Blend helps lenders maximize their digital agility. Our digital lending platform is used by Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and other leading financial institutions to increase customer acquisition, improve productivity, and accelerate the delivery of any banking product across every channel. We process more than $3.5 billion in mortgages and consumer loans daily, helping millions of consumers get into homes and gain access to the capital they need to lead better lives.

User Researchers help our team discover opportunities and validate design solutions to complex personal banking and home buying problems. Our ideal candidates would have a proven track record of quickly creating impact using adaptive research and validation approaches throughout the product lifecycle. We are seeking someone who loves bringing designers and other stakeholders along the journey and teaches us all how to deliver insights in a fast-paced enterprise startup culture. Ideally, this person would be enthusiastic about innovating for fintech by helping deliver delightful solutions for all types of users of financial products.

While the User Research practice is well-established at Blend, we’re looking for a dedicated individual to help shape the future of the function—as a contributor and ultimate leader—driving impactful initiatives first within the HBJ team, while identifying how best to resource a research team, growing its impact across Blend’s family of products.

To be successful in this role, you'll need to be someone with a dedicated mindset towards making things happen. You can understand the big picture, take ownership, and tackle problems wherever they arise. Given the nature and scope of the role, domain knowledge(or a deep curiosity and motivated interest to learn) in financial services is highly valuable, though not required.

How you'll contribute:

• Work closely with leaders in Product and Design to identify key research opportunities that will help enable stronger innovation along the HBJ through a deep understanding of customer, partner and consumer expectations/needs.
• Advise and support all HBJ Product verticals(Insurance, Realty, Moving Services, Title, etc.) as well as the HBJ horizontal Product and Design team, informing how each integrates research into their daily activities.
• Work directly with Product Design to inform and validate effective solutions to user problems
• Lead an inclusive process that fosters an environment of shared ownership of user outcomes by facilitating research alongside the team. Teach us, help us be better user advocates.
• Advance our ability to effectively communicate research insights in ways that make them easily accessible and actionable by key stakeholders
• Mentor colleagues along the way by providing support, feedback and critique
• Execute in a dynamic environment with ambiguity

Who you are:

• 5 years of relevant work experience within User Experience, Human-Computer Interaction, applied research setting, and/or product research and development.
• A deep understanding of different research methods, including when and how to apply them during each product phase
• A strong understanding of product design, including system design
• Excellent communication skills and aptitude to explain decisions
• Case Studies demonstrating a systematic approach to complex product problems
• Experience strategizing and executing with product and engineering teams
• The ability to generate alignment across a broad, fast-paced organization
• Collaborative instincts as a default, sharing early and often
• Outstanding documentation skills
• Able to direct the work of others
• Curiosity to learn more about the domain
• Has shipped something that people use

Benefits:

• Meaningful equity and a 401(k) plan
• Comprehensive health benefits
• Wellness benefits covering a variety of wellness activities, gym memberships, fitness classes and more
• Daily meal stipend for non-regularly remote employees during COVID-19 (and lunch, dinner,snacks, and Pizza Fridays provided in offices outside of COVID-19)
• Diversity and inclusion training 
• Weekly mindfulness meditation class
• Weekly remote company all-hands 
• 4 months of paid parental or personal leave
• Flexible work schedule, with open vacation policy and companywide mental health days during COVID-19
• Work from home office set up stipend and internet stipend during COVID-19

Blend is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity, inclusion and belonging. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in a manner consistent with applicable law, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

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