Senior User Researcher

Senior User Researcher UXR TeamBased at Creative Assembly, Horsham, West Sussex.Hybrid working Why Us: SEGA employees are passionate about entertaining the world with creative, innovative experiences, while being part of a vibrant gaming community. We are a global company with the resources to match, coupled with a place where everyone knows each other on a first-name basis, working together to create innovative experiences, one community at a time. Our world-class development Studios span the UK, France and Bulgaria. Known for quality and creativity above all else, our studios include, Amplitude Studios, Creative Assembly, HARDlight, Sports Interactive and Two Point Studios. We are looking for a Senior User Researcher to apply their expertise in evaluating gaming experiences alongside the product development and utilising world-class research. This role involves engaging with studio and publishing leaders across the organization to provide key insights, track UX progress during development and reveal what our users need from our products by conducting targeted usability studies and working with cross-functional teams. You are driven and excited to be part of a highly skilled and advanced UX research team that builds strong partnerships across the organization and helps shape the future of SEGA’s games. We believe that delivering the best games relies on having the best people, so we are constantly investing in our people through our benefits package, flexible working, and our community-focused, people-centric culture. Our industry-leading compensation and benefits include competitive salary and bonus schemes, private medical insurance, private dental insurance, health screening, electric car scheme, home technology scheme, Microsoft package discounts, and much more! Why You: You have considerable experience inspiring change, delivering oral and written presentations, evaluating qualitative and quantitative data, and helping project teams better understand what would make a user’s experience more intuitive, accessible, and seamless.  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Conduct usability testing to discover problems with UI and systems interactions, gauge user sentiment, review the presentation and interaction of game systems by employing various methods like prototype testing, 1:1 interviews, focus groups etc.
• Interact with and maintain good relationships with a variety of stakeholders to plan user research tests, understand and advise on the focus of tests.
• Help in supporting internal development studios to build and maintain a successful relationship with SOE Product Development.
• Align with game development teams to define actionable next steps from UX research.
• Provide creative and executional UX guidance to help improve product quality and innovation.
• Partner across organizational and Global teams with a variety of disciplines (analysts, designers, product owners, market researchers, producers, etc.) to generate feedback which deeply impact the trajectory of their product work.
• Effectively communicate UXR results to multiple levels of the organization in creative ways that drive impact.
• Create evolving UXR approaches to inform the development of new experiences.
• Travel to our other Development Studios and UK Publishing office as required.
• Maintenance of the Lab setup, tech checks and rehearsals.
• Documenting SEGA’s Best Practices and processes for UI/UX.
• Any other research related tasks according to business needs.

 KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE 

• 3+ years of experience within a User Research role, ideally within the video game industry.
• Minimum BSc degree in HCI, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Psychology, UX Design, or any other relevant training or experience.
• Relevant training and/or certifications as a UX Researcher.
• Extensive knowledge and a broad range of skills in research design and qualitative and quantitative methods applied in a business environment. Some familiarity with HTML, SQL and R/Python is required.
• Great relationship building, collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to work on multiple titles at any given time.
• Great stakeholder management and project management skills.
• High attention to detail.
• Experience working with Designers and Programmers to improve the usability of products and other features.
• Effective communication skills (verbal and written) across all levels and organizations.
• Highly collaborative, team-minded person who consistently drives toward better outcomes for the business and the game development teams.
• Ability to quickly and effectively share UX research results.
• Ability to perform all research-related tasks including research, planning, evaluating, and iteration.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders and act as a strategic partner in product decisions.

 Preferred Attributes 

• Highly collaborative, team-minded person who consistently drives toward better outcomes for the business and the team.
• Fluency in Japanese is advantageous.
• A strong desire for creative problem-solving with a positive attitude.
• Knowledge of franchise development and long-term planning.
• Passionate about video games and possesses a knowledge of competitor products within the industry.

 Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging: At SEGA, we celebrate diversity and believe in a diverse, inclusive, and equitable world in which everyone feels valued and respected regardless of what they look like or where they come from. Whether you’re a prospective employee or a full-time member of staff, we want you to feel involved and supported in all aspects of our work and to have amazing opportunities during your time with us regardless of your background. We welcome people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, neurotype, socioeconomic background, and whether you’re pregnant or on family leave. SEGA is a place where staff have a voice which is integral to our success as a business. Our inclusive, passionate people are empowered to educate, inform, and build awareness through our inclusion and wellbeing staff led values groups which include DEN (Disability Employee Network), RISE (Reinforcing Inclusion through Solidarity and Equality), Women at SEGA, PRIDE, SEGA Minds (group supporting mental health), Momiji (group that celebrates our Japanese heritage, language, and culture) and VIBE (our social and engagement committee).