.

• Drive insight accessibility and adoption by building robust dashboards, developing comprehensive training programs, and creating self-service tools to democratize data and insights across all organizational levels.

• Act as the primary advocate for the customer in executive-level discussions, bringing clarity, context, and conviction to critical decision-making forums.

• Establish and implement consistent best practices, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and scalable infrastructure to optimize research and telemetry operations.

• Foster strong cross-functional collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, UX Design, Product Operations, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support teams to ensure integrated customer understanding.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant operational mandate, focusing on building and scaling processes, infrastructure, and team capabilities. The role requires not only strategic thinking but also hands-on leadership in operationalizing insight generation and dissemination.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Statistics, Computer Science, Business, or a related discipline. A Master's or Ph.D. in a related field is highly preferred, especially for roles involving advanced quantitative analysis or research methodologies.

Experience: 12+ years of progressive experience in customer insights, UX Research, data analytics, product analytics, or related fields, demonstrating a deep understanding of user-centered design principles and data-driven decision-making. 5+ years of proven experience in leading and managing senior leaders and multi-disciplinary teams, with a focus on coaching, mentorship, and team development.

Required Skills:

• Proven track record of unifying and scaling customer insight functions within a product-led, B2B SaaS environment, demonstrating operational maturity and strategic growth.

• Deep expertise in at least two of the following domains: UX Research (qualitative and quantitative methodologies), Voice of Customer (VoC) programs (surveys, feedback analysis, community management), or Product Telemetry and Analytics Enablement (usage data analysis, instrumentation, data visualization).

• Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives (CPO, VPs) and drive significant business outcomes through actionable insights and compelling storytelling.

• Proficiency in operationalizing self-service analytics platforms, developing comprehensive training programs, and coaching teams to confidently leverage data for decision-making.

• Exceptional storytelling and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex data and research findings into clear, concise, and actionable narratives for diverse audiences.

• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities, with a passion for understanding and addressing real customer needs to enhance product development and user experience.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with customer preview programs (alpha/beta testing) and managing program feedback loops.

• Familiarity with product analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo) and data warehousing solutions (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery).

• Knowledge of survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey) and VoC program management best practices.

• Understanding of quantitative research methodologies, statistical analysis, and experimental design.

• Experience in building and managing insight repositories or knowledge management systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for experience in a "product-led, B2B SaaS environment" emphasizes the need for candidates to understand the nuances of selling and supporting complex software solutions, particularly in how customer feedback and usage data directly inform product evolution and market strategy. The emphasis on "scaling" implies a need for candidates who can build robust processes and systems, not just execute research.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a portfolio showcasing a history of successfully unifying disparate customer insight streams (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry) into a cohesive and actionable intelligence function.

• Provide case studies that highlight your ability to translate complex customer data and research findings into strategic recommendations that directly influenced product roadmaps, feature prioritization, or go-to-market strategies.

• Include examples of implemented dashboards, self-service analytics tools, or training programs designed to democratize customer insights and empower non-expert users to access and interpret data.

• Showcase projects where you’ve operationalized feedback mechanisms, managed customer preview programs, or analyzed product telemetry to drive measurable improvements in user experience, product adoption, or customer satisfaction.

Process Documentation:

• Exhibit proficiency in designing and documenting end-to-end processes for customer insight generation, from data collection and analysis to insight synthesis and dissemination.

• Provide examples of implemented workflows for managing qualitative and quantitative UX research projects, including participant recruitment, study design, data analysis, and reporting.

• Detail processes for collecting, analyzing, and acting upon customer feedback through Voice of Customer programs, including survey design, feedback categorization, and response management.

• Showcase experience in establishing and maintaining product telemetry instrumentation, data pipelines, and analytical frameworks to track key user behaviors and product performance metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the Sr. Director level and the focus on unifying and scaling functions, a portfolio demonstrating process ownership and the creation of scalable operational frameworks is crucial. Candidates should be prepared to discuss the "how" behind their successes, not just the "what."

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The provided salary range for this role in the United States is $225,000 - $265,000 per year. This range is determined by factors such as relevant work experience, education, certifications, skills, and geographic location.

Benefits:

• Compensation: Eligibility for bonus or commission structures, reflecting performance-based incentives.

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical coverage, along with financial and wellness programs designed to support employee well-being.

• Retirement & Financial Planning: Access to retirement savings plans and other financial planning resources.

• Work-Life Balance: Generous time-off policies to support personal needs and prevent burnout.

• Employee Perks: Discounts on Alteryx products and services, and other employee benefits.

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated, a standard full-time position in the US typically involves around 40 hours per week. However, given the senior leadership nature of this role and its focus on strategic initiatives, flexibility may be expected, with the potential for longer hours during critical project phases or executive engagement periods.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Sr. Director level role in the US tech industry, particularly for a remote position with significant leadership responsibilities. The benefits package appears comprehensive, covering health, financial, and well-being aspects, which are important considerations for senior operational roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software, specifically focused on data analytics and automation (Business Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning). Alteryx provides a platform that empowers business users to prepare, blend, and analyze data without complex coding, democratizing data science.

Company Size: Alteryx is a well-established, publicly traded company. While the exact current employee count isn't provided in the input, it's generally recognized as a mid-to-large enterprise technology company, likely in the range of 1,000-5,000+ employees globally. This size offers opportunities for significant impact and access to resources, while still potentially retaining some of the agility of a growing organization.

Founded: Alteryx was founded in 1997. This long history suggests a stable company with a mature product and established market presence, which can influence the operational maturity and strategic priorities of its teams.

Team Structure:

• This role sits within the Product & UX leadership team, indicating a direct influence on product strategy and development. The Customer Insights function will likely be a dedicated team, potentially with sub-teams or leads for UX Research, VoC, and Telemetry.

• The reporting structure places the Sr. Director under a VP or CPO (Chief Product Officer), with direct reports likely being senior managers or individual contributors specializing in each of the three core insight domains.

Methodology:

• Data analysis will be central, leveraging product telemetry, customer feedback, and qualitative research to inform product decisions. A strong emphasis will be placed on quantitative analysis for telemetry and VoC, complemented by qualitative insights from UX research.

• Workflow planning and optimization will be critical for scaling the insights function, ensuring efficient processes for research execution, data collection, and insight reporting.

• Automation and efficiency practices will be key, particularly in leveraging technology for telemetry analysis, dashboard creation, and self-service data access to democratize insights.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Alteryx's focus on democratizing data science and empowering business users suggests a culture that values accessibility, ease of use, and practical application of technology. This role's success will depend on translating complex data into understandable insights that drive tangible business value for their customers and internal stakeholders.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership position (Sr. Director), indicating a significant level of responsibility and strategic influence. It is a critical role for shaping how Alteryx understands and serves its customers through data-driven product development. The scope includes building and scaling operational functions, managing teams, and influencing executive-level strategy.

Reporting Structure: The Sr. Director will report into a senior executive within the Product organization, likely the Chief Product Officer (CPO) or a VP of Product. They will lead a team composed of senior managers and individual contributors across UX Research, Voice of Customer, and Product Telemetry. This structure allows for direct influence on product strategy and execution.

Operations Impact: The Sr. Director of Customer Insights has a profound impact on Alteryx's revenue and business decisions by ensuring that product development is deeply rooted in customer needs and behaviors. By unifying and amplifying customer insights, this role directly influences product-market fit, customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and ultimately, customer retention and growth, all of which are critical revenue drivers.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential progression to VP-level roles within Product, Insights, or Customer Experience, managing larger teams and broader functional areas. This could involve leading all aspects of customer understanding for Alteryx.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape Alteryx's overall product strategy and customer-centricity initiatives, becoming a key voice in executive decision-making.

• Functional Expertise: Deepen expertise in product telemetry, advanced analytics, and scaling insight operations within a growing B2B SaaS company, potentially leading to specialized roles or consulting opportunities.

• Team Building & Mentorship: Develop leadership skills by building and mentoring high-performing teams, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and customer empathy.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for career advancement within a prominent SaaS company. The opportunity to build and scale critical operational functions provides a strong foundation for future leadership roles, with a direct line of sight to business impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The position is advertised as "US - Remote," indicating a fully remote work arrangement. This means the primary "office" is the employee's home workspace.

Office Location(s): While remote, the posting specifies "Washington, USA - Remote," which might imply a preference or requirement for candidates to be located within or near the Pacific Northwest time zones, or simply that the role is managed by a team based in that region. However, "US - Remote" typically allows for candidates across the United States.

Workspace Context:

• The remote nature fosters autonomy and flexibility, allowing employees to structure their workday. However, it also requires strong self-discipline and proactive communication to maintain collaboration and team cohesion.

• Access to Alteryx's technology stack, collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Teams, Zoom), and project management software will be essential. The company likely provides necessary hardware or a stipend for home office setup.

• Opportunities for team interaction will primarily occur through virtual channels. Building strong working relationships will require intentional effort, participation in virtual team meetings, and potentially occasional in-person or virtual offsites.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule is expected, likely around 40 hours per week. Given the senior leadership role and global customer base, flexibility may be required to accommodate different time zones for meetings and collaborative sessions. The emphasis on building and scaling operational processes suggests a need for consistent availability during core business hours relevant to the company's primary operating regions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature of this role necessitates strong communication, self-management, and proactive engagement from the candidate. Understanding how to build and maintain relationships virtually will be as important as technical and strategic skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or HR representative will likely conduct an initial phone screen to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit. Be prepared to discuss your career trajectory and interest in Alteryx.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Meet with the hiring manager (likely a VP of Product or similar) to delve deeper into your leadership experience, strategic thinking, and specific expertise in UX Research, VoC, and Telemetry. Discuss your approach to building and scaling insight functions.

• Team/Peer Interviews: You will likely meet with senior leaders from Product Management, UX Design, Engineering, and potentially other insights team members. These interviews will focus on your cross-functional collaboration skills, ability to influence, and how you'd integrate into the existing team dynamics.

• Executive Interview: An interview with a senior executive (e.g., CPO, SVP of Product) to assess your strategic vision, executive presence, and alignment with Alteryx's overall business objectives.

• Case Study/Presentation: Expect a presentation or case study where you'll be asked to outline your approach to a specific challenge, such as unifying the insight functions, improving a particular insight process, or presenting data-driven recommendations. This is where your portfolio will be crucial.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your portfolio by key functional areas (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry) or by impact (e.g., driving product strategy, improving user experience, increasing adoption).

• Quantify Achievements: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the actions taken, and the measurable results (e.g., "Increased feature adoption by 15%," "Reduced customer churn by X%," "Influenced roadmap leading to Y new feature"). Use metrics and data to demonstrate ROI.

• Showcase Process & Scale: Highlight examples of how you've built or improved processes, scaled operations, and implemented tools or frameworks to make insights more accessible and impactful. This is critical for a role focused on unification and scaling.

• Tell a Story: Frame your projects as compelling narratives that demonstrate your strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and leadership. Explain the "why" behind your decisions.

• Tailor to Alteryx: Research Alteryx's products and customer base. If possible, tailor your examples to demonstrate understanding of their business and challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Unification Strategy: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach unifying UX Research, VoC, and Telemetry into a cohesive function, including potential challenges and how to overcome them.

• Democratization Plan: Outline a strategy for making insights self-service and accessible across the organization, including what tools, training, and governance would be needed.

• Influence & Communication: Practice articulating complex insights clearly and concisely, demonstrating how you would influence product and executive stakeholders. Consider how you would present findings from all three insight domains.

• Team Leadership: Be ready to discuss your leadership philosophy, how you develop teams, manage performance, and foster a collaborative and data-driven culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on unifying three distinct functions and democratizing insights suggests that the interview process will heavily scrutinize your operational leadership capabilities and your ability to create scalable, integrated systems for customer understanding. A strong, well-prepared portfolio is non-negotiable.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• UX Research Tools: Proficiency with tools for user interviews, usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback), survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey), and potentially card sorting or tree testing tools.

• Customer Voice (VoC) Platforms: Experience with managing customer feedback systems, NPS/CSAT surveys, community forums, and social listening tools.

• Product Telemetry & Analytics: Expertise in using product analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo, Adobe Analytics) to track user behavior, identify trends, and measure product performance.

• Data Visualization & BI Tools: Skills in creating dashboards and reports using tools like Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or similar platforms to present insights effectively.

• CRM Systems: Familiarity with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) for understanding customer segments and historical interactions.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Warehousing/Databases: Experience querying data from data warehouses (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift) or databases using SQL is highly likely for telemetry analysis.

• Statistical Software: Proficiency in statistical analysis tools (e.g., R, Python with libraries like pandas, NumPy, SciPy) may be required for advanced quantitative research and telemetry analysis.

• Reporting & Dashboarding: Ability to build clear, actionable reports and dashboards that communicate key insights to various stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Integration: Understanding how customer insights data can be integrated with CRM systems to provide a holistic view of the customer.

• Workflow Automation: While not the primary focus, awareness of how automation can streamline insight processes (e.g., survey distribution, data collection) would be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role requires a broad understanding of the technology landscape for customer insights, spanning qualitative research, quantitative feedback analysis, and product usage data. A candidate who can effectively integrate and leverage data from these various sources will be highly valued.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Centricity: A deep-seated commitment to understanding and advocating for the customer in all product and business decisions. This translates to prioritizing customer needs in research design and insight generation.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: A strong belief in using data and evidence to inform strategy and execution. This means rigorously analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to support recommendations.

• Collaboration & Partnership: A proactive approach to working with cross-functional teams, fostering strong relationships and shared understanding to drive collective success. This involves actively seeking input and sharing insights broadly.

• Continuous Improvement & Agility: A mindset focused on iterating, optimizing processes, and adapting to evolving customer needs and market dynamics. This means being open to feedback and driving efficiency in operations.

• Innovation & Curiosity: A drive to explore new methods, tools, and approaches to uncover deeper customer understanding and solve complex problems.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect to work closely with Product Managers, UX Designers, Engineers, and Marketing teams, acting as a central hub for customer knowledge. The collaboration style should be proactive and consultative.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that encourages open feedback on processes and research methodologies to ensure continuous improvement and the highest quality of insights.

• Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in sharing insights and best practices across teams through presentations, documentation, and internal workshops to build a collective understanding of the customer.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture likely values individuals who are not only experts in customer insights but also strong communicators and collaborators, capable of translating data into action and influencing diverse stakeholders. A passion for driving customer success through product innovation is paramount.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Unifying Disparate Functions: Integrating three distinct teams (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry) with potentially different methodologies, priorities, and tools into a cohesive and efficient function will require significant change management and operational leadership.

• Scaling Operations: Building scalable processes, infrastructure, and team capabilities to meet the growing needs of a dynamic B2B SaaS company requires strategic planning and execution.

• Driving Insight Adoption: Ensuring that generated insights are not only accurate but also actionable and consistently adopted by product, engineering, and business teams requires strong communication, training, and advocacy.

• Balancing Qual vs. Quant vs. Telemetry: Effectively managing and balancing the strategic importance and operational demands of qualitative research, customer voice programs, and product telemetry data analysis.

• Remote Team Management: Leading and motivating a distributed team effectively, ensuring alignment, collaboration, and high performance in a remote work environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Operations Strategy & Scaling: Gain hands-on experience in designing and implementing operational strategies for insight functions in a high-growth technology company.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Opportunities to attend industry events (e.g., UXPA, CHI, relevant data analytics conferences) and pursue relevant certifications to stay abreast of best practices and emerging trends.

• Leadership Mentorship: Potential to receive mentorship from senior executives within Alteryx, focusing on strategic leadership, organizational development, and executive communication.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of product development lifecycle, go-to-market strategies, and B2B SaaS business models through close collaboration with various departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents a significant opportunity for professional growth by tackling complex operational challenges in a high-impact setting. The experience gained in unifying and scaling a critical business function will be highly transferable and valuable for future leadership roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to unifying disparate customer insight functions (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry) into a single, high-impact team. What are the key operational considerations and potential challenges?" (Focus on process integration, team alignment, and stakeholder management.)

• "How would you build a strategy to democratize customer insights across Alteryx, enabling self-service access and data literacy for teams outside of your direct purview?" (Discuss tool selection, training programs, dashboard design, and governance.)

• "Walk us through a time you influenced a significant product decision or roadmap prioritization using customer insights. What was your methodology, and what was the outcome?" (Prepare a STAR method answer with quantifiable results.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Alteryx and our mission to democratize data analytics? How does your approach to customer insights align with this mission?" (Research Alteryx's products, values, and market position.)

• "Describe your leadership style and how you foster a collaborative and high-performing team culture, especially in a remote setting." (Focus on empowerment, communication, and accountability.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Executive Summary: Start with a high-level overview of your key accomplishments and the value you bring.

• Case Study Deep Dive: Select 2-3 impactful projects that showcase your ability to unify functions, drive strategy, and scale operations. For each, clearly define the problem, your solution, the process, and the measurable impact. Use visuals (mock dashboards, process flows) where appropriate.

• Focus on Process & Scale: Explicitly discuss the operational frameworks, tools, and methodologies you implemented to achieve your results, particularly those related to unifying functions or creating self-service capabilities.

• Data Storytelling: Practice telling a compelling narrative around your data, focusing on how insights led to specific actions and positive business outcomes.

• Q&A Preparation: Anticipate questions about your methodologies, decision-making processes, and how you would apply your experience to Alteryx's specific context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss not just the findings of your work, but the operational processes you established to achieve those findings and scale them. The interview will likely test your ability to think strategically about building and leading an insights function.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday link: https://alteryx.wd108.myworkdayjobs.com/AlteryxCareers/job/US---Remote/Sr-Director--Customer-Insights---UX-Research_R11288

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to highlight specific examples of unifying customer insight functions (UX Research, VoC, Telemetry), scaling operations, and democratizing data access. Select case studies that demonstrate measurable impact on product strategy and business outcomes.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize leadership experience, strategic impact, and operational achievements. Use keywords from the job description such as "Customer Insights," "UX Research," "Product Telemetry," "Voice of Customer," "scale," "unify," "democratize," and "B2B SaaS." Quantify your accomplishments with metrics whenever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, your approach to building and scaling insight functions, and your strategy for influencing executive stakeholders. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method to answer behavioral questions. Rehearse your portfolio presentation to ensure clarity, conciseness, and impact.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Alteryx's products, mission, values, and recent company news. Understand their market position and how customer insights play a role in their strategy. Prepare thoughtful questions for the interviewers about the company culture, team dynamics, and strategic priorities for the customer insights function.

⚠️ 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.