User Experience Researcher II, Office For Mac, 824504

Job Category: Software Engineering: Build
Location: Redmond, WA, US
Job ID: 824504-102283
Division: Microsoft Office Division

User Experience is central to the Macintosh Business Unit's mission to create experiences that just work, beautifully for Microsoft customers who use an Apple platform as part of their home or work life. The UX Researcher position offers an exceptional opportunity to conduct and drive UX research into our key products for the Apple devices of today and the future.

Our flagship product is Office for Mac 2011, which has won critical acclaim from reviewers and users alike. Here are just a few examples:

-- Microsoft's new Mac Office is by far the best Mac version of the suite I've used, and I can recommend it. - Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal, October 2010
-- "This is the best Office ever, not just on the Mac" - Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg
-- "The new Mac version of the world's most widely-used office suite is a spectacular success, and an unexpected triumph for Microsoft's Macintosh group I can't think of a more impressive software upgrade than Microsoft Office for the Mac 2011." - Edward Mendelson, PC Magazine, September 2010
-- "Microsoft made a big leap with this latest version for the Mac" Does Office 2011 for Mac offer enough to make it worth the upgrade from earlier versions? Absolutely. - Jason Parker, CNET, September 2010
-- "A game changer "- Mark Kellner, Washington Times, October 2010
-- Word for Mac 2011 raises the bar for what a document creation application should do. - P. J. Connolly, eWeek, October 2010

This is an outstanding opportunity to drive great software experiences for the passionate and UX-savvy Apple audience, to have a large impact on the way millions of Mac users around the world work, and to be a part of one of the largest dedicated OS X development teams outside of Apple.

The Mac Office team develops Office solutions that are beautifully tailored for Apple platforms, including iOS products such as OneNote. We build and maintain end-to-end ownership of the Mac-native version of Microsoft Office, with a unique focus on delivering industry-leading excellence in design and engineering. We offer the feel of a small, independent business with a strong team culture of innovation, creativity and having fun. We also have an established track record of commitment to quality and steadily improving product satisfaction.

As a Researcher on the team your responsibilities would include:
- Working closely with engineering teams to understand product goals and strategies
- Planning and conducting user research and contributing UX perspective throughout the entire product lifecycle
- Executing a wide range of established and innovative research methods
- Ensuring research findings play a key role in design decisions
- Providing research context and perspective on what makes the product useful
- Evolving methods to assess and improve product desirability
- Driving and evolving UCD processes
Qualifications:
- An advanced degree in psychology, human-computer interaction, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience
- Demonstrated experience with a wide variety of research design and evaluative methodologies including, but not limited to, lab studies, field research, and expert review
- Ability to quickly and effectively analyze data and present findings to influence product design
- Ability to collaborate with a team and ensure user needs are emphasized
- History of impacting and influencing designs and the process of user experience research
- Excellent written and oral communication skills

Candidates should have at least 5 years of hands on experience conducting user experience research, be passionate about making great user experiences, and enjoy conducting innovating research.

For more information on Office for Mac, please visit our website at: www.microsoft.com/mac

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