Head of User Research California, US

About Us AfterShip, a Great Place to Work Certified company, is transforming the global eCommerce landscape. Our mission is to empower retailers to create the world’s best online shopping experiences, from post-purchase and beyond. We’ve powered more than 8 billion shipments for over 20,000 leading brands including Samsung, Gymshark, Mejuri, and TOMS. Our AI-driven post-purchase solutions span shipment tracking, returns management, personalized product discovery, and delivery predictions with industry-leading accuracy. Backed by a $66M Series B and over a decade of innovation, we’re accelerating growth and defining the future of the post-purchase experience. With 450+ team members across the globe, we’re building a diverse, collaborative culture that encourages agility, ownership, and impact. Your Mission: We are seeking a Head of User Research to build our research function, blend market and design research, and turn insight into decisions that shape strategy, product experience, pricing, and go‑to‑market. You will report to the CPO and work closely with teams in North America and Asia. You’ll partner with Product Marketing, Product Management, and Design. The scope spans market research, strategic research, large‑scale redesign, and enabling PMs and Designers to self‑serve for concept/design validation. What You’ll Do: Build and lead the research function - Stand up a lean, high‑impact team; hire and mentor senior researchers; set up tools, processes, and infrastructure to scale research globally. Create a unified customer understanding framework - Align Product, Design, and Product Marketing on customer needs and segments to guide decisions across SMB to Enterprise. Drive strategic insight for big bets - Partner with Product and PMM on discovery and zero‑to‑one validation; translate findings into multi‑year strategy and roadmap choices. Reimagine the product experience - Elevate onboarding, activation, and post‑purchase experiences through structured research (e.g., card sorting, tree testing) that leads to actionable recommendations. Accelerate activation and onboarding - Combine research and analytics to identify funnel drop‑offs, generate hypotheses, and run rapid evaluative studies. Operationalize continuous feedback - Build VoC and NPS programs; create an insights library and maintain ongoing customer touchpoints with clear incentives. Enable self‑serve research - Provide templates, guides, and playbooks so PMs and Designers can run lightweight validation across time zones and languages. Inform pricing and packaging decisions - Lead research to validate pricing and packaging redesigns, ensuring insights drive business outcomes. Who We're Looking For: 10+ years in user research or customer insights with leadership experience in complex B2B or B2B2C products. Depth across mixed methods (foundational and evaluative) including discovery, usability, journey mapping, card sorting, and tree testing. Proven track record of translating insights into measurable product and business outcomes—particularly for design systems, onboarding, and market expansion. Skilled in partnering with Product Analytics to connect what is happening (quant) to why it’s happening (qual). Experienced in enabling global teams to conduct effective studies across geographies and languages. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills; able to drive alignment across executive and functional teams. Capable of managing both quantitative and qualitative research, including internal validation and external market studies. Bonus Points Experience in eCommerce, logistics, shipping, or post‑purchase journeys. Background supporting pricing and packaging research for subscription products. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese. You’ll be a great fit if you… Are excited to build a new user research function from the ground up. Thrive in a role where research reports to the CPO, driving product and company strategy, not just design validation. Are scrappy and resourceful - creative, fast, and practical, delivering high‑quality insights on lean budgets. Know how to leverage AI to scale research and empower self‑serve validation for PMs and Designers. Set a high bar for clarity, usability, and measurable impact. Can turn insights into action, synthesizing and storytelling in ways that influence real decisions. At AfterShip, we know great talent doesn’t always fit every requirement. If you’re passionate about our mission and believe you can make an impact, we encourage you to apply. Why You Should Join Us: Great Place to Work Certified: We’ve been recognized for our inclusive, values‑driven culture that celebrates diversity and collaboration. Innovative & Inclusive Culture: Started by our software engineer‑turned‑CEO, AfterShip is built on curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. We’re a passionate, global team of problem solvers who put egos aside to innovate together. We take immense pride in fostering a culture that’s inclusive, which has allowed us to surround ourselves with the industry's most talented professionals. Ambitious Mission with Real Impact: Join us in transforming eCommerce by making buying and selling easier for everyone. It’s one of the most dynamic spaces in tech, with limitless opportunities to innovate and grow. Thrive & Grow: There’s no ceiling to what you can achieve or learn here. We’re committed to empowering your career while advancing together as a company. Flexible Work Setup: We’re a remote‑first team, meaning by default that employees work from home or on a hybrid‑flexible basis in our hub locations. You’re empowered to choose a work setup that works best for you and your team. With flexible hours depending on your time zone, you’ll be able to have a schedule that fits your working style and the requirements of your role. Perks: Competitive compensation Remote‑first/hybrid‑flexible work setups Healthcare coverage offered from day 1 Retirement plans including company match Annual learning & wellness benefit Monthly book perk Career progression & professional development In‑office lunch and commuter benefits for those located in our hub locations We are an equal opportunity employer and provide accommodations upon request throughout the recruitment process, in accordance with local legislation. Please let us know if you require any support, and we’ll work with you to meet your needs. Salary range for this role: $245,000 - 290,000 #J-18808-Ljbffr