*Please note, this role is only open to students currently enrolled in a Masters or PhD program and will graduate Winter 2020 or Spring/Summer 2021.

Research has been part of Airbnb from the beginning, ever since Paul Graham told the Airbnb founders, "go to your users." As designers, the founders embraced this advice and got on a plane to meet with Airbnb hosts that very weekend. Since those early days, the value of research has been baked into Airbnb’s product culture.

The Experience Research team’s mission is to provide robust, rich, and actionable research, which product teams need at every stage of the product development cycle. As an intern, you will be paired with a more senior researcher, and will learn from a team of researchers who will be supporting you along the way. Working closely with your mentor, you will participate in all aspects of our research work. You will have the opportunity to apply research methods that you have experience with, but you’ll also be pushed out of your comfort zone and required to learn new methods and ways of working.

You will be embedded with a team of designers, product managers, and other cross-functional partners. As a result, you’ll get hand-on-experience with conducting research in an industry setting. You will spend most of your time doing the everyday work of an Experience Researcher - working with your product team to create great products and experiences. But you may also have the opportunity to spend part of your time working on projects related to your research interests or for publication.

Responsibilities

• Inform and participate in product decisions from definition to launch (and after), working at both a strategic and tactical level.
• Conduct practical and impactful research across the product cycle, from formative to evaluative and everywhere in between.
• Bring insights about users by a variety of methods whether it be surveys, interviews, log analysis, usability studies, diary studies, ethnographic observation, or a new method you invent.
• Share findings with designers, engineers, product managers, and others, creating a smarter, more informed and more empathetic product team.
• Participate in outreach to the company by teaching, telling stories, and creating experiences.

Experience

• Currently pursuing a Masters or PhD in Human ­Computer Interaction, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science, or a related field
• Experience with qualitative (e.g. interviews, usability studies, ethnographic observation) and/or quantitative methods (e.g. survey design, statistical analysis, experimental design)
• A passion for building great products and experiences, and for great design
• Scrappiness, flexibility, and adaptability needed to do great research quickly

Benefits

• Competitive hourly rate
• Paid time off
• Housing stipend
• Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner