Director, UX Research | Freelance

VSA’s purpose is to design for a better human experience. As a strategy and design agency, we blend consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences in an increasingly noisy world. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, VSA offers a full range of fully integrated capabilities—branding, advertising, data science and technology—all under one roof. VSA is also a proud member of Meet The People, an international family of unified and independent agencies. For more than 40 years, we have delivered solutions for business and creative leaders at some of the world’s most respected brands and forward-thinking organizations, including Google, Nike and IBM.

Remote, US based, Eastern time collaboration

Overview
VSA Partners is hiring a Director, UX Research (Freelance) to lead research across the full dot-com ecosystem for our world-class global enterprise client. This role focuses primarily on qualitative research, including moderated testing, interviews, focus groups, and live user sessions. You will also design, analyze, synthesize, and run mixed-methods research when broader validation is required.

You will partner closely with UI, information architecture, engineering, content strategy, analytics, and product teams to ensure insights directly shape experience, navigation, and content decisions. This role suits someone who brings strong qualitative depth, confident facilitation skills, and the ability to translate user behavior into actionable, inclusive guidance.

Experience Level
8+ years UX research experience in enterprise B2B environments

Responsibilities

Qualitative Research Execution
Lead moderated usability tests, interviews, focus groups, and live user research sessions across global user groups.
Conduct open ended qualitative explorations to identify motivations, expectations, pain points, and behavioral patterns.
Plan and execute mixed methods studies when quantitative validation or scale is needed.
Evaluate concepts, navigation flows, and content clarity with users in real time.

Behavioral Insight and Testing
Analyze user behavior across journeys, decision points, and navigation structures.
Design surveys, micro polls, and lightweight quant tests when needed.
Support tree testing, card sorting, and structural research in partnership with IA teams.
Use analytics tools to reinforce qualitative findings and identify trends.
Leverage UX and behavioral analytics tools such as Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and Google Analytics to identify critical business performance issues and target priority digital experiences for improvement.

Cross Functional Collaboration
Work closely with UX, UI, IA, engineering, content, analytics, and product teams.
Present insights clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
Provide evidence based recommendations that improve clarity, flow, structure, and decision making.
Ensure research supports inclusivity, accessibility, and global user needs.

Research Integration and Delivery
Translate findings into concise reports, frameworks, and actionable recommendations.
Provide input that strengthens flows, navigation systems, and content structures.
Manage research cycles independently from planning to execution and delivery.
Support continuous learning across teams by socializing research themes.

Required Experience and Skills
Strong qualitative research background with experience facilitating focus groups and live moderated testing
Mixed methods research experience in enterprise or B2B environments
Ability to integrate analytics alongside qualitative findings
Strong communication and storytelling abilities
Experience supporting navigation, taxonomy, or complex structural experience work
Highly organized and comfortable operating autonomously

Preferred Experience
Experience with enterprise CMS environments
Research experience in global, multi region ecosystems
Familiarity with survey tools and analytics platforms

Additional Information
Freelance. Remote. US based. Eastern or Central time preferred for global collaboration.

Remote, US based, Eastern time collaboration

Equal Opportunity Statement

VSA Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable environment for all employees. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit and business need.

New York Estimated Salary Range
$100—$140 USD

VSA Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable environment for all employees. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit and business need.

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