Senior UX Researcher (AI Robotics)

Location: Mountain View, California, United States; the role includes on-site field research in industrial and manufacturing plants and requires up to 15–20% domestic and international travel.

Base salary: $159,200–$217,300 USD per year, plus a 15% bonus, equity, and benefits.

Company

hirify.global is an AI robotics group within Google developing software, data, perception, and simulation capabilities for intelligent industrial robotics.

What you will do

• Plan and conduct generative and evaluative research across factory interfaces, developer tools, and robotic platform capabilities.
• Research the needs of robotics application developers, system integrators, machine operators, technicians, and plant managers.
• Conduct ethnographic fieldwork, observational studies, usability testing, and interviews in active industrial and manufacturing environments.
• Translate field observations and technical feedback into actionable design recommendations.
• Partner with product managers, engineers, industrial designers, and product leads to align research with platform milestones.
• Support product or program management activities when needed to maintain roadmap execution.

Requirements

• Master’s or PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Machine Interaction, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 4 years of user research experience in developer products, complex software platforms, or hardware and robotics interfaces.
• Expertise in qualitative research methods, including ethnography, field studies, usability testing, and interviewing.
• Experience using modern AI and agentic tools such as Gemini, NotebookLM, or automated synthesis tools while maintaining rigorous human oversight.
• Willingness to conduct research in active industrial, manufacturing, and factory environments and comply with PPE and safety protocols.
• Experience working at a startup-like pace within an enterprise environment and flexing into product or program management support.

Nice to have

• Experience conducting user research in industrial or manufacturing environments.
• Experience with SDKs, APIs, complex software engineering interfaces, or AI-human interactions.
• Familiarity with mixed-methods research combining qualitative insights with quantitative usage telemetry.
• Experience influencing engineering roadmap decisions through user insights.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaboration with engineers, roboticists, designers, and technologists focused on industrial robotics.
• 15% bonus, equity, and employee benefits.
• Equal opportunity employment based on professional competence and legally protected-status compliance.
• Workplace accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities or special needs.