Senior Design Researcher

Apply
  • Location:
    Offsite, San Jose, California, US
  • Area of Interest
    User Experience Design
  • Compensation Range
    120000 USD - 221800 USD
  • Job Type
    Professional
  • Technology Interest
    AI or Artificial Intelligence, Security, Software Development
  • Job Id
    1451745
New

The application window is expected to close on October 27, 2025 

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.   

 

Meet the Team 

Our design practice is a vibrant mosaic, made up of the curious and the brave — product designers, researchers, content designers, operations specialists, and design engineers — who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Together, we’re building a culture of design excellence and operational efficiency. 

We focus on human needs, working closely with cross-functional partners to deliver impactful design solutions that address complex challenges. The products we design and build have real results for our customers because our users are at the heart of everything that we do. We work directly with users to build a deep understanding of their goals and context, and we explore and iterate on solutions together. 

Solving our customers’ security challenges through our focus on simplicity and effectiveness is why we show up daily — and it’s why you should join us. 

Your Impact 

As a Senior Design Researcher, you’ll be part of the Security Design Research Team, while primarily supporting the AI Software & Platform team. In this role, you’ll drive a deep understanding of users to shape the future of Cisco’s security products and experiences across AI-powered solutions. You will: 

  • Lead end-to-end qualitative and quantitative research—from scoping and recruiting to analysis and delivery of insights.  
  • Conduct both generative and evaluative research to uncover the behaviors, motivations and needs of our customers.  
  • Inform product and design strategy through rigorous research executed to the highest standards.  
  • Balance research rigor with scrappiness and innovation as you work alongside a fast-moving AI product and design team.   
  • Translate research into actionable insights, reports, journey maps, and easily consumable artifacts. 
  • Partner closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to influence decision-making across the product lifecycle. 
  • Explore how AI can enhance security and networking experiences, identifying opportunities to integrate AI responsibly into our users’ workflows.  
  • Support peers and junior researchers by building skills in research practice 

Minimum Qualifications 

  • 6+ years leading qualitative and quantitative research projects from discovery through to presentation (discovery, planning, recruitment, execution, analysis, presentation). 
  • Experience partnering with product, design, and engineering teams to define and execute research studies. 
  • Experience applying a variety of research methodologies such as user interviews, usability testing, surveys, benchmarking, concept evaluations, journey mapping or data analysis to inform product and design decisions. 
  • Experience synthesizing and documenting research findings to guide product or design direction.  

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Experience framing and prioritizing research questions that align with business and product goals. 
  • AI-friendly research approach, incorporating AI into research workflows, excited by the challenges AI brings to experience design  
  • Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. 
  • Can easily navigate ambiguity  
  • Strong quantitative and statistical analysis skills  
  • Excellent communication and presentation / storytelling skills 
  • Experience working in a B2B or B2C large enterprise  

Why Cisco?  

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Simply put – we power the future. 

 

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. 

 

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you. 


Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter.  Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

.75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

Share

Apply