Principal Design Researcher

We’re currently looking for a Principal Design Researcher to lead the research practice for one of our top‑tier clients – a integral leader in the Health industry – shaping the products and services that empower clinicians, patients and care teams at the moments that matter most.

This is not a coordination role – it is a leadership role. You will define how we understand the people we design for, orchestrate a portfolio of research initiatives, and ensure that human insight drives decisions from discovery through to delivery.

What will your day‑to‑day be like?

You will:

- Define and own the research agenda, aligned with product and business priorities.
- Establish a multi‑horizon research roadmap spanning generative, evaluative and strategic studies.
- Champion a human‑centred lens across the entire product lifecycle.
- Lead, mentor and develop a team of design researchers embedded across product squads – coordinating capacity and prioritisation across concurrent initiatives.
- Foster a culture of rigour, curiosity and inclusive research practice.
- Lead complex, ambiguous research programmes from brief to insight, applying mixed methods (ethnographic, contextual, participatory, evaluative) appropriate to each challenge.
- Ensure regulatory and ethical compliance in all research activities.
- Translate research into actionable insights that shape strategy – not just design – presenting findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders and leadership.
- Partner with product management, design, clinical affairs and marketing to embed research throughout discovery and development.
- Define shared research frameworks and artefacts (personas, journey maps, opportunity spaces).
- Build and steward a living research repository, developing standards, templates and methodological guidance for the team.

What are we looking for?

- 5‑8 years of design research or UX research experience, with at least 3 years in a principal,



lead or staff‑level role.
- Demonstrated ability to define and execute strategic research programmes in complex, regulated environments – healthcare, medtech or diagnostics experience strongly preferred.
- Deep expertise across qualitative methods, and comfortable integrating quantitative signals and working with data science partners.
- Proven track record of leading and growing research teams, with strong coaching and mentoring skills.
- Ability to navigate clinical and hospital environments; familiarity with care workflows, patient safety and regulatory frameworks (IVD, MDR) is a plus.
- Exceptional communication and storytelling skills – able to make research compelling for executive audiences and product teams alike.
- Fluency in English; additional European languages are a plus.

What makes you stand out

- Proven experience operating at the nexus of diagnostics, chronic care management or acute clinical environments.
- Deep familiarity with systems thinking, service design frameworks or strategic foresight methodologies.
- A track record of establishing and scaling organisational research maturity from the ground up.

Why should you join?

This is a unique opportunity for someone looking for a challenge in the design research area and to be part of a centre of innovation that is impacting clients all over the world – with genuine strategic impact, where your insights direct products used in life‑critical settings globally.

Benefits

- Permanent contract.
- Competitive salary with an annual job performance appraisal.
- Hybrid working model – you can work from home or enjoy our studio with free coffee and a garden.
- Dynamic community of more than 15 nationalities and team‑building activities.
- Access to Nacar Academy training program and personalized career paths.
- 26 paid vacation days.
- Monthly allowance for internet costs and a budget for working‑from‑home materials.
- Health insurance.
- Flexible working hours.
- Free tickets for the local market.

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📌 Principal Researcher (Barcelona)
🏢 Nacardesign
📍 Barcelona