What’s next for UX research at TransferWise?

As some of you may know, I joined as TransferWise’s first-ever UX researcher. That was almost 3 years ago. During those years, a foundation was set up for research to thrive (for backstory, read here and here).

First, I built a program of education and advocacy of UX research, so an engineering and analyst-heavy company would come to embrace the value of qualitative research.

The next step was setting up research ops — creating TransferWise’s first-ever research repository, Confluence pages full of research reference materials, internal and external participant recruitment processes, and negotiating and establishing our research tool kit.

During this time I also hired our second UX researcher. Recently we added a third. It has been an exciting time of growth for UX research at TransferWise.

Me (left), with newest UX researcher, Masha (second from left) and two of our amazing colleagues. We all love the office doggos.

TransferWise has gone from a company with no qualitative research of any kind to having 3 full-time UX researchers in its ranks. It’s something to be proud of!

At the same time, the growth of TransferWise has far outpaced expectations. From a 500-person company when I started, we are now breaching 2000 employees globally. Likewise the Design team has grown 5x its size, hiring a large number of product designers, copywriters, and marketing designers — going from 10 designers, to now close to 50.

The Design team in Oct 2018. We’re now double the size.

Despite UX research’s small size, we have achieved company-wide reach. We're at the stage of being recognized, respected, and are an integral part of the team. But now we need to grow to match the rest of the company so qualitative research can continue to have an impact on product and strategy decisions.

UX research is already on its way, but we need someone to accelerate our development as a function within TransferWise. And so we’re on the hunt for a Head of UX Research.

We are looking for someone to take us from scrappy start-up research to a full-fledged research department. Someone not involved in the minutiae of research on the day-to-day but instead the sole running of a successful research team. Someone with research-specific growth experience, who understands the needs of researchers and can remove barriers to growth and full research integration. Honestly, someone whose job it is to fight for research and its place in successful product strategy and development.

Are you the person we’re looking for? Know someone who is? Apply here.