Staff User Researcher

The Overview 

At Okta, we're building a world where anyone can safely use any technology, and we're specifically focused on protecting the future of work. We bring simple and secure access to people and organizations everywhere, promising to not only protect the identities of our customers' workforce and users but to ask, “what more can we make possible?” 

Our User Research team is a critical partner in this mission, responsible for driving research that uncovers deep insights and shapes our product and company strategy. As a Staff User Researcher, you will work with a globally distributed team to apply your craft and expertise across a range of products and services. You will tackle complex research questions, delivering insights that ensure we are solving the right problems for our customers.

 

The Finer Print 

As a Staff UX Researcher in India, you will lead and establish user research efforts locally, embedding UXR practices within our growing India-based cross-functional teams and taking ownership of high-impact research initiatives for a key Okta product area. This is a unique opportunity to promote and cultivate a user-centered culture, guiding local product, design, and engineering partners who are new to direct collaboration with UX research. You will work closely with these local teams daily, while also collaborating effectively with your global UXR colleagues and stakeholders. Your research will directly inform critical decisions, contributing to both the product's long-term vision and near-term development. You will be instrumental in establishing research operations in India, ensuring that foundational and evaluative insights are effectively leveraged to drive exceptional user experiences.

 

In this role, you have the opportunity to:

• Champion user-centered best practices and build strong, trusted relationships with product, design, and engineering leaders within our growing Bangalore office
• Drive collaborative research initiatives with cross-functional teams and guide them in leveraging insights to inform decisions and foster a culture of curiosity
• Communicate complex insights clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences across all levels and time zones, ensuring seamless alignment within our global team
• Utilize LLMs (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to accelerate end-to-end research workflows, from literature reviews and transcript analysis to report drafting.
• Synthesize insights at scale by leveraging AI-augmented repositories and tools across multiple concurrent projects, without sacrificing research rigor.
• Establish and refine UX research processes, operational frameworks, and supporting tools tailored to the needs of the Bangalore office, aligning with our global UX Research standards
• Build and manage key research operations, including leading APAC participant recruitment efforts and collaborating with our global UX Research Operations team to optimize our Dovetail research repository for local stakeholders

• Lead end-to-end research initiatives, expertly applying a flexible range of methodologies (generative and evaluative) to illuminate customer needs and deliver high-impact insights that drive product growth
• Share your expertise and insights with the global UX Research team, and play a pivotal role in building UX Research capacity within the Bangalore office as the team grows
• Access global learning resources and collaborate with experienced researchers worldwide to continuously enhance your skills

 

Who We Are Looking For

• Demonstrated ability to effectively introduce and integrate UX Research into teams with limited prior exposure, clearly articulating its value and driving buy-in
• Experience thriving in a remote, globally distributed team environment, with a proven ability to manage asynchronous communication, maintain alignment across different time zones, and build strong rapport and influence with remote stakeholders across cultures
• You possess a proven ability to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs for bias, hallucinations, and gaps; you know when to trust, refine, or override AI and can articulate that judgment.
• A proactive and highly self-driven approach, with a proven ability to independently identify research opportunities, define scope, and successfully project manage complex initiatives end-to-end, consistently delivering high-quality insights on time and within scope
• Resourcefulness in navigating ambiguity and establishing new processes and tooling where needed
• Proven experience as an embedded UX Researcher with deep expertise in applying a wide range of methodologies (e.g., usability studies, contextual inquiry, surveys) to identify and elevate user needs, driving valuable product outcomes
• Able to translate business problems into human-centered research questions, applying your technical understanding to inform company goals
• Exceptional proficiency in communicating complex research findings and insights, adeptly tailoring presentations and guiding collaborative sessions with diverse cross-functional partners and senior leadership to drive alignment and informed decisions
• Experience with products made for developers, administrators, or other technical audiences
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving capabilities while working with constraints
• Empathy for users and a passion for understanding technical experiences
• Experience working on security products is a plus
• A proactive and curious mindset with a dedication to continuous professional development, and a proven ability to contribute positively to the team's research culture and skill set

 

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in a User Research or related role, with a strong digital portfolio demonstrating end-to-end research on shipped B2B or enterprise SaaS products. (A portfolio is required for consideration).
• Practical experience using LLMs to accelerate research workflows, with specific examples of measurable impact on project timelines or scale.
• Expertise in a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• A Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Sociology, or a related field is preferred.

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