User Research Analyst

NRG Energy - Houston, TX

Full-time - Senior

Houston, TX

Utilities

About the position

Welcome to the intersection of energy and home services. At NRG, we're all about propelling the next generation of leaders forward. We are driven by our passion to create a smarter, cleaner and more connected future. We deliver innovative solutions that make our customers' lives easier—helping them power, protect, and intelligently manage their homes and businesses. To do this, we need creative and talented people to join our company. We offer a dynamic work environment and a unified and inclusive culture. NRG fosters a strong sense of belonging that leads to better collaboration and business performance. Our company programs are designed to help employees develop the skills they need for success now and in the future. In everything we do, we aim to champion our employees and bring value to our customers, investors and society. We are seeking a talented Senior UX Researcher to lead impactful experience design research that enhances the customer experience across our digital products and services. As a trusted advocate for our customers and a key advisor for all of our Texas brands, you will gain a deep understanding of NRG's retail business goals to drive the strategy and execution of the user research program. Your role will be crucial in increasing engagement, conversion rates, retention rates, and online revenue. You will work collaboratively with Designers, Product Owners, Developers, and internal teams to strategize and develop solutions that deliver real business value to our customers. As the primary UX research contact, you will manage, analyze, communicate, and advise on actionable digital strategies based on research results.

Responsibilities

• Partner with product designers to contribute to testing decisions, facilitate user studies, validate designs and prototypes, and identify site improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with product owners to understand customer pain points and conceptualize solutions.
• Fully execute testing projects and communicate results effectively.
• Serve as the go-to expert on XD best practices and standards.
• Utilize measurement and research-related tools, frameworks, and methods to support customer/business needs and opportunities.
• Evolve the vision and program for user research across all digital platforms (web, mobile, app) to drive customer engagement, acquisition, retention, and satisfaction.
• Gain a deep understanding of the customer journey for our retail electricity customers and identify opportunities to enhance the quality of engagements.
• Plan, define, and execute a variety of testing and research methodologies including surveys, remote user studies, heuristic evaluations, usability reviews, task analysis, card sorting, contextual inquiries, and customer behavior pattern identification.
• Lead and contribute to customer research, producing study analyses, artifacts, customer journey maps, and information architecture frameworks.
• Facilitate UX workshops grounded in Design Thinking and/or Design Sprint methodologies, hosted both in-person and remotely.
• Manage customer feedback tools, identify recurring issues, and make data-driven strategic recommendations.
• Define and ensure platform measurements are in place; analyze customer engagement effectiveness to identify growth opportunities and areas for improvement.
• Meet with teams and stakeholders to communicate results and propose actionable strategies based on research findings.
• Maintain a repository of test results and recommendations for company-wide access.
• Design research protocols, templates, and processes for various qualitative and quantitative analyses.
• Drive new ideas and improvements from insights, guiding the team with a clear direction forward.

Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant experience in UX research and digital strategy.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in human factors, communications, user experience, design, data, or a related field preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in the deregulated/retail electricity market industry is a plus.
• Experience with Adobe Analytics.
• Experience with User Testing.