Manager, UX Research

Posted Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 4:00 AM | Expires Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 3:59 AM

Dayforce is a global human capital management (HCM) company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, with operations across North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region.

Our award-winning Cloud HCM platform offers a unified solution database and continuous calculation engine, driving efficiency, productivity and compliance for the global workforce.

Our brand prom ise - Makes Work Life Better - Reflects our co mmitment to employees, customers, partners and communities globally.

About the opportunity Dayforce is looking for a highly motivated and strategic Sr. User Research Manager to shape the future of human-AI workforce experiences and lead a team of researchers who deliver strategic insight, influence product direction, and help create exceptional experiences for customers and users

Design at Dayforce is evolving beyond traditional enterprise software toward intelligent, human-centered experiences that help organizations and their people navigate increasingly complex work. As Dayforce transforms into an AI-powered and agentichuman capital management (HCM)platform, we are reimagining how technology can augment workand aid human decision-making,while preservinghumancontrolandjudgmentwhere it matters,enabling operational efficiency, and deliveringtrust and compliance that areessential in HCM.Research plays a critical role in this transformation, helping the organization understand where AI creates meaningful value, where human oversightremainsnecessary, and how trust, transparency, and accountability can be designed into experiences that people and organizations can confidently adopt.Crucial to this evolution will be a Sr. Manager, UXR, leading a team of researchers who ensure customer and user needsremainat the center of product decisions while advancing the quality, responsibility, and impact of our AI-enabled experiences.

Given the scale andpotential forimpact, this role is for peoplewith existing managementexperience.We’relooking for a leaderwith a strong diplomatic bent,using their relationship skills to bringcross-functional collaborators into the work, and uphold the values and quality standards in a stakeholder-rich environment.

What you’ll get to do

Peoplemanagement fora team of5-7researchers, including 1:1s,regular coaching and feedback on project work,professional development, performance reviews, etc.

Bring a B2B strategic mindset that helps researchers connect their work to businessvalue to drive impact

Lead the research direction of your team, establishing a vision for how research informs product strategy, AI innovation, and experience quality across Dayforce.

Partner with Product, Design, Engineering, and AI teams to shape the future of intelligent and agentic experiences, identifyingopportunities where automation,assistance, and humanexpertise can work together to create customer value.

Keep researchers (and cross-functional peers) focused on the research work that will deliver strategic impact and improve the experience of our users

Help develop early career researchers through modeling more advanced research skills like scoping, strategy,mixed methodapproachesandtriangulation across diverse data sets.

Seamlessly shift between strategy and the details of delivery, connecting efforts at all levels of abstraction

Uphold quality standards in the face of myriad pressures such as timelines, feedback, and workloads.Say, “No,” in a way that invites further discussion of how we can all get to “Yes.”

Build relationships and partner with leaders across Product Management, Design, Engineering, and Strategy to prioritize research that informs roadmap decisions, drives strategic value, and elevates product and experience quality.

Ensurethat your teammaintainsfocus on their work, avoiding disruption anddistraction

Guide the evolution of research operations to enable an effective, scalable, and efficient research practice that supports researchers, designers, and cross-functional teams.

Contribute to the evolution of our research practice as AI becomes embedded in both our products and ways of working. Help define how researchers leverageAI responsibly throughout the product development lifecycle while maintaining rigorous research standards, preserving critical human judgment, and ensuring insights continue to reflect the needs, expectations, and trust of our customers and users.

Actively recruit and hire researchers on other design professionals when the need arises

Skills and experience we value

Experience managing and developing UX researchers, with a demonstrated commitment to mentorship, coaching, and growing research capability across teams

Success at bringing a range of people into the research and designprocess, including cross-functional partners (product managers, designers, developers, marketers)

Experience leadingprojects/teams that shipcomplicatedproduct(multiple user types, feature complexity)that hasmade positive impact on its usersand clearbusiness impact

Experience conducting research in domains where accuracy, trust, compliance, risk, or governance considerations materially influence product design and adoption.

Prior experiencearticulating the connections between user/customer value and our business ambitions, and developing measurement strategiesin a givenproject context

Experience researching, designing, or evaluating AI-powered, conversational, agentic, or decision-support experiences, including an understanding of user trust, transparency, governance, and adoption considerations.

Strong written and oral communicationand presentationskills,clearly articulatingresearch findings and their implications and new opportunities

Orderly and organized, maintaining multiple conversation threads across product teams

Comfortable with scoping research for decision-making andstructuring/planning research and design work in cross-functional contexts

Demonstrated ability to guide teams through periods of technological and organizational change, helping researchers adapt methods and practices to emergingAI-enabled product development environments.

What’s in it for you Dayforce is fueled by the diversity of our talented employees. We are an equal opportunity employer and consider and embrace ALL individuals and what makes them unique. We believe our employees should be happy and healthy, with peace of mind and a sense of fulfillment.

We encourage individuals to apply based on their passions.

medical, dental, vison, and life insurance

401k plan (plus match)

Global Employee Stock Purchase Plan

unlimited Time Away FromWork (in lieu of accrued vacation time)

10 paid US holidays

up to 80 hours of paid sick time

17 weeks of paid parental leave, subject to the terms of the applicable policy or program

With a commitment to community impact, including volunteer days and our charity, Dayforce Cares we provide opportunities for you to thrive both in your career and personal life. Our focus is not just on your job but on supporting you to be the best version of yourself.

About the Salary Ranges Please note that the salary range mentioned in this job description should serve simply as a guide. The final compensation offered may vary based on a variety of factors, including bonuses and/or incentives, or a candidate’s experience, skills, budget and location. Our company is committed to providing a fair, equitable, and competitive package that reflects the value an individual brings to the organization.

#J-18808-Ljbffr