Sr Principal UX Researcher Job at The Walt Disney Company in Santa Monica

About the Role

Disney Streaming is reimagining the future of entertainment, bringing together Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and more into a unified streaming experience for millions of fans worldwide. As a Sr. Principal User Experience Researcher (UXR), you will be a senior thought leader embedded within our Streaming organization. You will champion the voice of the user across product, design, and engineering ensuring that every decision we make is grounded in deep human understanding and rich storytelling.

This role is both highly strategic and hands-on. You will shape vision work that defines the future of streaming, conduct generative and evaluative research on our most critical initiatives, and guide executives with evidence-based insights. Your work will influence everything from how we personalize Disney+ for Gen Alpha, to how we create seamless experiences across live sports, entertainment, and commerce.

Responsibilities

• Set Research Strategy : Define and own the long-term research agenda for Streaming. Ensure both generative and evaluative insights inform product decisions. Partner with Product, Design, and Engineering leaders to anticipate user needs and guide the future of Disneys streaming ecosystem.
• Lead Generative Research : Personally drive generative research in the most ambiguous and high-stakes areas. Uncover unmet needs and opportunities that shape long-term vision and inspire bold product directions.
• Stand Up Evaluative Practice : Establish the evaluative research practice by setting standards, frameworks, and measures of success. Hire and mentor specialists to run ongoing evaluative programs, ensuring results are trusted and actionable across the org.
• Executive Influence : Translate complex insights into clear narratives and frameworks that drive alignment with senior leadership. Use research to shape vision, strategy, and prioritization.
• Elevate Craft and Scale Impact : Model best-in-class methods and mixed-method rigor. Mentor other researchers and create connective tissue across qualitative, quantitative, and behavioral science practices.
• Cross-Functional Partnership : Work closely with product managers, designers, engineers, and data scientists to embed research throughout the product lifecycle. Ensure insights flow from discovery to execution.
• Thought Leadership : Represent Disney Streaming as a senior voice on human-centered innovation. Shape product vision internally and contribute externally to the broader research community.

Basic Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

Education

Masters or Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Psychology, Anthropology, Behavioral Science, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).

The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $184,300.00 to $247,100.00 per year and in New York, NY is $193,100.00 - $258,900.00 per year and in San Francisco, CA is $201,900.00 - $270,700.00. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidates geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and / or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and / or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

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