Sr. UX Researcher

Job Description:

Location:

• San Francisco, CA or NY, New York (In-office preferred)

• Remote opportunity available in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IL, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WI, WY

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Rakuten is the most rewarding way to shop, giving millions of members Cash Back when they buy from their favorite brands. As a leading shopping platform, Rakuten partners with thousands of top brands across apparel, beauty and wellness, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscriptions, and dining, helping members save on everyday purchases. Since 1999, Rakuten members have earned more than $4.6 billion in Cash Back, making it the largest Cash Back platform of its kind. Learn more at Rakuten.com.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a senior, hands-on UX Researcher who can independently own research initiatives end-to-end and directly influence product strategy and direction. This role leads research tied to real product decisions across acquisition, conversion, and engagement, ensuring member experiences are informed by high-quality evidence.

You will translate ambiguous business problems into focused research plans, execute qualitative and quantitative studies, and synthesize findings into actionable recommendations that reduce risk and accelerate decision-making. This role partners closely with Product, Design, Engineering, and Marketing and reports to the Director of Research within the Product Design team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead UX research end-to-end, from problem framing through synthesis and recommendation

• Translate ambiguous business questions into structured research plans aligned to product goals

• Design and execute qualitative and quantitative research across discovery, evaluation, and optimization

• Synthesize research, analytics, and market signals into actionable product insights

• Deliver evidence-based recommendations that inform product direction, risks, and tradeoffs

• Present findings clearly and confidently to senior and cross-functional stakeholders

• Build strong partnerships with Product, Design, Engineering, and Marketing

• Influence prioritization and roadmap decisions through research-backed storytelling

• Contribute to research standards and improve research literacy across teams

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 5+ years of UX research experience in consumer-focused technology companies

• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods across discovery, evaluation, and optimization

• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments

• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority

• Strong synthesis skills and ability to translate findings into actionable insights

• Excellent communication and storytelling skills

• Sound judgment balancing rigor with speed

• Ability to independently scope and execute research initiatives

Strongly Preferred:

• Ecommerce or consumer product experience

• Experience conducting market research or competitive analysis

• Familiarity with analytics and data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau)

Minimum Requirements:

• 5-7 years Required

• Bachelor's Degree Required

Five Principles for Success

Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen

Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best

Hypothesize - Practice - Validate - Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory

Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile

Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.