Lead UX Researcher

Paychex is reimagining how businesses manage their workforce by bringing payroll, HR, benefits, and advisory services together into a single connected HCM platform. As Paychex and Paycor come together, we're combining innovative technology, data-driven insights, AI, and human expertise to help organizations work smarter, support their people, and achieve better business outcomes. This is an exciting time to join our team as we continue to invest in innovation, simplify client experiences, and shape the future of work. At Paychex, you'll have the opportunity to grow your career, make a meaningful impact, and be part of something bigger as One Paychex.

Overview

We're looking for a Lead UX Researcher to shape and drive the future of user understanding at Paychex. In this role, you'll lead complex research efforts, guide product strategy through insights, and grow research capabilities across the organization. You'll establish research best practices, influence decision-making at every level, and collaborate across design, product, engineering, and marketing. You'll mentor other researchers and designers in research skills and help foster a learning-driven culture that keeps customers at the center of everything we build. This is a high-impact role ideal for a strategic, hands-on research leader who thrives in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Plan, execute, and synthesize complex research projects that inform product direction and improve customer experience.
• Collaborate with product, design, engineering, and business teams to prioritize research efforts and align on learning goals.
• Translate user behaviors and motivations into actionable insights that influence strategy, roadmap, and feature design.
• Establish research operations including tooling, participant recruitment, insight repositories, and research governance.
• Mentor other researchers and designers, providing feedback and helping to mature the research practice across the organization.
• Build scalable research frameworks, playbooks, and templates to increase efficiency and consistency across teams.
• Leverage both qualitative and quantitative methods-including interviews, usability testing, surveys, diary studies, and analytics.
• Present research findings to cross-functional stakeholders through compelling storytelling, data visualization, and narrative.
• Work closely with data science and UX content teams to triangulate insights and surface deep customer understanding.
• Promote a customer-first mindset across Paychex, embedding research throughout the product development lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, Design, or a related field - Required
• Master's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, Design, or a related field - Preferred
• 8 years of experience in UX research experience.
• 2 years of experience in leading large-scale or strategic research initiatives.
• Deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods and how to apply them at the right time.
• Proven ability to lead research efforts that shape product strategy, feature prioritization, and customer experience improvements.
• Experience building research ops infrastructure such as toolkits, participant panels, and knowledge management systems.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to align diverse stakeholders and influence direction through insights.
• Experience mentoring researchers and non-researchers on research best practices and methodologies.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills-you can distill complex findings into compelling narratives and business cases.
• Comfort working with product analytics and partnering with data science to support mixed-method approaches.
• Fluency in AI tools that support research automation, analysis, and communication, such as: o ChatGPT or Notion AI for summarizing transcripts, reports, and stakeholder briefs. o Dovetail, Condens, or EnjoyHQ for AI-assisted tagging, insight synthesis, and pattern recognition. o Maze, Useberry, or Uizard for rapid, unmoderated usability testing. o Tally or Typeform + GPT integrations for smarter survey generation and response analysis.
• A growth mindset and deep curiosity about emerging technology, small business needs, and payroll/HR trends.

Live the Paychex Values

Act with uncompromising integrity. Provide outstanding service and build trusted relationships. Drive innovation in our products and services and continually improve our processes. Work in partnership and support each other. Be personally accountable and deliver on commitments. Treat each other with respect and dignity.

What's in it for you?

• We value your well-being: We provide over 21 comprehensive rewards, including medical coverage, virtual wellness classes, tuition reimbursement, 401(k) + employer match, adoption assistance, financial assistance, and much more.
• We value your time: From paid time off to company holidays, culture days, and comprehensive work-life balance programs, we will ensure you have the flexibility you need to be your best.
• We value your development: Our award-winning training and development programs empower our employees with ongoing learning opportunities to give you the building blocks to grow your career.
• We value your perspective: Our company culture reflects the diversity of our employees. We want you to be you and your voice to be heard.
• We value our communities: We offer paid time off for volunteerism and promote many company-wide and local initiatives that benefit organizations you care about. Note: The benefits described apply to full-time employees. Benefits for part-time, contract, and intern roles may vary. Not sure if you meet every requirement?At Paychex, we know that great talent comes in many forms. If you're passionate about the role but don't check every box, we still encourage you to apply. You might be the right fit - either for this position or another opportunity with us. Paychex is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated fairly and evaluated based on their qualifications, experience, and merit. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment.