Lead Researcher

We're looking for a Lead Design Researcher to join the Onboarding Squad in London. You'll be part of Wise's global mission to build an open and fair financial system. At Wise, we've got a clear mission - money without borders. Built by and for people who live global lives. We're at a genuinely exciting time, and building tools to help customers see how valuable Wise can be for them has never been more important in achieving our mission. Your mission: Your mission is to lead research on how our customers behaviour in our acquisition funnel. You'll work as the lead researcher for a pod of 4 teams covering SEO, comparison, referrals and our website. You'll join a thriving research community of 20+ researchers in London and work on the most important research for 4 of the Onboarding squad's teams. As a Lead Researcher, most of your time will be doing hands-on research doing the strategic leadership with support of your lead around the work. You'll ship important strategic and evaluative research while taking responsibility for the research direction for the teams in your pod, always prioritising the most impactful work for the customer. You’ll also manage and mentor one junior researcher within your area. This role is suitable for a researcher who has led strategic direction and a small team before, or this might be your first leadership role for an experienced and grounded Senior/Staff researcher. As a Lead Researcher, you're evolving as a leader. You'll contribute by: • Setting priorities and research direction - proactively prioritise for yourself and others, understanding how the work connects to squad and business goals • Elevating craft and capabilities - lead by example and actively develop the research thinking and technical capabilities of individuals, the team and the squad • Articulating strategy - clearly communicate research strategy to your teams and key stakeholders, positively influencing focus and priorities • Demonstrating impact through people - mentor and guide team members, ensuring their growth and improved performance creates downstream impact • Influencing senior leaders - skilfully negotiate with teams, squads and senior leaders across the organisation to drive user-centred decision making • Leading with guts - Set clear goals and direction for others, course-correcting when necessary, and champion quality, the user and a human-centred approach • Using modern tools thoughtfully - leverage AI and emerging tools where they help accelerate research delivery and impact, while maintaining research rigour and quality A bit about you… Research excellence: • Deep experience with both generative and evaluative research; exceptional problem-solving and holistic research thinking • Strong judgment in choosing the right research approach for different levels of ambiguity and complexity • Skilled at building decision confidence through well-designed studies and clear evidence • Expert at connecting user evidence to business outcomes that drive action • Proven track record of scaling research influence across teams and senior stakeholders • Experience with mixed-method studies and modern research tools, including thoughtful use of AI • Able to guide teams on actioning insights and work closely with designers to ideate based on findings • Top-notch presentation and storytelling skills, especially when sharing impactful insights • A strong point of view on how AI should be being used by researchers, and demonstrate how you have been using it to elevate your craft. Leadership competencies: • Experience managing and developing researchers, with examples of elevating team capabilities and performance • Proven ability to set clear goals and priorities for others that connect to business objectives • Skilled at influencing senior leaders and negotiating across teams and squads • Track record of championing research quality, user advocacy, and human-centred design at the organisational level Strategic impact: • Able to articulate research strategy and positively influence squad and team focus • Deep understanding of how research connects to team, squad and business goals • Examples of mentoring others to create downstream impact through their growth As a heads up, this role probably isn't for you if: • Your experience is primarily market research and/or academia • You don't have demonstrable experience leading UX research within the tech/product industry • You haven't managed or mentored researchers before • You're not comfortable navigating the complexity of overseeing multiple product areas in a fast-paced environment For everyone, everywhere. We're people building money without borders  — without judgement or prejudice, too. We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive. We're proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences. Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers. If you want to find out more about what it's like to work at Wise visit Wise.Jobs. Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.