EDR Research Manager (Chicago Hybrid)

Company Overview

​At Motorola Solutions, we believe that everything starts with our people. We’re a global close-knit community, united by the relentless pursuit to help keep people safer everywhere. Our critical communications, video security and command center technologies support public safety agencies and enterprises alike, enabling the coordination that’s critical for safer communities, safer schools, safer hospitals and safer businesses. Connect with a career that matters, and help us build a safer future.

Department OverviewOur cross-functional Experience Design and Research team consists of Industrial Design, UI/UX, Design Research, and Human Factors practitioners who design for diverse and challenging markets. Each of these core capabilities contributes within a user-centered design process to leverage our advanced wireless communications, cloud & mobile applications, video, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to envision a new generation of life-changing – and life-saving – products, applications and services. We are user-focused and outcome-driven, identifying problems and creating solutions based on research and engagement with our customers.
Job Description

Our world is changing faster than ever with increasing ambiguity, and speed. We know the value of good research and design in helping our users adapt to these changing conditions, making them safer and more efficient than ever. Our primary customer base includes Public Safety, Enterprise, and Business, with products including portable and mobile communication and data devices.

As a User Research Manager, you will lead and inspire a team of researchers dedicated to solving complex user challenges. You will be responsible for driving critical insights to the design team, transforming deep user understanding into meaningful and impactful experiences.

You will guide your team with a strong foundation in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, mentoring them in the observation of user behavior and the evaluation of system performance across diverse roles, tasks, and environments. A key part of your role will be to foster the team's growth, providing leadership on both project execution and long-term career development.

In this highly collaborative role, you will partner closely with our global Design, Product Management, and Engineering teams. Together, you will investigate user needs, behaviors, and workflows, using the resulting insights to envision and validate new solutions that exemplify sound, user-centered design practices.

***Must include portfolio, personal website, or work samples demonstrating user-centered research experience to be considered for the position***

Recent examples from Motorola:

• M500 In-Car Video System

• SVX and Assist

• Vehicle Manager System (LPR Portfolio)

• Avigilon Unity Portfolio

• Avigilon Alta Portfolio

Scope of responsibilities:

• Direct Research Strategy & Planning: Lead the creation of rigorous test plans and research materials to measure user and team performance across our portfolio of public safety and commercial products.

• Shape User Understanding: Oversee the development and refinement of user profiles, personas, workflows, and scenarios, ensuring they accurately reflect user constraints and contexts.

• Lead Research Execution & Communication: Drive the entire research lifecycle, from project kickoff to leading compelling research readout sessions with key stakeholders and executives.

• Influence Product & Design: Act as a key strategic partner in the design process, providing expert guidance on core UI/UX principles and ensuring user needs are central to all concepts.

• Translate Insights into Action: Champion the communication of research findings across the organization, translating complex data into everything from rich, narrative-driven stories to clear, measurable design specifications.

Desired Skills/Experience:

• Research Leadership: Proven experience planning and leading end-to-end research projects, from rapid usability studies to long-term, complex strategic initiatives.

• Influential Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex data into persuasive user stories and actionable insights for design, product, and leadership teams.

• AI Experience Evaluation: Deep expertise in developing and applying novel methods to assess the usability, utility, and ethical implications of AI-powered features in user-facing applications.

• AI-Assisted Synthesis: Experience leveraging AI tools to synthesize large-scale qualitative data, uncovering deep insights and identifying new opportunities for innovation.

• Predictive Insights & Strategy: The ability to interpret AI-driven predictions about user behavior and translate them into proactive, data-informed customer experience (CX) strategies.

Soft Skills:

• User Advocacy & Empathy: A deep-seated passion for understanding user needs, with the ability to champion a user-centered perspective and instill that empathy across the entire team.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to build strong, effective partnerships with a wide range of disciplines, including UX/UI design, product management, and engineering, to drive cohesive product development.

• Strategic & Systems Thinking: An innate capacity to grasp complex systems, workflows, and technical challenges, while maintaining a clear vision of the big-picture user journey and business objectives.

• Cultural & Contextual Awareness: A rich appreciation for diverse cultures and end-user work practices, ensuring research and design solutions are globally relevant and contextually appropriate.

Technical Skills:

• Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) & Research Repositories: Mastery of tools designed to synthesize qualitative data and build a scalable research repository. This is critical for managing insights across a team and demonstrating long-term value. Examples: Dovetail, Condens, EnjoyHQ, etc

Target Base Salary Range: $86,500 USD - $173,000 USD

Consistent with Motorola Solutions values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Pay within this range varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate.

Note: Candidate must be in the Chicago office 1-2 times per week.

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#LI-HYBRD

Basic Requirements

• Bachelors Degree with 5+ years of research experience

• AND 2+ years of leadership experience

Travel RequirementsUnder 10%
Relocation ProvidedNone
Position TypeExperienced
Referral Payment PlanNo

Our U.S. Benefits include:

• Incentive Bonus Plans
• Medical, Dental, Vision benefits
• 401K
• 10 Paid Holidays
• Generous Paid Time Off Packages
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Paid Parental & Family Leave
• and more!

EEO Statement

Motorola Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally-protected characteristic. 

We are proud of our people-first and community-focused culture, empowering every Motorolan to be their most authentic self and to do their best work to deliver on the promise of a safer world. If you’d like to join our team but feel that you don’t quite meet all of the preferred skills, we’d still love to hear why you think you’d be a great addition to our team.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruiting experience for candidates with disabilities, or other physical or mental health conditions. To request an accommodation, please complete this Reasonable Accommodations Form so we can assist you.