Bilingual UX Researcher

About U.S. Digital Response

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps governments and organizations respond quickly and efficiently to support the critical needs of the public.

Leveraging an amazing internal team along with a network of pro-bono technical expertise and modern, resilient technology, USDR addresses and uncovers solutions for common, systemic challenges that public servants are facing, leaving them better equipped to deliver services and support to millions of people nationwide.

We operate with humility and deep respect for our partners and believe that modern and resilient technology applied in the public interest can deliver people-centered services at the speed of need.

Since March 2020, USDR’s projects have impacted 42M+ people in 37 U.S. states and territories. We've built deep partnerships with over 230 government and nonprofit partners, strong expertise across more than 300 projects, and repeatable processes to solve some of the most pressing challenges in order to help governments meet the critical needs of people today, while building digital resilience to stand up to the crises of tomorrow.

Learn more about our last year in our annual impact report, Demos not Memos in 2021: A Look Back.

About our Unemployment Insurance Language Access work

Over the last 2 1/2 years, the pandemic emphasized the challenges that people face when navigating the unemployment insurance process. For native English speakers, its legalese is notoriously difficult to understand. For the 8% of the US population with limited English proficiency, it’s even more challenging, if not impossible. While state workforce agencies recognize that this is a problem, they often lack the resources needed to provide plain language translations that could make the system significantly easier to navigate.

USDR is partnering with state workforce agencies to provide a wide variety of language access needs, such as plain language translation support, content strategy, web design, user research/testing, and software development. Additionally, we are in the early stages of research as we plan to build an easy-to-use plain language content guide and translation tool. This will provide state workforce content teams with free and easy access to translation resources that have been co-created and validated with Spanish-speaking claimants - resources such as a glossary of unemployment insurance terms and templatized content that can be easily integrated into the front-end of state UI systems.

About the Role

USDR is seeking a UX Researcher to join our team to work with Spanish-speaking communities and support the lived experience of those communities, and as such must be bilingual in Spanish and English. In this role, you will be responsible for planning and conducting user research studies, including interviews, usability testing, and surveys so that we can understand how to better communicate with and deliver critical information and services to those with limited English proficiency.

You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including product management and research volunteers, to ensure that our services and recommendations are user-centered and effective. You will be responsible for conducting research virtually and in person in both English and Spanish, and for translating research findings and recommendations into both languages.

This is a one-year, paid position with competitive pay and benefits.

In this role, you will:

• Define overall research strategy and plan for our language access work with Spanish speakers
• Plan and conduct user research studies, including interviews, usability testing, and surveys with Spanish speaking claimants
• Determine the best way to communicate user needs to the appropriate audiences and then use generative research artifacts such as empathy maps, personas, storyboards, journey maps, experience maps, and service blueprints to do so
• Create evaluative research documents and artifacts, including research plans, usability test plans, scripts, and findings.
• Analyze and synthesize results from research and testing to provide recommendations for design and product improvements; identify patterns and gaps.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that research findings are incorporated into the design and development process and that user goals are met
• Create documentation, reports, and/or visual aids in order to share our research findings with the broader benefits and language access communities

Qualified candidates will have:

• 4-6 years of research experience in user experience, customer experience, service design, or commensurate work experience
• Strong understanding of human-centered design strategies, methods, and approaches, and how to apply them
• Experience leading user research activities for complex products and/or services, from the planning stage through execution and translation into actionable insights
• Comfortable facilitating meetings and workshops with cross-functional project teams
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills. Strong ability to communicate the value and importance of user research. Experienced and comfortable with presenting work to executives and large groups. Strong ability to communicate complicated concepts and bring clarity to stakeholders and team members.
• A portfolio of case studies showing how research had a measured impact on the overall customer experience and demonstrated key results
• Strong work ethic, keen analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage complex projects and multi-task with excellent organization skills and a strict attention to detail.
• Comfort with a fast-paced environment and changing requirements.
• Strong interest in supporting equitable, effective access to public services using modern technology, design, and research practices.
• Or any combination of education, experience, and measurable performance that demonstrates the capability to perform the duties of the position.

Skills and experience are necessary, but we hire on value alignment first, so if you feel you would be a good fit with us, still consider applying. We will begin reviewing applications in mid-January.

What you’ll get:

• A competitive salary, consistent with similar roles in other tech non-profits in major U.S. metropolitan cities. The annual salary range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000 depending on experience.
• Full health, dental and vision benefits (USDR pays 100% of the cost for our employees and 80% of the cost for their dependents).
• 401K with a matching contribution of up to 3 percent of your pay with $1 for each dollar you contribute and for more than 3 percent and up to 5 percent of your pay with $0.50 for each dollar you contribute.
• An equipment reimbursement for the purchase of a computer and peripheral devices of up to $2,000 along with a Work from Home allowance of $100 each month to support employees as they navigate working from home.
• A discretionary budget of $500 per year per employee for learning and development along with an organization-wide L&D budget to support individuals and teams with work-related learning and development expenses
• A supportive community where everyone can thrive and find a balance between working hard to make a difference and taking care of themselves. This means that we are committed to a fully remote work environment (for US-based employees) along with flexible schedules and time off policies that work with your life.

Equal Employment Opportunity

U.S. Digital Response is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, political party affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We encourage and welcome all interested potential applicants, regardless of background or prior experience volunteering with U.S. Digital Response, to apply.