Director, UX Research - McDonald's Corporation

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

The McDonalds Global Experience Design team is a key part of the Customer Experience team (MCX), which provides user-centered experiences that deliver a cohesive and meaningful experience for customers and crew members around the world.

We are looking for a mixed-method research leader to oversee our UX Research function — bringing vision, empathy, and product experience to our growing function. Our UX Research team is designing for the global diversity of human needs, which requires us to deeply understand the behaviors of the people behind them. Our research team tackles some of the most complex challenges to gain deeper insights into how people interact with our products. We work collaboratively to contribute new ideas to products that impact the experiences. The successful candidate has a proven track record of translating research into design and product decisions. It's not enough to answer interesting questions about user behavior; we’re focused on delivering impact. The successful candidate must be an expert researcher who can generate and socialize insights that impact the strategy and product roadmaps of complex and diverse products. The role also requires a proven track record of building and managing high-performing teams, with researchers of different disciplines. Candidates must be able to articulate the vision of the team to cross-functional partners and be a strong advocate for the role of research in product development.

Core responsibilities:

Your attention to detail is renowned, you’re rooted in data, and you love putting structure around difficult problems. You thrive on being hands-on and immersive. You look for opportunities to improve the way things work.

· Manage a research portfolio with broad scope in size and complexity

· Grow and lead a talented, diverse, inclusive team of UX Researchers who consistently contribute to the deliver high-quality products

· Collaborate closely with leaders in other functions (Product Management, Engineering, and Insights) to ensure that research within product areas are both planned well and hitting their goals

· Set the vision for how UX Research continues to be a trusted and strategic partner for important company, product, and design decisions

· Be a tireless advocate for research influence and research priorities

· Build a thriving culture where UX Researchers do high-quality work

· Influence and drive strategy within our Product Operating model

· Effectively diagnose and make recommendations to solve complex issues that may span multiple teams

· Communicate team purpose, contribution, and how it fits in with the broader mission of the company

· Form internal partnerships, influence, resolve conflict, build alignment, and work effectively across teams and disciplines throughout the company to execute on company strategy

· Proactively identify the largest problems impacting your team's execution and effectively resolve and manage dependencies

· 10+ years of relevant professional experience with exposure to both quantitative and qualitative techniques

· 5+ years directly managing, coaching and developing full-time researchers

· Experience directly conducting primary research (both qualitative or quantitative) end-to-end (i.e., designing, fielding, analyzing and reporting out insights)

· Experience managing across different research methodologies

· Experience building and setting research strategy that connects with business strategy

· Track record of translating research into business impact

· Experience defining and influencing product strategy

· Experience working with a variety of cross-functional peers and stakeholders (e.g., product managers, designers, engineers, insights, and marketing)

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills that lead to effective and concrete output

· Ability to think strategically regarding the application of data and research

· An understanding and appreciation for the accurate application of data and metrics in UX Research

· Excellent communications skills; in particular, the ability to clearly communicate critical in-depth insights (including technical content) to business partners

· Attention to detail and a focus on excellence

· Strong problem solving and analytical mindset combined with excellent critical thinking skills

· Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve both people and process related issues

· Expertise with digital optimization, A/B and multivariate test implementation, and analysis

· Experience building teams over time through hiring, growing, and retaining high-performing researchers

Preferred:

· Masters degree in an applicable degree

· Experience with consumer insights and/or product development

· Experience working in agile environment rooted in a Product Operating Model

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact mcdhrbenefits@us.mcd.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.