Research & Insights Team Description

We believe the most actionable kind of understanding isn’t externalized in reports; it’s about people—our conversations, connections, and contexts. We work in partnership with product, design, engineering, analytics, marketing, and CX, and are committed to these relationships as the foundational prerequisite for knowledge creation. One of the most amazing things about Dropbox is how much people value our work and the impact it can have on our products. You won’t have to sell anyone here on the value of research. Your key role will be to connect your team’s insights to create sustainable company and product strategies. 

The research we’re doing aspires to make meaningful improvements in the lives of the individuals, teams, and companies who use our product every day to do their most important work. We employ a variety of methods to collect rich data that enable cross-functional teams to make and market products our customers love.

Role Description

As the Director of Design Research & Insights for our core Dropbox product, you are energized by guiding research at a company scale and have wide influence across the Dropbox-Core product area. You are a talented mentor, are curious about how people work together and want to empower your team to create, share, and collaborate better together. You believe that research has the greatest impact when influencing product, design, marketing, and executive business decisions. You help your team transform research results into actionable insights for our customers and our business. 

You thrive on interdisciplinary teams and can pose high-level strategic questions and guide research at all stages of the market & product lifecycle. You can see the uncertainties that slow teams down and help surface questions people didn’t even know they had.

In this role, you will help develop tools and strategies that consistently put Dropbox research on the cutting edge. The Dropbox Research & Insights team is a large, well-empowered organization, and our research team for Dropbox's core product needs a leader that can help take it to the next level. 

Responsibilities

• You will be responsible for connecting research to other parts of the company through strong cross-functional collaboration, allowing research to be seen as a thought partner across all functions.
• You will be a beacon of leadership throughout the company. You will bring strong viewpoints around research’s role in the strategic and day-to-day decision-making process, continuing to define what research is (and isn’t) at Dropbox.
• You will have a knack for attracting, developing, and retaining extraordinary talent that instills a shared sense of purpose and belonging. Experience managing through managers is required.
• You will lead research initiatives that help develop and define human/business needs into a coherent set of insights that inform and influence our company and product strategies. 

Requirements

• Senior level leadership experience in driving product initiatives with perspective
• M.S. or Ph.D. in scientific/technical field or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of industry experience leading Research initiatives. 
• 5+ years of experience leading research teams in product development.
• Has managed a team of 10+, including managing managers. 
• Experience in leading time-bound and multi-partner initiatives.