Sr. Design Researcher – Study Designer at Evinova

Evinova is a leading health tech company enabling global life sciences to accelerate better health outcomes, by creating AI-native digital health solutions for clinical research. We are a separate business within the AstraZeneca group. 

We’re hiring a Sr. Design Researcher to join Evinova’s Barcelona-based Study Designer team operating at the intersection of AI, digital health, and clinical innovation. Our Study Designer solution empowers clinical teams to optimize and automate the design and feasibility of clinical studies and the authoring of corresponding study documentation. This is not a conventional design research role — we’re building something new, and we need design research leads who are ready to do the same. 

Our context is defined by overlapping transformations. On one side, artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how we work — augmenting creativity, accelerating collaboration between disciplines, and creating new ways to explore, test, and refine ideas. On the other side, the solution spaces we work in — clinical trials execution, study design and document authoring — are also shifting rapidly, driven by new data streams, AI-powered automation, and innovative approaches to running clinical trials. 

As a Sr. Design Researcher, you’ll help us transition to a working model that balances continuous discovery with publishable strategic research. In your role, you will support the cross-functional team as they lead their own high-quality discovery research. This will involve conducting research training workshops and guiding the creation and execution of the research. In parallel, you’ll lead research work that brings our thought leadership to the forefront through published articles, white papers and conference presentations that spotlight our long-shelf-life strategic research which informs our product strategy and design roadmaps. Moreover, you’ll be a key partner in shaping how we use AI as a creative collaborator, not just a tool — helping us move faster and more intelligently. 

This role requires a mindset that is not daunted by ambiguity or complexity. The evolving world of clinical trial design involves a wide variety of user profiles, multi-step workflows that play out over long periods of time and an incredibly high bar for quality. Success also means carrying a deep awareness of the regulatory and ethical requirements that are not only considerations for our product design responsibilities but also for those who use our tools. 

We’re looking for: 

• Deeply collaborative, T-shaped research practitioners who can conduct or support (depending on the need in the moment) a wide variety of research methodologies from generative research to concept feedback sessions to rigorous usability studies, as well as run cross-functional training workshops to upskill product, design, data science and engineering peers to ensure that research outcomes are being appropriately infused into our Study Designer roadmap. 

• Highly autonomous, self-directed researchers who act with positive agency: seeking out new opportunities for collaboration, proactively navigating ambiguity, and shaping new practices as the context evolves 

• Researchers with AI fluency — not necessarily technical experts, but people who are curious and excited about working with generative and agentic AI as part of their research process 

• People who thrive in complexity, balancing near-term delivery with long-term vision, and who are energised by change and challenge rather than constrained by them 

This is a chance to help define not just the future of digital health — but the future of digital design in a world where the boundaries between people, tools, and disciplines are being redrawn in real time. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Accountable for the full spectrum of research activities and methods across different stages in the product lifecycle by either guiding cross-functional teams to conduct research or by designing and running research independently. 

• Collaborate closely with product, design and engineering leads to ensure cohesive research strategy and tight research objective to method alignment. 

• Translate highly technical workflows into meaningful artifacts, including user-friendly journey maps and user profiles.  

• Identify opportunities to use AI to expedite our research process without impacting quality, including using vibe coding to rapidly create prototypes for use in research sessions 

• Stimulate conceptual thinking and creativity and challenge the status quo towards continuous improvement.  

• Work closely with other researchers as well as design leads to ensure coherent user experience across user domains and products. 

• Ensure that cross-functional product teams are actively immersed in the research insights rather than passively listening to PowerPoint presentations. 

• Capturing research insights in product tools, like ProductBoard, and ensuring that our learnings inform the Evinova Design System.  

• Collaboratively partnering with the cross-functional team while also holding them accountable to ensure that research insights are appropriately reflected in the roadmap.  

• Mentor and develop junior researchers, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the team 

Key Attributes: 

• Experience in independently leading research end-to-end, including foundational, generative and usability-focused methods 

• Expertise in tightly aligning research objectives to method 

• Exemplary command of both written and spoken English combined with ability to communicate with sophistication and clarity 

• Proficiency with online research tools and familiarity with rapid prototyping tools 

• Strong commitment to inclusive design, accessibility, and usability, and to delivering outcomes to key metrics  

• Excellent collaboration, and storytelling skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams 

• Experience in operating as an independent researcher on highly complex B2B or B2B2C software 

• Based in Gothenburg or Barcelona, with willingness to collaborate in-office with cross-functional teams 

• Willingness to travel for research, project delivery, and workshops 

• Ability to operate at pace and navigate changes in scope and approach based on shifting market signals and customer demand, while keeping up with evolving technology 

We also value: 

• Experience in healthcare and/or digital health sectors 

• Familiarity with clinical trials and the drug development lifecycle 

• Knowledge of human factors for medical device requirements and processes. 

• A non-linear career path and diverse life experiences that enrich your perspective as a designer 

• A second language (and every additional language is a plus) 

Why Evinova? 

At Evinova, we seize opportunities for change. We push the boundaries of what a life sciences company can achieve through innovative digital solutions. Join us in shaping the future of digital health and be part of an interdisciplinary team that makes a tangible impact on health outcomes around the world.