UX Researcher Role - 12 Months - FTC in London

The Inception Artificial Intelligence User Experience (AIUX) team within Google Deepmind builds new breakthrough experiences to benefit humanity. Our work is at the cutting-edge of people-focused research and the expanding generative AI landscape. Our objective is to move rapidly through prototyping and agile research to identify the boundaries of the future, experimenting with and envisioning potential scenarios both within and beyond Google's existing product ecosystem. We work to build people-focused solutions that have the potential to create net new experiences that transform how people interact with technology.

About Us: Artificial Intelligence could be one of humanity’s most useful inventions. At Google DeepMind, we’re a team of scientists, engineers, machine learning experts and more, working together to advance the state of the art in artificial intelligence. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, and collaborate with others on critical challenges, ensuring safety and ethics are the highest priority.

Role: We are seeking a User Researcher Contractor for our London offices. This position is for a 12-month period. You’ll help define the next frontier of Generative AI by exploring 0 → 1 breakthrough experiences and demonstrating them to executives throughout Google. We are a multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers, product managers, program managers, and prototypers who believe that AI can create a better world, but only when it’s designed for people first. You will be responsible for UXR activities like scoping strategic learning programs, helping the team meet exploration milestones, and helping to define and embody the culture of AIUX. Success requires seamless collaboration with multidisciplinary internal and external teams to ensure our insights are directly steering our exploration strategy.

Job Responsibilities:

• Partner closely with multidisciplinary team members within the Inception team and beyond.
• Identify research questions to best provide strategic guidance - honestly assess what is valuable for breakthrough experiences and what may not be.
• Design, lead and execute research studies. Be flexible in methodology, from foundational to experimental to evaluative.
• Stay on the vanguard of AI products through daily tool use, experimentation, and exploration.
• Consistently cultivate an informed POV on how technical capabilities will line up with user needs.
• Continue to maintain strong and informed opinions about the state of AI technology in the relevant exploration space.
• Take personal ownership of big ideas and drive them forward - hold the vision throughout, think big and be an "architect of the possible".
• Rapidly and playfully explore and iterate on ideas.
• Provide actionable insights that directly influence product strategy.

You could be a great match if…

• You are passionate about a balance of foundational and evaluative research and the AI product landscape.
• You get excited when learning about new topic areas, surfacing assumptions and exploring how to create new value for users through research and building.
• You are well-grounded in established research methodologies and techniques, yet nimble and experimental.
• We’re looking for people with a creative, fresh approach to understanding, socializing and helping small exploration pods take action on insights.
• You get excited about enabling 0 to 1 product development, and all the ambiguity that entails.
• Your work will be instrumental in transforming ideas into early prototype experiences by helping teams define their Minimum Lovable Product and refine their product strategy.
• This is a highly ambiguous space, so we need someone who is comfortable working within an environment that is rapidly evolving.
• You have a deep curiosity in understanding and playing with new technologies.
• You create momentum by pushing past abstraction—you find yourself exploring and building prototypes/experiences/hypotheses early, iterating quickly, and validating user needs.

Additional Responsibilities:

The AIUX Team is cross-functional and consists of Designers, UX Program Managers, Engineers, Product Managers, Researchers, and more. We care deeply about operational excellence and are continuously considering opportunities to iterate and improve in order to deliver outsized value to Google Deepmind. As many of our projects are early stage with small scrappy teams, we’re looking for candidates who can wear multiple hats on fast-moving explorations. Past experience in other domains is always a plus: marketing, data science, GTM planning, operations and beyond.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Background in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Experimental Psychology, Anthropology, Information Science or related field (in lieu of degree, 4 years relevant work experience).
• Expertise in research design - utilizing various methods including but not limited to in-depth interviews, concept research, field research, usability studies, and surveys.
• Passion for using AI to benefit humanity everywhere in the world, including communities currently underserved by technology.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to listen, articulate positions succinctly, and advocate for both research & design.
• A collaborative mindset - our team of researchers share works-in-progress and that is a core value.
• Demonstrated experience impacting product strategy.
• Experience with the latest AI tools and models.
• A penchant for speed, and comfort with imperfect but directional insights.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with agencies or directing other research groups to craft and direct field research.
• Experience conducting global market research.
• Ability to create powerful research outputs used to inspire and influence stakeholders (e.g., multimedia stories, video editing).
• Experience on innovation teams or other demonstrated instances of pathfinding and experimenting with what’s possible.

At Google DeepMind, we value diversity of experience, knowledge, backgrounds and perspectives and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.