Research Operations & Enablement Manager

As Figma continues to grow, the volume and complexity of user research activities are increasing. The Research team is looking for a Research Operations & Enablement Manager to streamline and scale our research practices, enabling our researchers to focus on delivering impactful insights.

This role will be critical in implementing standardized frameworks, efficient workflows, and scalable processes to support the team’s success. By building systems that ensure consistency and quality across research activities, this position will empower Figma to generate insights that drive customer-centered product development at scale.

This is a full time role that can be held from one of our US hubs or remotely in the United States.

What you’ll do at Figma:

• Streamline Research Operations: Develop and manage scalable workflows for participant recruiting, incentive management, and research project tracking.

• Support Tools and Resources: Oversee the research tooling stack, ensuring tools like Sprig, Great Question, and Snowflake are effectively maintained and optimized for team use.

• Enable Research Teams: Partner with researchers to provide operational support, including managing participant recruitment and incentives, enabling them to focus on delivering impactful insights.

• Foster Research Excellence: Maintain high operational standards through effective documentation, knowledge sharing, and process improvement.

• Manage Budgets and Vendors: Own the research operations budget, including vendor negotiations, renewals, and procurement processes.

• Drive Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product, design, and engineering teams to align research needs with organizational goals and priorities.

We'd love to hear from you if you have:

• 5+ years of experience in research operations, program management, or a similar role, preferably in a SaaS or tech environment.

• Expertise in participant recruitment, including sourcing, screening, scheduling, and managing participant databases with privacy compliance.

• Strong process optimization and scaling skills, with experience developing efficient workflows, documentation, and knowledge-sharing systems.

• Familiarity with research tools like User Interviews, Great Question, Sprig, or Snowflake, along with vendor management experience.

• Excellent organizational and stakeholder management skills to work cross-functionally with researchers, designers, PMs, and engineers.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to create self-service resources, training materials, and frameworks to enable teams to conduct effective research.

While not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:

• Experience managing research budgets, handling vendor negotiations, and streamlining procurement processes.

• Knowledge of mixed-methods research and how research operations can support different methodologies.

• Previous experience in a scaling organization where research operations evolved alongside business growth.

• Basic knowledge of SQL, Python, or automation tools to improve research operations efficiency.

• Experience in UX design or product development, with an understanding of design and product workflows to better align research operations with business needs.

• Understanding of research ethics, participant data management, and compliance requirements such as GDPR and CCPA.

At Figma, one of our values is Grow as you go. We believe in hiring smart, curious people who are excited to learn and develop their skills. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with the points outlined in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.