{"id":843601,"url":"https://alion.io/job/blenderbox-user-researcher-contract","title":"User Researcher [Contract]","company":{"id":695817,"name":"Blenderbox","domain":"blenderbox.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/blenderbox","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Breezy","truth_index":{"grade":"D","score":40,"open_postings":10,"ghost_share":1,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Product","role_family":"Product","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"contractor","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":125000,"max_usd":219000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":511},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"FigJam","optional":true},{"name":"Figma","optional":true},{"name":"Google Workspace","optional":true},{"name":"Miro","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-01-23T20:59:05Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-01-23","last_verified_at":"2026-10-01T12:49:57Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":251,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale","company_stale"],"days_open":250},"description":"We maintain a roster of trusted, experienced contractors we collaborate with across projects. This role is part of that ongoing talent pool, and qualified candidates may be contacted for future engagements as project needs arise.\nBlenderbox is seeking a Contract UX Researcher to support discovery and evaluative research across complex digital products and services, primarily in the public sector. This role plays a critical part in ensuring our work is grounded in real user needs, organizational realities, and actionable insight.\nYou’ll partner closely with UX strategists, product designers, project managers, and technical leads to plan and execute research, synthesize findings, and translate learning into clear direction for design and product teams.\nThis is a hands-on role centered on thoughtful research, clear synthesis, and practical outcomes.\nWhat You’ll Do\nUser Research & Stakeholder Engagement\nPlan and conduct qualitative research using a range of methods, including one-on-one interviews, group-based research, contextual inquiry, and evaluative usability testing\n\nEngage stakeholders and users across multiple roles and teams to understand needs, workflows, constraints, and opportunities\n\nCollaborate with project teams to define research goals, user groups, and the questions, assumptions, and risks to be explored through research\n\nDevelop research plans, discussion guides, and supporting documentation\n\nAdapt research approaches as project scope, constraints, or timelines evolve\n\nSynthesis & Insight Development\nAnalyze research inputs to identify patterns, themes, risks, and opportunity areas\n\nIncorporate findings from content audits, UX audits, workflow reviews, accessibility audits, and existing documentation as inputs to research synthesis\n\nTriangulate qualitative findings with other available inputs (e.g., surveys, audits, operational data) to strengthen insights and recommendations\n\nTranslate research into clear, actionable insights that inform strategy, design decisions, and prioritization\n\nWorkshops & Collaborative Sessions\nDesign and facilitate workshops or working sessions to validate findings, explore opportunities, or align stakeholders\n\nPrepare materials, support facilitation planning, and synthesize outcomes\n\nPartner closely with UX designers and project managers to ensure research insights translate into meaningful next steps\n\nDiscovery & Evaluation Deliverables\nPrepare and contribute to key research outputs, including:\nFindings and insights documentation\n\nResearch readouts and presentation decks\n\nOpportunity framing and early directional recommendations\n\nClear articulation of research-informed next steps\n\nPresent research findings to client teams, including facilitating readouts and supporting leadership discussions\n\nCross-Functional Collaboration\nWork closely with UX designers, product managers, and technical partners to integrate research into active project workflows\n\nReview and contribute feedback on research artifacts, synthesis, or findings as part of collaborative team work\n\nWhat We’re Looking For\n5-8+ years of experience conducting UX research for digital products or services\n\nStrong qualitative research skills with experience leading research independently\n\nDemonstrated ability to synthesize ambiguity into clarity and communicate insights effectively\n\nExcellent facilitation skills, particularly in remote and cross-functional settings\n\nStrong writing and presentation skills for client-facing deliverables\n\nComfort working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments\n\nExperience collaborating closely with designers, project/product managers, and technical teams\n\nNice to Have\nExperience working in public-sector, education, nonprofit, or regulated environments\n\nFamiliarity with accessibility and inclusive research practices\n\nExperience supporting research efforts that span multiple phases of a project or evolve over time\n\nTools & Ways of Working\nExperience working with tools such as:\nFigma / FigJam\n\nMiro\n\nZoom-based remote facilitation\n\nGoogle Workspace\n\nStandard research documentation and synthesis workflows\n\nEngagement Details\nContract role; duration and commitment vary by project\n\nRemote; U.S.-based availability required\n\nPart-time to full-time depending on project needs\n\nCompetitive hourly rate based on experience and scope\n\nAbout Us\nBlenderbox is a human-centered design and technology agency. We work with governments and organizations to improve complex digital products and services through thoughtful research, design, and collaboration.\nHow to Apply\nIf this seems like a good fit for you, and you would like to be considered for future projects, please submit your résumé and any work samples you wish to share. Apply using the link.\nMust be a US Citizen or authorized to work in the US.\nNo recruiters, please.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4820,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Design & Creative"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-12T23:11:36Z"}],"liveness":{"score":3,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.124,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":250,"expected_fill_days":38,"reasons":["conf:17","stale_co","ghost","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/blenderbox-user-researcher-contract","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/blenderbox-user-researcher-contract.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-01T21:13:23Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3820,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":1180,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"}}}