New

Principal UX Researcher

Microsoft
$139,900.00 - $274,800.00 / yr
United States, Texas, Irving
7000 State Highway 161 (Show on map)
Feb 21, 2026
Overview Ifyou'repassionate abouthow technology can improve people's lives, like exploringnew ideasand product possibilities,andleadwith a growth mindset, we want to hear from you! The Microsoft AI Design & Research teamis a creative community of designers,researchers,prototypers, and writerson a mission to create and deliver holistic, AI-poweredcustomer experiencesacross apps and the web. BetweenCopilot, Edge, Bing,MSN,and apps,we'recreating end-to-end experiences forassistance,shopping,search, ads, news, sports, and gaming. Our diverse team works collaborativelyand moves fastto builduseful, usable, anddelightful experiences for billions of customers worldwide.Learn more about our teamhere. We are seeking a PrincipalUX Researcher to help us set the path for our next generation of AI-powered products. For this rolewe'relooking for someone whocan move betweenexploratory,generative research to rapid evaluations of prototyped ideas. Someone who works acrossorganizationalroles touncovertheunspoken questions and beliefs and answers them with precision, detail, and durability. Someone whoalways puts people first and centers their needs, problems, goals, and aspirations for the team.Someone who is energized by direct, tangible product impact. A strongmixed methods researcher comfortable in interviews and with deep data analysis.If this sounds like you, please apply! In this role, you will focus on research for AI-powered Commerce and Shopping experiences across Microsoft surfaces, including agentmediated discovery, evaluation, checkout, payments, cashback, and postpurchase journeys. You will partner closely with Product, Design, and Engineering leaders to shape trustworthy, humancentered agentic commerce scenarios-where Copilot helps people research, decide, transact, and manage economic relationships with confidence. This role is a hybrid position, 4x a week in office in Redmond, WA or Mountain View, CA. Responsibilities Understand the behaviors, motivations, needs, and aspirations of our customers to create a differentiated advantage in our ability to build relevant and impactful experiences for people across the world. Lead research across complex commerce ecosystems, including shopping discovery, merchant evaluation, payments, cashback, and postpurchase experiences where AI agents act on users' behalf. Define and evaluate agentic commerce scenarios, uncovering user mental models, trust boundaries, emotional expectations, and decisionmaking behaviors in AImediated purchasing contexts. Partner with Product Management and Design leadership to inform foundational decisions for AInative commerce systems. Translate research insights into durable frameworks that guide product strategy and platform investments across Microsoft AI Commerce initiatives. Balance rigor with scrappiness and the ability to push with a fast-moving team. Identify new opportunities and generate innovative ideas to improve our processes, culture, and influence our approach to research (e.g. mindsets, methodologies). Lead research on 01 business initiatives with notable risk, complexity, and ambiguity. Regularly influence at the highest levels of organizations. Embody our cultureandvalues Qualifications Required Qualifications Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years User Experience Research experience OR Master's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 4+ years User Experience Research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or related field AND 6+ years User Experience Research experience OR equivalent experience. Preferred Qualification Experience conducting research on commerce, shopping, financial transactions, payments, subscriptions, cashback, or loyaltyrelated user experiences, particularly in trustsensitive, highimpact flows. Demonstrated ability to influence product direction in complex, multistakeholder systems involving consumers, merchants, platforms, and AI agents. 8+ years experience working in UX research or a related field. High level research skills across methods, qualitative and quantitative (i.e. a Mixed Methods researcher). Excellent communication and presentation / storytelling skills, with the ability to energize and activate teams. Experience with commonly used research tools. UX Research IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.