Director, User Insights

Hi, we’re DuckDuckGo, the Internet privacy company for everyone who wants to take back their privacy now. For over a decade, we’ve been building our all-in-one product, developing new privacy technology, and working with policymakers to make online privacy simple and accessible for all.

Our browsers and extensions have been downloaded over 250 million times with our built-in private search engine, which has delivered over 100 billion searches and is the 2nd largest search engine on mobile in the United States and 17 other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland, and Spain. Our private search engine is also 3rd in market share in the U.S. and over 20 major markets. Oh, and we’ve been profitable since 2014, with annual revenue exceeding $100 million!

The DuckDuckGo browser’s uniquely comprehensive privacy protections are used by tens of millions of people to protect their everyday online activities on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, from searching to browsing, emailing, and more. We also offer Privacy Pro, a three-in-one subscription service that includes a VPN, Personal Information Removal, and Identity Theft Restoration.

We’re looking for a Director, User Insights to help shape our all-in-one privacy solution and join our mission to show the world that protecting your privacy online can be simple.

The Opportunity

As a Director on the User Insights team, you’ll be at the forefront of our effort to scale user research and our data-informed approach to decision-making. You will lead high-complexity projects involving cross-functional teams to shape everything from upcoming product features and current user experience to our brand positioning and insights.

You’ll have a voice in our highest impact product decisions and lead projects that scale across millions of users. You’ll identify problems impacting our product and brand goals, work with others to define and test against evolving success criteria and market landscapes, and ensure that product and brand decisions are grounded in qualitative and quantitative data.

You will coach and mentor talented and high-performing team members, advancing their functional expertise and career growth while deepening your knowledge of their key strengths to delegate resources across all product areas. You’ll help the team maintain consistent output and efficient workflows, as well as guide them to carry out rewarding and impactful work.

What You Will Bring to DuckDuckGo

• 10+ years of experience in research related roles, with 4+ years in relevant leadership-level positions (e.g., Director, Principal) at significant global consumer brands.
• Expertise leading high complexity, cross-functional research initiatives, with a strong understanding of both user-centered design and broader market research.
• You’re a proactive coordinator, working with other leaders to identify, scope, and prioritize research projects that support upcoming roadmaps and long-term planning, and collaborating with product owners to establish measurable success criteria and reduce discrepancies in data analysis.
• Ability to advise User Insights team projects across multiple product areas to drive strategic alignment from research.
• Proven organizational and leadership skills, with experience mentoring teams and driving accountability.
• Expertise in presenting research findings in a concise, written format that recommend follow-up projects and drive decisions.
• Expertise running high-complexity quantitative research, namely survey questionnaires, end-to-end.
• Expertise in hands-on qualitative research skills, like executing diary studies, in-depth interviews, and usability testing.
• Mindset focused on creating impact within a flat organization rather than leading through hierarchy.
• Experience using research to shape product roadmaps, feature development, and marketing strategies while prioritizing privacy, accessibility, and usability.
• Ability to define best practices to help the team evolve and scale, such as leveraging data analysis plans and efficient insights collection and distribution.

How We Will Support You

Our core values — build trust, question assumptions, and validate direction — underpin how we work day-to-day and the support we give our team members. We strive to empower our team members to be self-directed and self-motivated in their work.

• Remote First, Always: We’ve always been a fully distributed company with team members all over the world. We trust you to get your work done wherever, and whenever.
• Commitment to Personal Growth: Every team member has an annual budget of $1,250 USD to invest in their professional development. For team members in designated leadership roles, we offer reimbursement for leadership coaching services. The reimbursement amount varies by professional level. Every team member also has a dedicated Career Advisor, who serves as a guide to help you develop your strengths, identify your motivations, and understand your opportunities for growth.
• Leadership: We have many different types of leaders and possible combinations of leadership roles, so you can grow your career in a way that aligns best with your personal goals. You can seek additional leadership roles by being directly responsible for projects, taking ownership of areas of the company, developing and maintaining internal processes, or pursuing advisory roles.
• Work/Life Balance: Team members have the freedom and flexibility to organize their own work schedules. We want you to thrive both in and out of the office. We trust you to use good judgment and take the time off that you need to bring your best self to work.

We also offer paid parental leave, a co-working stipend, office setup reimbursement, and a wellness stipend. More support resources can be found in our Team Member Support Guide, which explains how we make your well-being a priority.

For more information on how we collaborate worldwide, from leadership in our relatively flat organization to start-to-finish ownership, check out DuckDuckGo Culture: How We Work.

Compensation

Annual compensation for this role is $243,800 USD plus stock options. Compensation is the same within a professional level, regardless of geographic location or functional area, and the compensation for each professional level is transparent across the organization.

Hiring Process

Hiring works best when it’s a two-way street. Learn how we help you get to know DuckDuckGo and envision your future role here. Find out more about how we hire.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants, and it prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by our policies or federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to [email protected] to let us know the nature of your request.

If you think you might thrive in this environment, we would love to hear from you.

Please note that:

• Sometimes we meet up! Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While extenuating circumstances may impact attendance, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.
• While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.
• A successful candidate will be subject to a background check and must receive satisfactory results of the same, as a condition of joining the team.
• By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.