Director of UX Research, Dating Outcomes & Platform

Hinge, a leading dating platform focused on meaningful connections, is seeking a Director of UX Research to steer research for Dating Outcomes and the Platform from our New York City office. The role partners with product, design, data science, and engineering to turn deep user insights into strategic direction that helps people form real connections online. This is a senior leadership position that combines vision, mentorship, and hands-on craft to tackle complex questions across multi-team product efforts.

Location

New York, NY (onsite)

Salary

USD 235,000 - 287,000 per year

Experience

• 10+ years of UX research experience in consumer-facing industries, including 4+ years in managing and developing professional researchers across multiple levels.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the UX research vision, strategy, and roadmap for Dating Outcomes and Platform, prioritizing the questions that should be answered before roadmaps are locked
• Lead, coach, and grow a team of seasoned researchers, maintaining a high bar for craft, rigor, and impact
• Operate as a strategic partner by synthesizing UX research and data science insights into points of view that shape product vision and inform executive decisions
• Represent Dating Outcomes and Platform insights to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders, communicating roadmaps, tradeoffs, and product implications
• Drive cross-team synthesis and frameworks that unify insights across teams and product groups
• Identify structural and organizational gaps; proactively design ways of working that improve team velocity, cross-functional collaboration, and research quality
• Build a team culture grounded in curiosity, rigor, deep user empathy, and a sense of fun

Requirements

• 10+ years of UX research experience in consumer-facing industries, with 4+ years managing and developing professional researchers across multiple levels
• Proven track record of leading research across complex, multi-team consumer product portfolios with clear examples of research shaping product strategy and measurable outcomes
• Deep expertise across qualitative and quantitative methods, able to set the methodological bar, partner with Data Science, and integrate quant and qual into a unified strategy
• Ability to operate at both strategic and craft levels, setting vision while maintaining rigor and execution across the team
• Experience mentoring highly senior ICs, establishing clear roles and responsibilities, and supporting researchers embedded in product strategy
• Strong organizational sense: identifying when teams aren’t functioning well, diagnosing root causes, and driving interventions
• Confident, clear communicator who can present research strategy at VP-level forums, influence across product, engineering, design, and data, and present tradeoffs accessibly
• Passion for innovation and exploring how emerging technologies, including generative AI, can enhance research impact
• Commitment to Hinge’s mission of helping people build meaningful relationships

Benefits

• 401(k) Matching: We match 100% of the first 10% of pre-tax contributions, up to $10,000 per year
• Professional Growth: Annual Learning & Development stipend after three months, plus free Udemy access from day one
• Parental Leave & Planning: 100% paid parental leave (20 paid weeks for birth and non-birth parents)
• Fertility Support: Access to fertility care via Carrot with a stipend for fertility preservation; eligibility extended to you and your partner
• Date Stipend: $100 monthly for epic dates; Hinge Premium is free for employees and their loved ones
• ERGs: Eight Employee Resource Groups including Asian, Unapologetic, Disability, LGBTQIA+, Raices, Women/Nonbinary, Parents, with regular meetings and events

About the role

You will lead research across Dating Outcomes and Platform, setting the vision and strategy for how research informs product decisions across Hinge’s core experience. The focus is on understanding what blocks people from forming real connections and what Hinge needs to become to shift how online dating works. This senior leadership role includes managing a team of researchers, owning the research strategy and roadmap, and acting as a strategic partner to group-level leadership in product, design, data science, and engineering. A successful candidate synthesizes user insights with data science findings to drive clear product strategy and builds the conditions for teams to execute effectively in ambiguous environments.