Sr Principal UX Researcher

Define and own the long-term research agenda for Disney Streaming, ensuring insights inform product decisions. Lead generative research and establish evaluative practices to guide product strategy and influence executives with evidence-based insights.

Responsibilities

• Set Research Strategy: Define and own the long-term research agenda for Streaming. Ensure both generative and evaluative insights inform product decisions. Partner with Product, Design, and Engineering leaders to anticipate user needs and guide the future of Disney’s streaming ecosystem.
• Lead Generative Research: Personally drive generative research in the most ambiguous and high-stakes areas. Uncover unmet needs and opportunities that shape long-term vision and inspire bold product directions.
• Stand Up Evaluative Practice: Establish the evaluative research practice by setting standards, frameworks, and measures of success. Hire and mentor specialists to run ongoing evaluative programs, ensuring results are trusted and actionable across the org.
• Executive Influence: Translate complex insights into clear narratives and frameworks that drive alignment with senior leadership. Use research to shape vision, strategy, and prioritization.
• Elevate Craft and Scale Impact: Model best-in-class methods and mixed-method rigor. Mentor other researchers and create connective tissue across qualitative, quantitative, and behavioral science practices.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Work closely with product managers, designers, engineers, and data scientists to embed research throughout the product lifecycle. Ensure insights flow from discovery to execution.
• Thought Leadership: Represent Disney Streaming as a senior voice on human-centered innovation. Shape product vision internally and contribute externally to the broader research community.

Requirements

• 12+ years of applied product or design research in consumer-facing digital products at scale.
• Proven success influencing executives and shaping business-critical decisions through research.
• Deep expertise in generative research, with focus in either qualitative or quantitative methods.
• Strong fluency across complementary methods (e.g., a qualitative lead who can frame and interpret quant, or a quant lead who can design and integrate qual).
• Ability to connect generative and evaluative insights to guide product strategy and decision-making.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills to make complex insights clear and actionable.

Key Skills

• Prior experience working in streaming, gaming, social platforms, or other high-engagement consumer ecosystems.
• Familiarity with behavioral science, human-computer interaction, and AI-driven personalization.
• Experience building research practices or frameworks at the Principal+ level.