About Rippling

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system.

Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes.

We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @Rippling.com addresses.

About the role

This role will embark on an adventure to the product horizon of the company, working on new products and features that enable businesses to scale and automate their operational processes. Research will join nascent teams at its inception, getting in on the ground floor and working with engineers, designers and product leads.  

As a Product Research Lead, you will dive into the competitive landscape, define use cases and differentiators to inform our strategic bets.  You will also inform the creation of new components to our platform that this product (and others) will leverage. We’re looking for a product-oriented thought partner who is passionate about building experiences that enable organizations to drive efficiency, meet goals and scale operations. This role will work closely with product and design leaders to (1) create a foundational understanding of the user ecology, workflows, processes and tools that make up this domain (2) derive product recommendations from these insights to inform the product roadmap and design approach for one of Rippling’s most strategic verticals.

What you will do

• Define the research roadmap in close partnership with product and design leadership 
• Identify and prioritize strategic and tactical research questions that have a direct impact on business and customer needs
• Plan and conduct research, applying qualitative and quantitative methods as appropriate
• Apply diverse interpretative frameworks (from HCI, social science, and design thinking) to make meaning out of customer data
• Triangulate data from existing research and other sources to make actionable recommendations
• Communicate research findings, insights, and recommendations to product teams and executive stakeholders  to inform business decisions
• Design and lead brainstorming workshops and design sprints to help xfn partners action on research findings and  recommendations 
• Level up the design team by helping mentor other researchers and designers, defining processes as we scale, participating in candidate interviews, and leading by example in how you operate on a team
• Effectively manage your time and process to meet team deadlines
• Co-create a collaborative research practice

What you will need

• 6+ years of experience in applied research collaborating closely with cross-functional team(s) across all phases of the product development process
• An advanced degree in social sciences, humanities, HCI, or related field
• Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods, expertise with different approaches to  data analysis, and interpretive frameworks
• Demonstrate a track record of deriving insights from complex or technical problem spaces and evangelizing actionable product recommendations
• A knack for identifying business opportunities. an avid curiosity for delving into how products work, a “go and see” mentality, and a drive to get teams engaged in research 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication: ability to get the point across to cross-functional stakeholders, whether it’s a slide presentation, a written report, or a Slack post  
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision and take initiative to solve complex problems in a fast-paced environment
• Facilitation experience for in-person and distributed teams–this includes brainstorming techniques 
• Familiarity with conducting research with professional audiences and users, including direct responsibility for participant recruitment 
• Strong alignment with our Leadership Principles: Go and see, Push the limits of possible, Decide quickly, challenge each other, and Build winning teams.
• Nice to have: experience building regulated products in healthcare and/or fintech, startup experience

About the team

Research is a growing practice situated in our Product Design team that supports strategic decision-making on key product initiatives. Our research team works closely with product designers, product managers and other cross-functional collaborators. We like to nerd out together, ask lots of questions and discuss in vivo codes. 

Even if you don’t meet all of the requirements listed here, we still encourage you to apply. Skills can be used in lots of different ways and your life and professional experience may be relevant beyond what a list of requirements will capture.

Additional Information

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email accomodations@rippling.com

Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here.

$190,000.00 - $220,000.00 base salary

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation–including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.