User Research Lead

The Company

Orchard is transforming the way people buy and sell their homes. Simplifying it, to the way it should have always been; fair and true to market, straightforward, easy.  Every year in the U.S., $1.5 trillion of single family residences transact, generating over $120 billion of fees in a process that has changed little in decades. For the average American, the home purchase and sale process takes months, creates anxiety and is filled with uncertainty and hassle.

Orchard offers a modern alternative, making one of life's biggest decisions -- the sale and purchase of a home –stress free, fair and simple.

Orchard launched in 2017 and was previously known as Perch. The company is headquartered in New York City, has 200+ employees and has grown 10x year over year. We have raised over $300 million in financing from top tier investors including: Firstmark, Accomplice, Navitas and Juxtapose.

We are proud to be recognized by Inc. Magazine as a best workplace of 2020 and have a 4.9 Glassdoor rating!

 

Role and Responsibilities:

We’ve been working on some big exciting changes to the product, but our best work is still ahead. Customer research has been a fundamental part of our strategy and process at Orchard and we are excited to bring on our first dedicated researcher.  

The UX Research Lead will be instrumental shedding light on the key human moments in the Orchard experience and identifying new opportunities for both the business and our customers. 

• Conduct research across the product cycle, to generate tactical and strategic insights as well as actionable recommendations which drive product innovation and design improvements.
• Conduct generative research to identify new opportunities and add clarity to the problem space, maximizing the impact of the work of the product and design teams
• Support and mentor product designers to improve the research practice across the organization.
• Find creative and compelling ways to present and evangelize insights throughout the company.
• Comfortable working as a research team of one alongside a team of PD’s, Pms accustomed to conducting regular research.
• Create a toolbox of research methodologies such as surveys, interviews, usability studies, ethnographic observation,  individual interviews, group sessions, etc. to deliver new insights about our users.  
• Share findings with designers, engineers, product managers, and others in a consistent and accessible way to create a smarter, more informed and more empathetic product team.
• Lead by example by being hands on in conducting research
• Operationalize and scale the design research practice at Orchard

 

Who You Are:

• Graduate degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, or a related field
• 7+ years experience conducting research within organizations
• Comfortable coaching and supporting product designers but excited to be hands on and focused on executing high impact, strategic research initiatives
• Willingness to take initiative, be proactive, and build things from the ground up
• Experience using qualitative data to drive success on mobile products
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong listening, analytical, and organizational skills
• Bonus: experience working on mobile products and/or products that span the digital and in person experience