Job Description

Position: Research Designer

Duration: 6-month contract

Location: Dearborn, Michigan

Pay Rate: $30-35/hr

Exact compensation may vary based on several factors, including skills, experience, and education.

Benefit packages for this role will start on the 1st day of employment and include medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as HSA, FSA, and DCFSA account options, and 401k retirement account access with employer matching. Employees in this role are also entitled to paid sick leave and/or other paid time off as provided by applicable law.

Must Haves:

• 5+ years of experience in design research, ideally within product, service, or experience design contexts.
• Proficiency with tools such as Miro, Adobe Creative Suite, Dscout, and Microsoft Office
• Expertise in generative and qualitative research using methods like fieldwork, participatory design, and concept evaluation.
• Proven ability to synthesize research into actionable insights, frameworks, and systems-level patterns.
• Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders to define learning goals and shape research that informs product and design decisions.
• Strong skills in communicating research through compelling narratives, visuals, decks, videos, and workshops.
• Comfort with exploring emerging tools, identifying analogous experiences, and pushing boundaries to uncover new opportunities.

Summary:

A leading internal design team is seeking an Experienced Design Researcher to provide flexible, contract-based support during periods of high design volume. This team focuses on advanced concept development and experience innovation across physical products, services, and digital touchpoints. As a Senior Design Researcher, you will lead upfront discovery efforts, generate key user insights, and shape the strategic direction of new design concepts. You’ll collaborate closely with UX and industrial designers in a highly interdisciplinary, human-centered design environment.

Responsibilities:

• Design and plan generative, qualitative research, including developing profiles and screening criteria for participant recruitment
• Identify external experts or analogous experiences to inspire the team
• Work with a wide variety of stakeholders to define learning objectives and craft research plans
• Use and help the team use methods such as field observation, analogous research, conversations with experts and extreme users, concept evaluation, and participatory design, to explore the edge of what’s possible in the near and far
• Design compelling research experiences that generate actionable insights
• With the design team, create research stimuli to deeply understand user needs, uncover possibilities, and test assumptions
• Synthesize research findings and unearth systems-level patterns and frameworks
• Experiment with different tools and methods to stretch and challenge our learning
• Help develop creative storytelling tools to enable design for user goals, values, and aspirations
• Make research findings relevant and impactful for design through a variety of formats such as insights, decks, stories, videos, and experiences
• Facilitate post-research learning events such as generative design workshops
• Identify key insights & opportunities for company’s products
• Design and conduct research to inform company’s products
• Consolidate research findings and provide key opportunities
• Design and conduct iterative research to support the design of the commercial digital experience
• Design and conduct iterative research to support the design of an improved passenger vehicle experience

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