Introduction
A career in IBM Software means you'll be part of a team that creates industry-leading solutions that meet our customers' challenges.
We are an infinitely curious team, always seeking new possibilities, and dedicated to creating the world's leading AI-powered, cloud-native software solutions. Our renowned legacy creates endless opportunities for our network of IBMers. We are a team of deep product experts, ensuring exceptional client experiences, with a focus on delivery, excellence, and obsession over customer outcomes.
IBM's product and technology landscape includes Research, Software, and Infrastructure. Entering this domain positions you at the heart of IBM, where growth and innovation thrive. At IBM you will be joining us in serving as a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.
Your role and responsibilities
You will be part of the IBM HashiCorp group within IBM Software. We build solutions that simplify and automate enterprise cloud infrastructure, so teams can focus on high-value work instead of repetitive tasks. Our portfolio spans two product groups: Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Security Lifecycle Management, each with multiple products serving global enterprise customers.
We believe everyone involved in product definition should be able to conduct meaningful, reliable research. This is how we build deep customer empathy and generate actionable insights.
Our new UX Research team is an enablement-first function:
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We empower Product and Design teams with coaching and operational support, helping them meet day-to-day research needs.
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We lead cross-team, cross-product, and cross-functional research that informs strategy and benefits multiple stakeholders.
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In this role, you will support one of the two product groups, in a dual capacity.
As a Research Coach, you will:
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Coach Product Managers and Designers on research and effective communication skills so they can independently conduct high-quality, everyday research for their areas.
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Standardize and scale methods by creating reusable templates, guides, and knowledge-sharing practices tailored to your group's needs.
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Ensure quality and rigor across research efforts, raising the bar for best practices within your product group.
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Inspire engagement by making research not just robust and actionable, but also energizing and memorable.
As a Researcher, you will:
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Lead high-impact studies that span teams and products, where expert research execution is required to shape a group's strategy.
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Synthesize insights across projects, helping teams see broader patterns and think beyond immediate roadmaps.
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Connect knowledge across IBM, bringing relevant insights into your group and contributing back to IBM's research ecosystem.
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Elevate impact through collaboration, partnering with UXR teammates to ensure all programs deliver actionable, high-quality outcomes.
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Champion UX Research across IBM Software and with senior leadership.
This job can be performed from anywhere in the US
Required technical and professional expertise
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Strategic research leadership: 7+ years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research across the product lifecycle. Proven ability to lead cross-product or cross-team initiatives that shape product strategy, not just feature direction. Skilled at synthesizing findings across studies to reveal broader patterns.
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Coaching and mentorship: Demonstrated ability to mentor Product and Design partners in research methods, tailoring your approach to different levels of skill and confidence. Experience enabling non-researchers to run reliable studies.
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Operational enablement: Experience building and scaling research playbooks, templates, repositories, and knowledge-sharing systems that raise organizational research maturity
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Influence and evangelism: Proven ability to align research with business and customer goals, and to make insights inspiring, actionable, and persuasive across teams and leadership levels.
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Enterprise product experience: Background in SaaS, developer platforms, or other technically complex domains, where research must bridge diverse user types and stakeholders
Preferred technical and professional experience
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Making others successful. You believe customer empathy is everyone's responsibility - and that insights aren't just "delivered" but co-developed. You coach others to experiment, learn, and grow.
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Research innovation. You recognize patterns where others see noise, surfacing observations no one else noticed. You enjoy experimenting with methods, always finding the best fit for the context - and when the right method doesn't exist, you invent one.
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Stakeholders as customers. You treat stakeholders as you do customers, designing research programs and deliverables around their needs and constraints.
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Influence through engagement. You value research that is not only robust and insightful, but also engaging and inspiring.
IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.