Lead User Experience Researcher

7-Eleven is an iconic family of brands with over 86,000 locations, surpassing every retailer in the world. We revolutionize convenience, restaurants and fuel through cutting edge innovation - working hard to be the customer's first choice. 7-Eleven empowers our employees to "activate awesome" and make a meaningful impact in their stores and communities every day. If you're ready to grow, lead and make a difference, come join our team and help shape the future of convenience.

Job Description

At 7-Eleven, we're building products and experiences that serve millions of customers while enabling thousands of employees, operators, merchants, and business partners across our ecosystem.

The 7RESEARCH team is the experience research function within Product Development. We partner with Product, Design, Engineering, and business leaders to understand customer and employee needs, reduce product risk, and help teams make evidence-based decisions.

We are seeking a Lead UX Researcher to support Enterprise, with a primary focus on Merchandising and Merchant Tools. This role serves as the lead researcher for a portfolio of enterprise applications and is responsible for guiding research strategy, mentoring researchers, and helping product teams translate insights into action.

What You'll Do

Research Leadership

• Lead research throughout the product lifecycle, from early discovery through concept evaluation and post-launch learning.
• Develop research plans that align with product priorities and business objectives.
• Partner closely with Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, Directors, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities, evaluate solutions, and inform decision-making.
• Advocate for customer, employee, and business perspectives throughout product development.

Enterprise Product Partnership

• Act as the lead researcher supporting Enterprise initiatives, including Merchandising, Merchant Tools, Pricing, Promotions, Vendor Systems, and other Enterprise products and services.
• Participate in roadmap discussions, sprint refinement, and planning activities to ensure research is integrated into product planning, discovery, and delivery efforts.
• Help product teams assess, prioritize, and scope research efforts based on business objectives, product risk, and team capacity.
• Help teams define research questions, select appropriate methods, and determine the level of rigor needed for decision-making.
• Translate complex findings into clear recommendations that influence product direction.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to researchers supporting Enterprise initiatives.
• Review research plans, discussion guides, deliverables, and stakeholder presentations.
• Promote high standards for research quality, synthesis, and communication.
• Contribute to the growth of research practices, tools, and processes across 7RESEARCH.

Research Execution

• Design and execute qualitative and quantitative research studies that address product, customer, and business questions.
• Synthesize findings from multiple sources to identify patterns, opportunities, and risks.
• Create compelling deliverables that drive alignment and action across teams.

Qualifications

Required

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in UX Research, Experience Research, Human Factors, Market Research, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated success leading complex research initiatives and influencing product decisions.
• Strong experience with both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Experience supporting enterprise, B2B, SaaS, workflow, or operational products.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience mentoring researchers or leading research efforts across multiple teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Human Factors, Information Science, or a related field.

Preferred

• Master's degree or PhD in a related discipline.
• Experience in retail, merchandising, e-commerce, marketplace, or operational technology environments.
• Experience with service design, journey mapping, and systems thinking.
• Experience working within Agile product development environments.
• Experience managing external research partners or vendors.
• Experience with modern research and insight platforms, including AI-assisted research workflows.

Why Join 7RESEARCH?

Research at 7-Eleven plays a direct role in shaping products used by store associates, merchants, operators, business partners, and millions of customers. You'll work alongside product and design leaders to influence strategy, improve experiences, and help teams make better decisions through customer and employee insight.

As a Lead UX Researcher, you'll have the opportunity to own a critical product portfolio, mentor fellow researchers, and play a key role in advancing customer-centered decision making across Product Development.

*Position not eligible for sponsorship.

*Position is onsite and based in Irving TX.

If an hourly or salary range is included in this ad it represents the range 7-Eleven in good faith believes is the range of compensation for this role at the time of this posting. The Company may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in this state. This range may be modified in the future. No amount is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable under the terms and conditions of the applicable policies and plans. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, long-term incentive compensation, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

For a general description of all benefits 7-Eleven is offering in the US for the position, please visit this link.

For a general description of all benefits 7-Eleven is offering in Canada for the position, please visit this link.