Job Description

Company: Ford Motor Company

Position: Research Designers

Openings: 3

Duration: 6 months

Location: Dearborn, Michigan

Pay: $30/hr+

Must Haves:

• 10+ years of experience in design research, ideally within product, service, or experience design contexts.
• Strong grounding in human-centered design principles and comfort with ambiguous, front-end problem spaces.
• Expertise in qualitative research (e.g., contextual inquiry, ethnography, synthesis) and familiarity with quantitative methods is a plus.
• Experience working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams (e.g., UX, industrial design, strategy, engineering).
• Excellent storytelling and communication skills – ability to translate findings into compelling narratives and presentations.
• Proficiency with tools such as Miro, Adobe Creative Suite, Dscout, and Microsoft Office

Plusses:

• Experience with Figma or similar design software

Summary:

A leading internal design team is seeking a Senior Design Researcher to provide flexible, contract-based support during periods of high design volume. This team focuses on advanced concept development and experience innovation across physical products, services, and digital touchpoints. As a Senior Design Researcher, you will lead upfront discovery efforts, generate key user insights, and shape the strategic direction of new design concepts. You’ll collaborate closely with UX and industrial designers in a highly interdisciplinary, human-centered design environment.

Responsibilities:

• Plan and conduct design research to uncover user needs, motivations, and behaviors.
• Lead qualitative research efforts, including user interviews, field studies, diary studies, and co-creation workshops.
• Synthesize insights into compelling narratives, frameworks, and opportunity areas that guide design direction.
• Collaborate with UX and Industrial Designers to inform concept development and iterate based on feedback.
• Create clear research artifacts such as experience maps, personas, and early experience requirements.
• Participate in rolling 4-week planning cycles to align with evolving project priorities.
• Use standard research tools and documentation platforms to support collaboration and knowledge-sharing

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