[Hiring] UX/UI Researcher @Yaqeen Institute

Role Description

Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research creates research papers, articles, videos, ebooks, and learning curricula for Muslims around the world, from people exploring faith to educators and community leaders who share our work. We’re looking for a UX/UI researcher to help our product teams understand how people discover, use, and value these products, and to bring that understanding into how we design and improve them.

The first project focuses on our free library of English-language ebooks. Our last in-depth study of these readers was in 2024, and reading habits and search tools, including AI assistants, have changed a lot since then. A reader survey is already running, and this project goes deeper through one-on-one interviews. You will own the study end to end, from research questions to synthesis. Your findings will shape the library’s product roadmap and help Yaqeen measure the value it creates for readers.

This is a four-month contract that may be extended or converted into a longer-term, full-time role.

Role Responsibilities

• Review the 2024 research and early results from the current reader survey, and work with the Product Manager to set the study's research questions and objectives.
• Write a discussion guide that ties each research question to the outcomes the product team tracks, such as downloads, how readers discover the library, and whether consuming a product leads them on to Yaqeen's research and other content.
• Screen and recruit a mix of participants across reader segments, by drawing on survey respondents who opt in to follow-up interviews.
• Run and record one-on-one interviews with ebook readers that explore:
  • What readers do after they finish a book (for example, read further, share it, apply it, or move to other Yaqeen content).
  • How they prefer to read and listen (PDF, EPUB, audiobook, print, on phone or on desktop).
  • How the way they search for and research Islamic topics has changed over the past few years, including any use of AI tools.
  • Which features they would find useful on the library's website and in the reading experience.
  • The topics they want Yaqeen to write about next.
• Synthesize the findings, compare them against the 2024 research, and show what has held steady, what has shifted, and what is new.
• Deliver a written findings report on the ebook library and present a readout to stakeholders, with prioritized recommendations for the product, editorial, and marketing teams.
• Handle participant data with care: get informed consent, collect only what the study needs, anonymize personal details in all notes and reports, and honor any request to change or delete a participant's data.
• Help measure the impact of Yaqeen's products on users' religiosity using BASIC, Yaqeen's religiosity framework, for example by building its measures into surveys and discussion guides and tracking change over time.
• Share research methods, templates, and findings with other product teams, and advise on where user research could inform their roadmaps.
• Help set up research practices other teams can reuse, such as a participant panel, standard consent forms, and a shared library of findings.

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in human-computer interaction, psychology, sociology, anthropology, information science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. A master's degree or formal research training is a plus.
• Experience planning and running qualitative user research, especially in-depth interviews, from recruitment through synthesis.
• Ability to write neutral, open-ended interview questions and to probe for behavior rather than opinion.
• Strong synthesis skills, including affinity mapping and thematic analysis, and the ability to turn patterns into prioritized recommendations.
• Clear writing and presentation skills for a mixed audience of product, editorial, and marketing colleagues.
• Familiarity with digital content products such as reading, video, or learning platforms, and comfort reading survey data alongside interview findings.
• Understanding of the Muslim community and sensitivity in discussing faith, doubt, and personal practice with participants.
• Comfort working independently and supporting more than one product team at a time.
• Prior experience researching Yaqeen's audiences is a strong advantage.

Benefits

• Yaqeen Institute embraces a philosophy that values and promotes diversity.
• Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and advance a talented and diverse workforce within a culture where all employees are empowered to reach their fullest potential.
• Please note that all career opportunities at Yaqeen Institute are subject to a three-month probationary period, during which we assess performance, alignment with our values, and mutual fit to ensure long-term success in the role.