Outshift by Cisco is hiring: Lead User Experience Researcher in Milpitas

Lead UX Researcher Cisco Cloud Control is a unified operations platform designed for AgenticOps, which brings every Cisco domain—including networking, security, compute, observability, and collaboration—into one consistent environment. It enables IT teams to proactively manage, govern, and operate their full IT estate from a single experience without replacing existing individual product dashboards.
A key part of this role will be platform measurement: defining, baselining, and tracking the UX metrics that tell us whether our most important Cisco Cloud Control platform journeys are delivering on customer outcomes. This is a quantitative-research heavy role. You'll partner closely with Product Management, Design, Data Science and Engineering to translate ambiguous questions into measurement plans, consume and interpret quantitative data (telemetry, surveys, benchmarks), and know when a number needs a human story behind it — flagging where qualitative follow-up is needed to explain what the data can't.
As a Lead UX Researcher, you'll be part of the AI Software & Platform Team, working on Cisco Cloud Control, AI Canvas, Studio and Marketplace. In this role, you'll drive a deep understanding of users to shape the future of Cisco's user experiences across the platform and its AI-powered solutions. You will also:
Define and track key UX success metrics across priority platform journeys, in partnership with Product Management, Design, Data Science and Engineering
Build and maintain measurement plans; align partners on what's being measured, why, and how success is defined
Baseline platform journey quality and track over time
Analyze and communicate quantitative findings to partners in terms they can act on
Identify where quantitative signals are inconclusive or surprising, and scope qualitative research to explain the "why" behind the data
Work cross-functionally across business units, connecting measurement findings across the broader platform
Design, execute, and analyze quantitative studies (large-scale surveys like SUS/CSAT/SEQ, benchmark studies, A/B tests) and qualitative studies (interviews, concept evaluations)
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience, or equivalent related work experience
7+ years leading end-to-end quantitative and qualitative UX research (discovery, planning, recruitment, execution, synthesis, analysis, presentation), ideally applying AI to augment and accelerate your research craft
Experience partnering with Product, Design, Data Science and Engineering teams to define and execute user-centered success measures and measurement plans
Experience using quantitative research skills e.g. surveys (SUS, CSAT, NPS, SEQ), statistical analysis, benchmarking, A/B and multivariant testing
Experience with qualitative research e.g. user interviews, moderated and/or unmoderated usability testing, concept evaluations, journey mapping
Experience applying AI to augment and accelerate your research craft
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with Amplitude or other equivalent platforms
Experience conducting research on AI software or related topics
Ability to translate behavioral data into clear, decision-ready narratives
Demonstrated experience building and owning UX measurement frameworks or success-metric programs, not just single studies
Comfort working directly with product telemetry/instrumentation data
Can easily navigate and bring clarity to ambiguity
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
Curiosity and confidence to ask questions that will uncover stakeholders' true research needs
Ability to challenge traditional assumptions about UX research – inventing, testing and sharing new approaches
Experience in a B2B large enterprise environment a bonus