Lead User Experience Researcher

Principal Responsibilities:

​​​The Lead User Experience Researcher is responsible for developing strategic research programs, coordinating research staff, conducting research, and partnering with Studio teams to incorporate research insights into the game development cycle. This embedded Lead User Researchers will do the following things for Bend Studio: ​ 

• ​Translate development goals and strategies into research opportunities. 

• ​Plan, organize and moderate user research sessions, independently and in partnership with the other researchers on the central PlayStation Studios User Research team. 

• ​Collate and analyze results, identify actionable insights and report/discuss synthesized findings with relevant stakeholders. 

• ​Prepare and effectively communicate bespoke research deliverables across the various disciplines of the game development team. 

• ​Work with the game development team to create and track post-test action plans. 

• ​Serve as a thought partner in critical discussions with Studio leadership in ensuring a data-informed approach to end-to-end game development, from selecting and understanding audience through understanding in-game player behaviors post-launch.  

• ​Organize and coordinate global research work and collaborations where appropriate with other PlayStation Studios user researchers based in San Mateo, San Diego, Burbank, Santa Monica, London, and Montreal.​ 

Qualifications:   

This is a very senior-level position requiring significant industry experience delivering research across all phases of development of AAA videogame titles or products of equivalent complexity. The qualified applicant will have: 

• ​​Advanced degree or equivalent experience in an analytic field that focuses on experimental design with people and/or product development, such as Psychology, Cognitive Science, Behavioral Economics, or Human Factors. 

• ​A deep passion for and understanding of game design, and an innate curiosity for understanding player motivations and behaviors. 

• ​Proven methodological skills including expert review, usability testing, playtesting, survey design, text & verbal analysis, and observational fieldwork, as well as ability to triangulate across multiple methods to answer multifaceted questions. 

• ​Proven ability to work effectively with other insights-generating teams, such as community managers, marketing, and analytics / data science, to synthesize complex streams of data into actionable insights.  

• ​Proven ability to be self-driven, organized, and analytical, with a successful track record of balancing the ideals of scientific research methods with the realities of fast-paced product development.  

• ​Proven competency with descriptive and inferential statistical techniques and tools such as telemetry, SPSS, R, regression and ANOVA. 

• ​Proven ability to creatively and flexibly engage cross-functional product development teams with research findings, for example conducting workshops and creating insights repositories.  

• ​Comfortable interacting with, negotiating with, and communicating with stakeholders of different backgrounds and responsibilities (e.g., Art, Analytics, Engineering). 

• ​Moderate to advanced fluency with different game business models, P&L frameworks, and how research can inform both business and design decisions.  

• ​Strong verbal, numerical, and written communication skills required; presenting information concisely and effectively to people at all levels of the organization is critical. 

• ​Forward thinking and actively maintains an interest in the games user research field, keeping up-to-date with developing tools and techniques. 

#LI-JM1

​​