Senior User Researcher (Gaming)

TL;DR

Senior User Researcher (Gaming): Driving user research efforts for new and live games within the China studio, focusing on player experience, systems, and features. Focus on designing and performing complex studies, synthesizing data, and influencing game direction with audience insights.

Location: Onsite (China)

Company

hirify.global is a game developer established in 2006, famous for League of Legends, focused on player-centric game development.

What you will do

• Drive user research efforts on game teams in partnership with production & design.
• Lead research on high complexity, ambiguous problem spaces to direct new game experiences, systems, and features.
• Contribute at the China studio level on strategy and operations as part of the China studio insight team.
• Construct and perform labs, studies, and surveys, sometimes with novel methodologies, to answer business, design, development, and usability questions.
• Share results with game and China studio leadership in clear, illustrative presentations to drive meaningful change.
• Mentor other researchers, helping them learn from your experiences.

Requirements

• Advanced degree in Psychology, Anthropology, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, or a related discipline plus 6 years of relevant research experience in game development, OR a Bachelor's degree in a related discipline plus 8 years.
• Experience running a variety of playtest and usability test paradigms (moderated, unmoderated, focused feature-specific, holistic, longitudinal).
• Trusted to operate independently regardless of structure, owning larger problems/projects/workstreams.
• Familiarity with qualitative methods and analysis.
• Experience synthesizing and presenting data for maximum impact and understanding.
• Experience designing and performing basic survey research.
• Fluent in Chinese and English, able to promote collaboration across different languages and cultures.

Nice to have

• Experience conducting games user research during early stages of the development life cycle (incubation, prototype, pre-production).
• Familiarity with audience research including methods for identification and definition.
• Familiarity with basic statistical methods for data analysis (regressions, correlations, factor analyses).
• Experience leading complex projects with multiple collaborators and work streams.
• Experience managing vendors.
• Experience working with leadership at the “team of teams” level on strategic and operational problems.

Culture & Benefits

• Emphasizes player-focused game development and player empathy.
• Fosters a culture for humble, ambitious, and sharp professionals.
• Encourages those who see things differently, aren’t afraid to experiment, and have a healthy disregard for constraints.