UX - Researcher

Ally and Your Career

Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliche people put on job postings. We live this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?

The Opportunity

Customer centricity is part of our DNA at Ally. We are currently in search of a Usability Researcher / UX Researcher who will devise and execute User Experience research studies that ensure successful business outcomes and delighted customers. You will work alongside a team of experienced, high-functioning Customer Experience (CX) and usability research professionals within a Digital Design group that supports all lines of business at Ally (Bank, Invest, Consumer Auto, Dealer, Mortgage).

The Work Itself

• Use your skill as a researcher and facilitator to devise tests with our customers and prospects that will successfully uncover which aspects of a concept or design are successful, which aren’t, and why.
• Communicate what you learn in a persuasive and clear manner so that your product and design colleagues are inspired to make changes that result in delight for our customers and success for the business.
• Build relationships, engage outside of a research project, take the opportunity to influence and guide concept and design decisions based on your user experience expertise and knowledge of our customers. Teams at Ally operate in true partnership.
• Collaborate with other sources of insights at Ally. Develop shared points of view about our products and customers that can impact all stages of design development.
• Contribute to the usability research practice at Ally. Collaborate with fellow researchers and research manager to share skills and elevate one another and the practice.
• Self-manage all the steps of the research process. Engage with business and UX design in an assigned product or experience scope to understand or uncover upcoming research needs and recommend appropriate approach and methods. Own all steps in the process from defining the goals of the research, defining the screening criteria for participants, writing screeners, writing discussion guides, when applicable - defining certain prototype needs, conducting research, analyzing research, reporting out on research. All steps would include collaborative review with partners.
• To thrive in this role, you are the #1 advocate for a great user / customer experience. You offer clear and compelling insights about that customer, their needs, their behaviors and their experience with our products and digital designs. You instill excitement in our partners, to make them want to understand our customers and deliver products and experiences that will delight those customers while also driving business value. You are a curious, active listener; self-directed, proactive, resourceful and comfortable with fluid workdays. You are invested in providing measurable insights. You enjoy working with others to solve problems and set direction. You can tap into analytical and creative thinking. You are happiest when collaborating, driving consensus and making a difference.

The Skills You Bring

• Experience with qualitative research to inform and evaluate digital products and digital design
• Experience with qualitative formative or evaluative research, sometimes generative or summative
• Experience with usability testing with low fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes, one on one interviews, heuristic evaluations, online and in-person research, secondary/competitive research. Preferred diary study or ethnographic research
• Experience with in-person lab-setting as well as online research tools such as Usertesting.com
• Strong presentation skills, written and oral communication skills, influencing without authority
• Experience managing partner expectations and needs; business partners, digital design and content, technology
• Experience with research on desktop and mobile design
• Experience with competitive evaluation, competitive documentation
• Knowledge of interplay between quantitative and qualitative insights
• Preferred; Experience in financial services, experience organizing design thinking sessions, experience with journey mapping
• At least 1+ years as a user research practitioner
• Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Human Computer Interaction/Science, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, Usability/Research preferred or equivalent experience

How We’ll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. But Ally’s total compensation – or total rewards – extends beyond your paycheck and is designed to support and enrich your personal and professional life, including:

• Time Away: competitive holiday and flexible paid-time-off, including time off for volunteering and voting.
• Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan and 529 educational assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, and other financial well-being programs.
• Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including dental and vision, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally and financially.
• Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy, and fertility support as well as parental and caregiver leave, back-up child and adult/elder day care program and child care discounts.
• Work-Life Integration: other benefits including LifeMatters® Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers® program and other employee discount programs.

Who We Are

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical or mental disabilities. For accommodation requests, email us at work@ally.com. Ally will not discriminate against any qualified individual who is capable of performing the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.