Research Operations Manager

At Lyft, our mission is to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. To do this, we start with our own community by creating an open, inclusive, and diverse organization.

Lyft is seeking a Research Operations Manager to join our Central Design team. In this role, you’ll collaborate with cross-functional team members, improving and creating research practices and systems, enabling Research to deliver high-quality insights that drive product and design decisions. As an integral member of the Central Design team and Research practice at Lyft, you will work across the Research function, owning vendor and tool management, functional process enhancements, living document management, and participant recruiting and coordination processes. In addition, you will work with Central Design leadership and Design Operations partners to scale practices and build community across the broader company.

You have extraordinary attention to detail and love to organize. You are adept at analyzing problems and solving them through process. You are also an excellent communicator and a flexible team player that can thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic working environment. You are comfortable working closely with passionate researchers, designers, product managers, and engineers that care deeply about creating experiences that bring people together through transportation.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Central Design and Research leadership to maintain and evolve Lyft’s Research operations
• Prioritize, plan, design, execute, and optimize simple and complex processes and systems that support tactical to strategic research workflows
• Own programs that improve the Research practice at Lyft including facilitating Research Council, driving Research functional meetings, newsletter, shared roadmap, and panels
• Manage the organization of all research reports and deliverables, as well as templates and protocols for studies
• Build strong relationships and collaborate, communicate, and negotiate with functions across the company that Research relies on—Legal, Growth Marketing, Procurement, Product, etc.
• Own and evolve suite of Research tools including vendor management, contract negotiations, permissioning, and best practices documentation. Current tools include UserInterviews, Dscout, BHN/Rybbon, Qualtrics
• Manage research team equipment, such as cameras and test devices, keeping track of usage and anticipating future procurement needs
• Recruit and screen study participants, including scheduling, sending reminders, and handling compensation, as needed

Experience:

• 3+ years of experience working in relevant research industry—user research and/or consultancies—or program management
• Relevant understanding and appreciation of user research activities, best practices, tools, and processes required for quality research
• Familiarity with how research impacts the product development lifecycle and how research operations supports business goals
• Experience managing vendors (i.e., developing RFPs, sourcing, drafting SOWs, negotiating scope, and cost), and familiarity with procurement, expense management systems, budgeting processes, and data privacy policies (e.g., GDPR, CCPA)
• Strong experience with research participant recruitment and management practices, as well as creating basic surveys and working with survey software
• Extraordinary organizational skills and meticulous eye for detail
• Great communication skills, written and verbal, with a diverse group of stakeholders, including customers
• Strong listening and analytical skills; proactive troubleshooter
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems with process
• Comfortable with ambiguity and malleable workflows
• Ability to work independently on multiple projects simultaneously
• Resilience and equanimity in dealing with change, challenges and adversity
• Proactive in seeking opportunities to improve team, personal skills, and experience

Bonus Points:

• Direct experience as a Research Coordinator for qualitative research studies, including usability/user testing, surveys, field research, and user interviews
• Experience with mobile technology products
• Experience using SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Google Suite
• Experience with project management tools

Benefits:

• Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options
• Mental health benefits
• Family building benefits
• In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have unlimited paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off
• 401(k) plan to help save for your future
• 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Lyft Pink - Lyft team members get an exclusive opportunity to test new benefits of our Ridership Program

Lyft is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule — Team Members will be expected to work in the office 3 days per week on Mondays, Thursdays and a team-specific third day. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year. #Hybrid

The expected base pay range for this position in the Nashville area is $68,880 - $86,100. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Range is not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.