Senior Staff UX Researcher, Strategic Pathfinder for Search

USER_EXPERIENCE
USA
March 26, 2026
FULL_TIME

Job Overview

  • Date Posted
    March 26, 2026
  • Location
    USA
  • Expiration date
    --

Job Description

2026-03-17T16:59:20.576Z

117144476501058246

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Mountain View, CA, USA; New York, NY, USA.

Minimum qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 10 years of experience in an applied research setting, or similar.

Preferred qualifications:

  • Master’s degree or PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Statistics, Psychology, Anthropology, or a related field.
  • 10 years of experience conducting UX research on products and working with executive leadership (e.g., Director level and above).
  • 7 years of experience managing projects, and working in a large, matrixed organization.
  • Ability to grow in ambiguity, defining a clear product goal and multi-quarter strategy for a “0 to 1” product area.
  • Excellent communication skills including presenting regularly to executive leadership.

About the job

As a Senior Staff User Experience Researcher focused on “Pathfinding” in the Search organization, you will act as a catalyst to help determine and influence our more forward-looking strategies and bets. In this role, you will be comfortable working horizontally across Search and broader Google teams to investigate pockets of emergent user behaviors and sentiments. You will work with a team-agnostic mindset, forming and investing in new connections and partnerships needed to form impactful research perspectives. You will deliver not just decks of insights, but shape stories that shine a spotlight on our users and inspire the room to act.In Google Search, we’re reimagining what it means to search for information – any way and anywhere. To do that, we need to solve complex engineering challenges and expand our infrastructure, while maintaining a universally accessible and useful experience that people around the world rely on. In joining the Search team, you’ll have an opportunity to make an impact on billions of people globally.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $237,000-$329,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

  • Scope and define the research agenda for pathfinding workstreams, taking into account business missions, priorities, and developments in the external product landscape.
  • Seek and form partnerships with relevant teams across knowledge and information and Google at large to build “pods” and sprints to bring the right expertise into the room.
  • Understand and apply a variety of research methods and analyses to properly address research needs and questions, effectively mixing qualitative, quantitative, and data science approaches.
  • Write and drive deliverables with narratives and storytelling. Communicate deliverables effectively to cross-functional leadership in order to drive change; continue advocacy for insights until they land impact.
  • Oversee the priorities in execution of the working pod, on top of delivering individual contributor work.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google’s EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

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