UX Research Coordinator Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the UX research coordinator job description, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights major requirements you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the UX research coordinator role.

What Does a UX Research Coordinator Do?

A UX research coordinator is responsible for planning, managing, and executing an organization’s user research initiatives.

The coordinator reports directly to department leads such as the Head of UX Research or VP of Product.

They work very closely with teams like user experience designers, product managers, engineers and more.

This role can be found globally at technology companies and tech hubs, but is common in locations like Silicon Valley and major US cities where large tech firms reside.

Typically a Bachelor’s degree in a field like human-computer interaction, psychology or anthropology is required.

Relevant UX certifications, such as those from Nielsen Norman Group or UT Austin’s Center for Lifelong Engineering Education are also valuable. 

The user experience research coordinator’s core function involves owning the full process from user research study design to analysis and reporting.

Key duties of the UX research coordinator job description include developing research plans, building study methodology, and recruiting qualified participants, as well as moderating user sessions.

It also includes analyzing findings and clearly communicating insights and recommendations.

This role leads all coordination across departments to align on goals, staffing needs, recruiting approaches and other cross-functional collaboration required for smooth research execution.

They own the research schedule, budget, risk mitigation plans and more to keep activities on time and within scope.

Depending on the organization, the coordinator may also conduct hands-on studies, draw insights from the research, give presentations on findings, train product teams on user research best practices or take on additional analytical responsibilities.

Globally, this role holds great significance as user research is crucial for building highly usable, satisfying products and services.

Employers therefore look for coordinators skilled in both user research methods and working cross-functionally to apply insights.

Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative studies, recruitment, moderation skills, analytical thinking and project management are all advantageous.

There are no specific licensing requirements, however the non-profit User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) provides member standards and resources.

Local institutional review boards may also oversee studies involving protected user groups.

UX Research Coordinator Job Description Example/Sample/Template

UX research coordinators handle a wide array of important responsibilities across planning, managing, executing and analyzing user research.

The UX research coordinator job description consists of the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

• Collaborate with product managers, designers, engineers and key stakeholders to develop user research plans that align with business goals
• Design quantitative and qualitative UX studies selecting appropriate methodologies (e.g. usability studies, surveys, diary studies)
• Build study protocols, screening criteria, scripts, prototypes/materials, and other documents required
• Recruit and screen representative participants that match target user groups through social media outreach, paid means or other channels
• Set schedule for studies and moderation activities, coordinate facility needs and logistics
• Moderate usability session introductions, tasks/scenarios, question asking, and conclude sessions
• Take notes during sessions, highlight issues to explore, capture participant comments and behavioral insights
• Analyze data collected through studies, isolate key issues, compare behavioral differences across user groups
• Synthesize findings and insights into reports, presentations and documentation for product teams
• Clearly communicate study findings, recommendations, remaining questions and next steps to stakeholders
• Employ project management disciplines – develop realistic schedules/budgets, track progress, manage risks and changes
• Keep current with UX research best practices, tools, and methodologies through continued learning
• Interview users in person or remotely via tools like UserTesting to gather feedback on products, features or prototypes
• Document study protocols, screeners, scripts, and user data in research databases to allow for retrieving past insights
• Train product managers, UX designers and other internal teams on latest user research best practices
• Ensure organization’s user research activities comply with laws, corporate policies, or requirements from institutional review boards
• Source, evaluate, and engage with appropriate participant recruiting firms or staffing to secure qualified users
• Review competitive products and previously conducted market research to help shape research plans
• Capture videos, notes, system data during user sessions and studies to document issues and emotional reactions
• Create presentations and tailored reports to clearly convey key research insights to executives, senior leaders, and other non-technical stakeholders.

UX Research Coordinator Job Description for Resume

If you have worked before as a user experience research coordinator or are presently working in that role and making a new resume or CV, then you can create a compelling Professional Experience section by applying the UX research coordinator job description sample provided above.

You can highlight the major duties and responsibilities you have performed or are currently performing as a UX research coordinator in your resume’s Professional Experience by utilizing the ones in the above user experience research coordinator job description example.

This will show to the employer/recruiter that you have been successful performing the UX research coordinator job, which can boost your chances of being hired for the new position that you are seeking, especially if it requires someone with some user experience research coordinator work experience.

UX Research Coordinator Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

To effectively manage end-to-end user research initiatives, UX research coordinators need to possess certain skills and personal abilities, which are also required by recruiters/employers when hiring for the position:

• Research Expertise

Strong foundational knowledge of qualitative and quantitative UX research methodologies and data analysis is imperative.

Coordinators must master skills like developing research plans, designing effective studies for product insight capture, moderating sessions, and employing best practices.

• Project Management Skills

From budgeting to risk management and reporting, coordinators juggle a lot. Organization, attention to detail, scheduling, cross-functional coordination and process development abilities enable progress monitoring. 

• Communication and Storytelling

Conveying research insights through engaging analysis, presentations and documentation is vital.

Strong written and verbal communication skills make findings actionable. 

• Analytical and Problem-Solving Mindset

Parsing data to uncover user issues takes critical thinking, which a UX research coordinator should have.

Creativity helps solve recruitment, study design, or analysis challenges.

• Collaborative Approach

Working cross-functionally with stakeholders, coordinators must collaborate well, seek input, listen deeply to needs and build partnerships. Patience and empathy aid understanding.

• Passion for Customers

Truly skilled coordinators have strong customer orientation and relentless commitment to gathering insights that will craft better product experiences.

UX Research Coordinator Salary

The typical UX research coordinator in the US made $85,640 in 2022. That’s according to stats from the Bureau of Labor.

As for the top paying states, California UXRCs cleaned up with average salaries of $117,530.

Massachusetts came in second at $101,390, then New York at $98,230, Washington at $96,410, and Colorado rounded out the top 5 with $89,320.

So if you’re looking to cash in as a UX research coordinator, California seems to be the place to be, with average salary of $117,530. But even the lowest paying states aren’t too shabby, with average salary in the mid $80 thousands.

Conclusion

A UX research coordinator plays an invaluable role in facilitating user studies to uncover product insights. By managing the end-to-end research process, coordinators enable their organizations to deeply understand target users in order to inform strategic decisions and build intuitive digital experiences.

This post explored the UX research coordinator job description, including their duties and responsibilities, required competencies, compensation norms and top employers.

For those interested in a career coordinating impactful UX research, this guide presents a window into common duties and day-to-day realities.

With technology continuing to infuse all industries and touch more lives, skilled UX research coordinators have promising opportunities at top global companies.

Businesses must listen to users through data or risk product failure. By keeping the voice of the customer front and center, UX research coordinators provide value that is indispensable.