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 general 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

📌 Principal Researcher (Barcelona)
🏢 Nacardesign
📍 Barcelona