Design Researcher
Overview
Dropbox is a Virtual First company. For this role, we are hiring in Zones 2 and 3. Please refer to our Compensation section below to see what neighborhoods fall under each Zone.
Company Description
Dropbox is a special place where we are all seeking to fulfill our mission to design a more enlightened way of working. We’re looking for innovative talent to join us on our journey. The words shared by our founders at the start of Dropbox still ring true today. Wouldn’t it be great if our working environment—and the tools we use—were designed with people’s actual needs in mind? Imagine if every minute at work were well spent—if we could focus and spend our time on the things that matter. This is possible, and Dropbox is connecting the dots. The nearly 3,000 Dropboxers around the world have helped make Dropbox a living workspace - the place where people come together and their ideas come to life. Our 700+ million global users have been some of our best salespeople, and they have helped us acquire customers with incredible efficiency. As a result, we reached a billion dollar revenue run rate faster than any software-as-a-service company in history. Dropbox is making the dream of a fulfilling and seamless work life a reality. We hope you’ll join us on the journey.
Team Description
Our Research & Design team crafts delightful experiences that make people's lives easier. We're a close-knit, collaborative group, guided by a highly iterative user-centered design process. Combining research, data, and thoughtful critique, we're discovering needs and solving fundamental problems that impact work and life for millions of people around the world.
Role Description
As a Researcher for Dash, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work by uncovering new problem spaces and identifying opportunities to craft innovative, high-impact experiences. Partnering with cross-functional teams, you’ll drive user-centric research that informs product vision and strategy, ensuring we deliver solutions that address unmet customer needs while aligning with business goals.
In this dynamic and fast-paced environment, you’ll collaborate closely with engineers, designers, product managers, and data scientists to explore complex challenges, bringing insights that bridge the gap between user needs and product capabilities. Your work will influence Dash’s AI/ML-powered offerings and help create magical, reliable, and delightful experiences that redefine knowledge work.
As an advocate for both users and the business, you will; develop and implement rigorous research strategies to uncover deep user insights, inspiring innovation and guiding the team toward impactful solutions. Translate research findings into actionable insights that inform product design, development, and strategic decisions, ensuring alignment with user needs and business goals. Continuously refine research methods and findings through iterative processes, driving agility and maintaining focus on delivering high-quality, scalable solutions across Dash’s ecosystem.
Join us in our mission to position Dropbox and Dash at the center of innovation, where content and collaboration become essential utilities for knowledge workers worldwide. Your expertise will help deliver transformative experiences that elevate how people work and create value.
Responsibilities
Take high ownership in identifying and prioritizing research opportunities in collaboration with product teams, driving the development of 0→1 products and groundbreaking innovations.
Exhibit high agency in designing, executing, and delivering impactful research that shapes immediate product roadmaps and informs long-term strategic vision.
Implement and own robust, multi-method research studies, leveraging qualitative and quantitative methodologies to deliver comprehensive, actionable insights.
Proactively evolve and adapt research processes and practices to meet the organization’s growth, scalability needs, and dynamic priorities.
Advocate with conviction for user-centric strategies, actively shaping design and product direction with research-driven insights.
Collaborate closely across functions—research, product management, design, data science, sales, and marketing—to evaluate experiences, uncover user needs, and identify strategic product opportunities.
Own the dissemination of research findings, crafting innovative, engaging, and accessible narratives that inspire teams and drive impactful decision-making across the organization.
Requirements
- 6+ years of UX Research-related work experience
- Deep experience with mixed methods applied across the product development process
- Experience working in B2B and enterprise environment
- Thrive in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple partner stakeholders across various functions (including but not limited to researchers, PMs, designers, data scientists, sales, marketing, engineering, etc.)
- A strong communicator with the ability to influence through cross-functional collaboration skills
- Clear, compelling presentation and communication style
- Experience driving and supporting rapid research in a scrappy 0→1 environment
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or advanced degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, or a related field.
- Knowledge of emerging research methodologies and techniques (e.g., AI-driven insights or biometric UX testing).
- Experience in industries with complex ecosystems (e.g., fintech, healthcare, supply chain etc).
- Experience conducting international or cross-cultural research to inform global product strategies.
Compensation
US Zone 1
This role is not available in Zone 1
US Zone 2
$154,500—$209,100 USD
US Zone 3
$137,400—$185,800 USD
The range(s) listed above is the expected annual salary/OTE (On-Target Earnings) for this role, subject to change.
Please note, OTE are for sales roles only.
Salary/OTE is just one component of Dropbox’s total rewards package. All regular employees are also eligible for the corporate bonus program or a sales incentive (target included in OTE) as well as stock in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
Dropbox takes a number of factors into account when determining individual starting pay, including job and level they are hired into, location/metropolitan area, skillset, and peer compensation. We target most new hire offers between the minimum up to the middle of the range.
Dropbox uses the zip code of an employee’s remote work location to determine which metropolitan pay range we use. Current US Zone locations are as follows:
- US Zone 1: San Francisco metro, New York City metro, or Seattle metro
- US Zone 2: Austin (TX) metro, Chicago metro, California (outside SF metro), Colorado, Connecticut (outside NYC metro), Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York (outside NYC metro), Oregon, Pennsylvania (outside NYC or DC metro), Washington DC metro, and West Virginia (DC metro)
- US Zone 3: All other US locations
Benefits
Dropbox is committed to investing in the holistic health and wellbeing of all Dropboxers and their families. Our benefits and perks programs include, but are not limited to:
- Competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k) plan with a generous company match and immediate vesting
- Flexible PTO/Paid Time Off, paid holidays, Volunteer Time Off, and more, allowing you time to unplug, unwind, and refresh
- Income Protection Plans: Life and disability insurance
- Business Travel Protection: Travel medical and accident insurance
- Perks Allowance to be used on what matters most to you, whether that’s wellness, learning and development, food and groceries, and much more
- Parental benefits including: Parental Leave, Child and Adult Care, Day Care FSA, Fertility Benefits, Adoption and Surrogacy Support, and Lactation Support
- Access to over 10,000 global co-working spaces through Gable.to, making it easy to book flexible workspaces for collaboration or individual work
- Quarterly Cell phone and internet allowance
- Mental health and wellness benefits
- Disability and neurodivergence support benefits
Additional benefit details are available upon request.
Dropbox is an equal opportunity employer. We are a welcoming place for everyone, and we do our best to make sure all people feel supported and connected at work. A big part of that effort is our support for members and allies of internal groups like Asians at Dropbox, BlackDropboxers, Latinx, Pridebox (LGBTQ), Vets at Dropbox, Women at Dropbox, ATX Diversity (based in Austin, Texas) and the Dropbox Empowerment Network (based in Dublin, Ireland).
