Principal Product Design Researcher

About The Role & Team

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world. 

We are looking for a Principal Product Design Researcher to join our Product Design team. In this role, you will develop a systematic approach to research, analyze human needs, motivations, and trends, and provide valuable insights to guide near-to-long-term strategic planning.

 

A few reasons why we believe you’d love working here:

• Impact – We are shaping the future of Disney Entertainment. Our design and research drive innovation across our entire portfolio, from ESPN to Marvel and beyond, creating magical experiences for audiences worldwide.

• Collaboration – Our team includes the industry's most talented designers, UX engineers, design operations experts, and leaders, all working together to push the boundaries of creativity and user experience.

• Innovation – We pioneer groundbreaking products and techniques that redefine industry standards, transforming how audiences engage with sports, entertainment, and news.
   

What You Will Do

A Principal Product Design Researcher plays a critical role in leveraging research, data, and human-centered design methodologies to inform product strategy today and drive innovation tomorrow. This role focuses on identifying key user needs, guiding the development of data-driven, user-centric solutions and operationalizing key research practices. As part of a multidisciplinary design team, the role will collaborate with experts across design, UX, and data to create cutting-edge products that enhance user experiences and drive business impact.

Build our research POV: Build and sustain a program for collecting, synthesizing, and communicating  insights on human needs, motivations, and trends, to inform near and long term strategic efforts and programs. You operationalize key systems and processes to help benefit the broader business.

Conduct Qualitative & Quantitative Research: Conduct user interviews, surveys, market analysis, usability, and other research methods to gather deep insights into customer needs and behaviors. 

Communicate Insights & Data: Translate and present research findings, data, and recommendations in a clear, concise, and impactful manner to both designers, their partners and leadership. 

Accelerate Rapid Prototyping & Testing: Helping develop and test prototypes of new solutions to validate concepts and gather feedback quickly.
 

Required Qualifications & Skills

• BA/BS or equivalent experience required

• 10+ years of research or other relevant experience 

• Have managed, lead, and inspired teams of researchers

• Strong portfolio or set of case studies showcasing a range of projects demonstrating your research process, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
   

Preferred Qualifications

• Have resource planned and staffed projects and groups based on the available skills to deliver excellent design solutions on time.

• Possess a broad and comprehensive understanding of different systems, theories, and practices of design leadership.

• Identified and set platform strategies, envisioned complex user interactions, and inspired teams to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

• Can communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organization.
   

The hiring range for this position in Glendale/Santa Monica is $167,700 to $224,900 per year, in NYC or Seattle is $175,800 to $235,700 per year and in San Francisco is $183,700 to $246,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.