Hire Freelance UX Strategists, Interim Product Managers, and Fractional CPOs
UX Strategists are among the Guild’s most experienced consultants. Strategists utilize research data to envision the future state of products, mobile apps, websites, services, and organizations, then devise plans to transform them from their current state to the desired state. While working toward business objectives, they maintain focus on users’ needs, to ensure they’re solving the right problems. They can also establish research practices, prioritize studies, build teams, and inform business objectives.
Independent UX strategists with product leadership experience, are ideal candidates for interim or part-time product manager and fractional chief product officer (CPO) roles.
Listed below are a few of many UX strategists available through the Guild. To find a strategist who meets your specific requirements, call or text (415) 640-4564 or submit a brief form below.
Senior Director of Product Research & Design
Boise, Idaho
Healthwise
• B2B2C
• Healthcare
• Product discovery and generative research
• Implemented robust research repository
SuperValu / Albertsons
• Ecommerce
• Qualitative research to define requirements
• Usability testing
Jason Hessing
Highlights:
- Over 16 years of UX Research, design, and management experience
- Manages a team of 3 researchers and 3 designers
- Oversees all generative product research launches, exposes assumptions, selects research methods, and works toward early product/market fit
- Facilitates strategic workshops with leadership and other stakeholders
- Built and scaled a Dovetail UX research repository including tagging and taxonomy practices
- Member, InVision Design Leadership Forum
UX Strategist and Coach
Salt Lake City, UT
Struck
• Leads teams across multiple simultaneous projects as Strategy Director
• Inclusive Design subject matter expert
Berkadia
• Financial Services
• Led research and strategy for a software product line
• Led research operations & practices overhaul
Clearlink
• Digital Marketing & Advertising Services
• Led UX Research for the marketing, data science, and sales teams
Jess Vice
Highlights:
- 14+ years of experience in product, UX, marketing and advertising, CRO, and SaaS
- Accessibility workshop leader at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
- Track record establishing, standardizing, and optimizing research practices across teams
- 8+ years of experience leading teams in UX, Brand, and Product
- At Clearlink, led the ground-up rebuild of two internal point-of-sale systems with data-driven recommendations and user input
UX Strategist
Los Angeles, CA
Ideo
• 7 years leading multidisciplinary teams
• Tackled 25+ complex challenges in industries such as: F&B, education, consumer goods, and retail
Frog
• Cultural trends research
UNICEF
• Managed the production of seven major publications
• Strategy on youth and the global AIDS epidemic
Eileen Wu
Highlights:
- Empathic leader with 15+ years uncovering deep cultural and behavioral insights in China, US, and Southeast Asia
- Proven track record creating human-centered systems for innovation and social impact
- Experience in many domains, such as: Education, Technology, Real Estate, Retail, F&B, physical products, and Hospitality
- Cultural trends research for leading innovation firms (IDEO, Frog) to inspire new designs, services, and strategies for clients
- Creates compelling stories, videos, and narratives to bring insights to life
UX Research Strategist, Speaker, Career Coach
San Francisco / Greater Bay Area, California
Discord
• Founded and managed the Discord Research team
• Drove UX for Discord’s evolution beyond a gaming-focused platform
Dropbox
• Dropbox Assistant (desktop app)
• Defined new strategic direction for the product
Cruise (GM)
• Led research for self-driving cars
• Pioneered creative qualitative methods to safely simulate autonomous driving situations
Facebook
• Led research impacting 12+ products over 4 years, including 6 internationally-led studies
Omid “dimo” Farivar
Highlights:
- Over 15 years of experience in UX research and design, with a focus on gaming, social media, and emerging technologies.
- Notable for founding and leading Discord’s first UX Research team, significantly influencing the company’s direction.
- Renowned for adaptability and innovation in various tech domains, from gaming startups to major tech giants.
- Recognized for outstanding contributions in research leadership and mentoring at multiple organizations.
- Passionate about driving user-centric product development and leveraging research to guide strategic decisions.
Product Strategist, Coach, & CPO
Toronto, ON
Cumulus Labs
• Fractional Chief Product Officer
• Foundational discovery research, company vision, business model, and MVP strategy.
Quill, Inc.
• Fractional CPO & Product Coach
Willful
• Design, research, and product strategy advisor and coach
Loopio (B2B SaaS)
• Head of Design & Research
• Led foundational and high-stakes strategic research
TribalScale (Product Dev’t Agency)
• Foundational and evaluative research for RBC, CIBC, Manulife, TipTap Payments & iHeart Radio)
Martha Malloy
Highlights:
- Product coach for B2C, B2B, software and hardware startups & scaleups
- Specializes in discovery research, new product strategy, and product-market fit
- Define compelling product visions, business models, strategies, and roadmaps using interactive team workshops with follow-on coaching support
- Principal-level research practitioner with coaching skills; rapidly onboards and contributes to achieving business objectives
- 8+ years of UX design and research experience
The UX Researchers’ Guild has evaluated each of these strategists to determine their areas of expertise and overall competency. We feature strategists who have track records of successfully leading research initiatives, establishing strategic direction, and achieving business outcomes.
Our Process:
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- Begin the process by contacting the Guild with your requirements or requesting a consultation with a featured strategist.
- Once we know your needs, we will identify strategists who fit your criteria and propose them to you.
- Review and select a strategist to meet via Zoom to confirm their suitability.
- If the match is mutually agreeable, we will make contractual and financial arrangements to begin an engagement.
Strategists from the Guild typically work remotely but can also work onsite. When onsite work is required, preference is given to those who live in the same city or region. When a local strategist is not available, the Guild selects those willing to travel to work and collaborate in person. For travel and tax considerations, the Guild only works with organizations based in the U.S.