Lead Researcher in London

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Min fees. Max ease. Full speed. Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money. As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money. For everyone, everywhere.

We’re looking for a Lead Researcher to support Wise Business in London. You'll be part of Wise’s global mission to build an open and fair financial system, especially for our business customers. At Wise, we’ve got a clear mission – money without borders. Built by and for people who live global lives. We’re at a genuinely exciting time. Building more transparent and convenient ways to get paid has never been more important in achieving our mission.

Your mission is to understand how businesses get paid, the problems they face and how to create a convenient, instant and low-cost experience to get paid into Wise. You’ll work on everything from exploring new market opportunities to ensuring flows fit seamlessly into how businesses operate.

You’ll join a thriving research community of 20+ researchers in London and work within the evolving ‘Acquiring’ domain, which currently covers Payment Links, Invoices, QuickPay, card payments and E‑commerce. You’ll be the first researcher to join the domain, but you may end up leading other researchers in the same area in the future.

As a Lead Researcher, you’re evolving as a leader. You’ll contribute by:

• Setting priorities and direction – proactively setting priorities in collaboration with team members, understanding how they ladder to squad and business goals.
• Elevating craft and capabilities – leading by example and actively developing the research thinking and capabilities of the squad.
• Running complex research – working on projects that are often complex and ambiguous. You’ll regularly lead research and take responsibility for research decisions.
• Articulating strategy – effectively communicating research strategy to teams and key stakeholders, positively influencing focus and priorities.
• Demonstrating impact through people – mentoring and guiding others, ensuring that their growth creates downstream impact.
• Leading with guts – setting clear goals and direction, championing quality, the user and a human‑centred approach.
• Using modern tools thoughtfully – leveraging AI and emerging tools where they help accelerate research delivery, while maintaining research rigour.

This role will give you the opportunity to:

• Shape strategy – articulating the now, next, and future of the Acquiring experience.
• Grow as a leader – develop your leadership capabilities, stakeholder influence and strategic thinking at an inflection point (new payment methods, API/e‑commerce launches).
• Be part of our mission – to make money without borders the new normal.

Candidate Profile:

• Deep experience with both generative and evaluative research; exceptional problem‑solving and holistic research thinking.
• Know how to choose the right research approach for different ambiguity levels, build decision confidence through well‑designed studies, and connect user evidence to business outcomes.
• Can guide teams on actioning insights and work closely with designers to ideate based on findings.
• Skilled negotiator, capable of influencing teams, squads, and senior leaders to champion user‑centred approaches.
• Top‑notch presentation and storytelling skills, especially when sharing impactful insights.
• Comfortable using modern research tools and thoughtfully applying AI where it can accelerate delivery without compromising quality.

Additional Qualifications:

• Experience leading and/or developing researchers, with examples of elevating team capabilities and performance.
• Proven ability to set clear goals and priorities for others that ladder to business objectives.
• Skilled at influencing senior leaders and negotiating across teams and squads.
• Track record of championing research quality, user advocacy and human‑centred design at the organisational level.

Strategic Impact:

• Ability to articulate research strategy and positively influence multiple teams’ focus and priorities.
• Deep understanding of how research connects to team, squad and business goals.
• Examples of mentoring others to create downstream impact through their growth.

Not a Fit:

• Primary experience is market research and/or academia.
• No demonstrable experience leading user research within the tech/product industry.
• Has not led or mentored researchers before.

Inclusive Teams:

For everyone, everywhere. We’re people building money without borders — without judgement or prejudice, too. We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive. We’re proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences. Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers.

If you want to find out more about what it’s like to work at Wise visit Wise.Jobs. Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.