Global Experience Design Group 

Have you ever had the opportunity to impact the lives of millions of people in a meaningful way and help them enjoy time away with their friends and families building memories? That is what we do here at HomeAway.com. We are the leading vacation rental website in the world with more than 1.2 million properties listed. We have millions of visitors to our site per year and serve more than one million page views per month. Our mission is to make every vacation rental in the world available to every traveler in the world through our online marketplace.

As Director of the User Research discipline for HomeAway’s Global Experience Design Group, you will institutionalize a solid foundation in learning from our customers and relying on customer insights to drive our products and business. You will have the vision to conceive a research agenda and approach and the practical knowledge to implement that agenda across a global matrixed organization. The Director of UX research will define and own the practice of UX research.

You will... 

- Develop a clear research agenda and communicate that agenda across the organization.

- Plan, design, and conduct research activities across a wide variety of methods appropriate to answer specific design questions including quantitative and
qualitative, field-based and lab-based, and across the spectrum of the design lifecycle.
- Analyze data collected during research activities and deliver clear and actionable findings.
- Bring in the latest and greatest in research best practices research methodologies. Innovate by generating new user research methodologies.
- Attract, train, and manage top user research talent to join a small team of research specialists and manage research labs across the organization’s global
foot print.
- Guide designers on user research techniques and their activities during generative phases of design projects.
- Coordinate and collaborate with analytics and experimentation teams to incorporate findings from A/B tests into the body of knowledge of customer insights.
- Coordinate with market research to incorporate marketing data into design and product considerations.
- Manage vendor relationships, including recruiters, facilities, and outsourced research consultancies.
- Understanding of the cultural and logistic intricacies of international research.

Required:

- PHD and/or advanced degree in experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors, Human Computer Interaction, Technical Communication
or related discipline.
- 8+ years conducting quantitative and qualitative UX research .

- Demonstrated leadership and team building skills within a UX research organization.
- Strong interpersonal skills including strong verbal, listening, persuasion and written communication.

- Experience working within agile design and development teams.

Benefits:
- Great Medical & Dental Plans
- Highly Competitive salary
- Target annual bonus
- Company stock (RSUs)
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- 4 weeks paid vacation
- Free vacation rental on a yearly basis (taxable benefit)
- Ability to work up to two weeks in any of our offices around the world on a yearly basis
- Free drinks & snacks
- Weekly company update talks with our leadership team
- Free listing on HomeAway.com
- Electric adjustable stand up desk
- Casual dress code