Associate Director of Product Research

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How to Apply

A cover letter and resume are important submissions for the hiring team to get a sense of your experience. In the cover letter, in two pages or less, please let us know how this role aligns with your career aspirations and skill set. Submit both a cover letter and resume as one file (because of system limitations).

Who We Are

Through curricular innovation, tools for student success, and educational research and analytics, the University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation is building the future of education. Our vision is a future in which education connects and empowers learners everywhere to reach their full potential throughout their lives. To realize our vision, we make it our mission to collaborate across campus and around the world to create equitable, lifelong educational opportunities for learners everywhere.

About Online Learning at CAI

The Online Learning domain within CAI consists of multiple teams that collaborate with others across the Center and University to develop online learning experiences that support the future of education for a global community. We work with faculty and academic unit leaders to envision how they can expand their reach and effectiveness, grow teaching, and support greater access and lifelong learning through the design of integrated online learning experiences. Our teams focus on the following areas:

• Strategic sourcing of new opportunities for online learning;
• Supporting growth of the Michigan Online ecosystem;
• Providing program management services throughout degree program development and operations;
• Supporting end-to-end development of online learning experiences, including design management, learning experience design, and iteration of learning experiences after they have launched;
• Supporting learners' success and engagement in live courses and programs.

For more information, please visit our website: Center for Academic Innovation.

Responsibilities*

Product & UX Research Strategy and Leadership

• Define and lead the product research strategy and roadmap for Michigan Online, proactively identifying research opportunities and aligning priorities with organizational goals.
• Lead the team's translation of research findings into actionable recommendations that inform product direction, learning design, media design, operational improvements, user experience design, and content strategy
• Guide research approaches related to emerging areas, including AI-enabled learning design and new online learning product models
• Define and oversee user- and learner-centered research sampling strategies and participant incentive structures to ensure insights are representative of Michigan Online's global learner population

Research Operations, Governance, and Integration

• Serve as institutional contact liaison for research conducted in partnership with internal and external entities
• Establish and oversee research operations, governance, and methodological standards, ensuring compliance with IRB requirements, FERPA, ethical research practices, and institutional policies.
• Partner with Data and Business Intelligence (DBI) to align qualitative research insights with quantitative analytics, enabling integrated analysis of learner behavior and experience
• Develop feedback loops and shared roadmaps with DBI to support triangulation of data and deeper learner insights

Cross-Functional Research Application and Insight Generation

• Collaborate with Marketing and Market Strategy, Business Intelligence, Operations, Program Management, and other cross-functional teams to integrate learner, market, and organizational insights into strategic planning, product development, and portfolio decisions.
• Lead research initiatives that evaluate learner experiences, outcomes, and long-term impact across diverse learner populations, leveraging qualitative and quantitative methods to generate actionable insights.
• Assess emerging opportunities, market trends, competitive landscapes, and innovations in online learning to inform product strategy, learner experience design, and portfolio growth.
• Translate research findings into clear, evidence-based recommendations that support decisions related to product direction, program effectiveness, learner success, operational models, and organizational priorities.
• Establish mechanisms for sharing and applying research insights across CAI, ensuring that research consistently informs decision-making and continuous improvement throughout the Michigan Online portfolio.

Leadership and Team Management

• Supervise and develop a team of product and UX researchers, providing clear direction, mentorship, and performance management
• Align team capacity and skillsets with organizational research priorities
• Ensure high-quality research outputs and timely delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and strategically aligned research culture
• Serve as a key decision-maker for research prioritization, approach, and execution, escalating only high-risk or institutionally sensitive matters

What You'll Do

The Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) at the University of Michigan is seeking a qualified Associate Director of Product Research to lead the strategic direction, coordination, and execution of product and user experience research across the Michigan Online portfolio. In this role, reporting to the Director of Content and Product Strategy, you will oversee the product research function, ensuring that research efforts are aligned with organizational priorities and directly inform decision-making across platform strategy, learning experience design, content development, operations, and emerging product innovation. You will partner closely with Data, Business Intelligence, Marketing and Market Strategy, and cross-functional Online Learning teams to integrate qualitative and quantitative insights, enabling a holistic understanding of the end-to-end learner journey. You will supervise a team of researchers, establish research priorities and workflows, and ensure that research outputs are actionable, timely, and aligned with CAI's strategic goals.

Required Qualifications*

• Doctoral degree in education, information science, human-computer interaction, learning sciences, social sciences, or a related field.
• Five or more years of experience leading research teams and research strategy in complex, cross-functional organizations.
• Significant experience conducting product, user experience, or applied research for digital products, online learning environments, or related fields.
• Expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods research, including research design, interviews, surveys, and program evaluation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of research governance, including IRB processes, FERPA requirements, ethical research practices, and human subjects protections.
• Experience integrating qualitative and quantitative data to generate actionable insights and inform strategic decision-making.
• Proven ability to communicate research findings and recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Experience collaborating with product, design, marketing, analytics, and operational teams to inform product and organizational strategy.
• Experience conducting research in online learning, higher education, EdTech, workforce development, or related learning environments.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate learner experiences, outcomes, and long-term impact across diverse learner populations.
• Familiarity with emerging technologies and AI-enabled tools relevant to research, learning, and product development.
• Strong communication, leadership, and project management skills, with the ability to balance strategic thinking and operational execution.

Modes of Work

The work requirements allow both onsite and offsite work and an employee has an expected recurring onsite presence. On occasion, the employee may be required and must be available to work onsite more frequently if necessitated by unit leadership or their designee and/or the job requirements.

Additional Information

Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the United States.

The mode of work for this position is Hybrid with a minimum of 4 days in the office per week, Monday through Thursday, with an option of remote work on Fridays. On occasion, you may be required and must be available to work onsite on Fridays if necessitated by our center's policy and domain leadership or by your job requirements.

The salary for this position will be based upon the selected candidate's education and experience.

We support the creative, responsible, and ethical use of AI tools to enhance our work, in alignment with institutional policies and best practices.

Excellent benefits are available, for details, see http://benefits.umich.edu/

Organizational Statement on Harassment

We believe all individuals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and have the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes mutual respect and a safe space for collaboration. Any concerns shared with any staff members and student employees in the Center for Academic Innovation will be reported to the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office to be reviewed and addressed, and the Center for Academic Innovation encourages reporting of any forms of harassment including sexual and gender-based harassment.

Salary Information

The general salary range for this position is $110,000 - $120,000. Candidates can expect to be paid a competitive and equitable salary. Factors used to determine salary include education level, experience, knowledge and skills for the position and salaries that are currently established within the unit. All candidates are encouraged to discuss salary questions to honor alignment and transparency throughout the recruiting process.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

Decision Making Process

Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period and continue until the position is filled.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.