Join us in shaping the future of Amazon's revolutionary products! As a Sr. Cultural Researcher on the Futures Insights team, which is part of Amazon's Devices and Services Design organization, you'll play a pivotal role in informing mid-to-long term strategic planning for next-generation and net-new device and service innovations. Your research, which starts at Phase Zero, will help the organization situate emerging technologies within a deep understanding of enduring and emerging human needs, cultural trends, and broader systems (e.g., STEEP analysis). Our work begins at the start of the design process, identifying insights and opportunities to drive humanity-centered innovation throughout. We collaborate with a variety of teams and functions in our work, driving efforts that are at times embedded within futures concept explorations or independent of them.
We recognize that the combination of skills and experience required to do this work can take many forms. Maybe you're a design ethnographer, cultural anthropologist, futures researcher, strategic foresight analyst, design strategist, or user experience researcher with deep experience in the 0-1 product space? Either way, we'd love to hear from you if this role sounds exciting. Please note that this role can be based in either our Seattle or London studios.
Key job responsibilities
- Plan and execute global, in-field research programs on topics of strategic relevance to the organization, leading the output and activities of the project's lifecycle (e.g., screener development to final insight reports)
- Help the Futures Insights team build and scale mechanisms for collecting, synthesizing, and communicating strategic cultural insights on human needs and motivations, and sociocultural trends
- Collaborate with the Futures Design team to inform and shape mid-to-long term concept development and experience roadmaps
- Help leadership determine the right research questions to ask, informing long-term research roadmaps that align with business strategy and goals
A day in the life
In this role, you'll dive deep into understanding human needs, behaviors, motivations, and sociocultural trends to inform futures design explorations or broader organizational strategy. Your work will consist of two major types: 1) embedded within a cross-disciplinary team exploring new concepts (3-5 years out) and 2) driving independent foundational research programs around themes of strategic relevance to the organization.
To that end, your day-to-day might consist of:
- Closely partnering with the Futures Design team to shape concept development and experience roadmaps.
- Leading in-home customer interviews in Brazil, talking to academic experts about social robotics, or exploring the fringes of cultures for emerging signals and trends.
- Creating the artifacts necessary to plan and deliver insights (e.g., screeners, discussion guides, insights reports), as well as artifacts and activities necessary to help activate them.
- Planning and facilitating workshops to help teams immerse in and design with the insights surfaced by your work.
About the team
The Futures Insights team is a research team within a larger user experience research (UXR) team inside Amazon's Devices and Services Design organization. Our team is split across our Seattle and London studios. We draw on a variety of methods and disciplines to inform our work: strategic foresight, cultural analysis, ethnography, and design research methods. The Devices and Services UXR team is a collaborative group of ethnographers, psychologists, human factors researchers, and research scientists dedicated to providing deep insights into customer motivations and behaviors. The broader team's research supports multiple time horizons, with product line research teams influencing existing roadmaps and Futures Insights shaping the furthest out time horizons. Collectively, we work closely with the business and design to clarify opportunities, inspire innovation, and translate insights into operational outcomes.- 7+ Years of Experience in the field of research with a focus on early, generative design research that informs long-term business strategy, ideally in the digital products and services industry
- BA/BS in Anthropology, Design Research, Sociology, Media and Cultural Studies, or a related field
- A portfolio that illustrates how your research has informed strategic decision-making, with a focus on innovation initiatives
- Experience translating and creatively activating insights via design principles, strategic frameworks, scenarios, design provocations, and immersion workshops
- Working knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods, with deep expertise in ethnographic, semiotic, co-design, and design research methods- MA/MS in Anthropology, Design Research, Sociology, Media and Cultural Studies, or a related field
- Ability to travel internationally to conduct in-context, in-person (e.g., home, workplace, office) research
- Ability to independently drive multiple concurrent projects in an agile environment
- Excellent written communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills; the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organization
- Passion for understanding and applying the latest learnings and innovations in social and behavioral science, research methods, and design
- Balancing human needs with business needs, demonstrating a capacity for translating insights into inspiring design guidance and strategic business impact
- Ability to handle high complexity and ambiguity in research questions and ways of working
- Experience systematically weaving research insights into ideation and design sprint processes
- Ability to plan and comfortably facilitate workshops and other collaborative working sessions with cross-functional partners to help activate the work
- Experience with emerging technologies (e.g., AI, XR, etc.) and multi-modal device interaction (e.g., touch, voice, and mediated control)
- Strong design acumen and comfort working with design tools to create research outputs (e.g., Figma-based presentations, trend reports) and activation materials (e.g., scenarios, design prompt cards)
- Experience with more futures or foresight-focused methodologies and frameworks, like STEEP analysis, the Futures Triangle, Scenario development, Causal Layer Analysis, etc.
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit
https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region youβre applying in isnβt listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $137,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $226,500/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit
https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.
