Senior Research Manager, Design Research

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across design research, ensuring alignment with hardware, product, and organizational priorities.
• Scale early-stage research initiatives and work with cross-functional leaders to position research as a critical input to decision-making.
• Partner with Program Management to intake research needs, assess tradeoffs, and guide prioritization.
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of senior researchers, fostering research craft and professional growth.
• Serve as a senior individual contributor on complex, high-impact research initiatives adjacent to physical product and hardware development.
• Own relationships with external research vendors, including scoping projects and ensuring high-quality execution.
• Communicate research insights clearly and credibly to cross-functional partners and leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human factors, design research, UX, design anthropology, psychology, or a related field.
• 5+ years of user research experience specifically for physical products (hardware, health, or consumer electronics).
• 2+ years of people management experience, including coaching and performance development.
• Strong mixed-methods research background with both qualitative and quantitative expertise.
• Proven experience working within hardware development lifecycles.
• Experience managing or partnering with external research vendors.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.

About the Company

WHOOP is on a mission to unlock human performance and healthspan. WHOOP empowers members to perform at a higher level through a deeper understanding of their bodies, behaviors, and daily lives.