Lead User Research Specialist

Description The customer is embarking on a significant redesign of its comprehensive suite of tools aimed at enhancing the workflow and efficiency of its analytic research, writing, review, coordination, and dissemination processes. As a Lead User Research Specialist, you will play a vital role in this transformation by conducting in-depth user research and distilling your findings into actionable requirements that will guide the design and development of our toolset. Your responsibilities will include conducting user research for analytic software, tools, and capabilities, ensuring clarity on the necessary understanding, and determining where it should reside to support decision-making at scale. This role will effectively connect mission stakeholders with technical teams to ensure our analytic systems are aligned with real-world analyst workflows, cognitive processes, and decision environments. Your research will minimize risks and enhance the effectiveness of our systems by preventing misalignments with how analysts think, reason, collaborate, and operate. The ideal candidate will exhibit excellence in various research methodologies, such as conducting contextual inquiries, ethnographic observations, and shadowing studies; designing and leading structured and semi-structured user interviews; organizing and facilitating usability testing sessions and focus groups; creating surveys and analyzing quantitative feedback; conducting heuristic evaluations; developing user personas, journey maps, workflow diagrams, and service blueprints; examining in-app and behavioral data alongside qualitative methods; and performing jobs-to-be-done and task analyses. Key Responsibilities and Duties Design, execute, and document user research across multiple levels (interface, product, and workflow/mission) depending on the project phase and scope. Identify and recruit a diverse pool of representative users, schedule and conduct research sessions with application users, and document findings thoroughly in written reports. Create and maintain user personas, journey maps, workflow diagrams, and other research artifacts to effectively communicate findings. Analyze research data to uncover behavioral patterns, pain points, unmet needs, and opportunities for enhancement; synthesize findings across studies to identify systemic issues; translate insights into actionable recommendations for product and design teams. Lead contextual inquiries, ethnographic observations, shadowing sessions, interviews, workshops, surveys, usability tests, and focus groups. Required Qualifications Master's degree in a relevant field utilizing advanced data analytics (e.g., human-centered interaction, cognitive or experimental psychology, or information science) with 15+ years of experience in user research, or a Bachelor's degree with 17+ years of experience. At least 3 years of experience in conducting empirical user research in software development settings, covering interface/interaction, product, and workflow/mission. Expertise in Agile development environments and proficiency with industry-standard research and design tools like Figma or Adobe XD. Strong understanding of Human-Centered Design principles, knowledge of UI/UX best practices, and familiarity with accessibility and inclusive design standards. Demonstrated capability to facilitate collaborative sessions, including workshops, design critiques, and synthesis activities. Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills. Desired Qualifications Previous experience with the DA, Sponsor, or IC analytic components. If you're motivated by challenge and eager to innovate, this role is for you. At Leidos, we seek individuals who can disrupt, provoke, and drive change. Join us in moving beyond traditional approaches and into the future of analytic tools. Pay Range: Pay Range $139,100.00 - $251,450.00 This range is a guideline and may vary based on factors including responsibilities, education, experience, and market data. About Leidos Leidos is a leader in industry and technology, providing innovative digital solutions to government and commercial clients. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, we have 47,000 employees worldwide and reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion in fiscal year 2025. Commitment to Non-Discrimination We value all qualified applicants, considering them without regard to race, gender, age, disability, or any other protected status as mandated by law.

Created: 2026-03-10