Lead Product Researcher

Tokyo
Remote OK - Worldwide
Full-time
July 11, 2024

Are You Looking...

To make meaningful changes at the fastest-growing tech company in Japan?
For a fair, highly flexible, inclusive working environment where anyone, regardless of their background, can make an impact?
To build the next bold idea in customer acquisition and revenue growth through conversational commerce technology
For a place where things are not just fast - but they happen now?

We Are Zeals - “Designing conversations. Driving conversions.”

Zeals is not another chatbot. Our automated chat solution and conversational technology change how consumers purchase or act online. Zeals converts customers who appear "unengaged" to become "valuable" through designed chat on Messaging Apps. Using AI-powered, human-designed conversation flows across chat platforms, Zeals enables brands to build personalized, automated conversations with their consumers and develop a deeper understanding of their preferences while creating a delightful, seamless shopping experience. Our last 3 years have been phenomenal. We have captured the heart of many businesses in Japan, with over 480 enterprises relying on our chat commerce offering to boost their mobile business.

The goal is simple: to “revolutionize hospitality on the Internet” by unlocking digital customer service experiences that were limited to physical stores previously.

Just Getting Started…

With more than 480 enterprise companies worldwide already utilizing our product, we are perfectly poised to seize market share and fuel exponential growth in the US market, with an eye on global expansion. Investors have taken note of our potential, leading us to recently secure nearly $40 million in funding, backed by Salesforce Ventures.

Your Typical Day With Us

As a Lead Product Researcher at Zeals, you will play a pivotal role in advancing our research capabilities and shaping the user experience of our products. You will focus on high-level research strategy, mentorship, and research operations, guiding our research and UX teams toward greater efficiency, innovation, and impact. Additionally, you will be expected to actively participate in some research projects, applying your expertise to generate actionable insights and contribute hands-on to the research process.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

Lead and actively participate in research projects, applying your expertise to generate actionable insights and contribute hands-on to the research process.
Collaborate closely with product designers, product managers, and other research associates to establish and prioritize research initiatives that enhance user experiences and drive business growth.
Drive the evolution and consistency of our research methodologies and practices across multiple products and features, ensuring the highest quality and alignment with business objectives.
Conduct market research to understand industry trends, market conditions, and identify potential opportunities for growth.
Perform competitive analysis to benchmark our products against competitors and identify areas for differentiation and improvement.
Develop comprehensive user research strategies and methodologies, including user segmentation studies, usability testing, and ethnographic studies.
Take ownership of strategic research initiatives, working closely with senior members of the product team to identify insights and opportunities that inform our product roadmap.
Assess and interpret business requirements to guide research strategy and methodology selection.
Empathize with and solve users’ needs and/or pain points through in-depth qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Establish the product team’s research and testing environment, including the selection and management of research tools and platforms.
Write and present compelling research findings and insights to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
Mentor and guide junior researchers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing research environment.

What You’ll Need

7+ years of experience in UX research or a related field, with a strong portfolio showcasing your strategic thinking, leadership, and impact on research operations.
Extensive experience in market research, including analysis of industry trends, market conditions, and competitive landscapes.
Deep understanding of research principles, methodologies, and best practices, with the ability to develop and implement research standards and processes at scale.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively engage and influence cross-functional stakeholders to drive research initiatives forward.
Experience working in an agile environment, with a demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects while meeting deadlines and business objectives.
Proficiency in research tools such as Hotjar and Maze is ideal, and familiarity with research operations tools for workflow management and optimization.
Fluent proficiency in both verbal and written English.
Ability to efficiently and effectively share research findings with the team and stakeholders.
Ability to translate end users’ narratives into actionable UX recommendations and documents.
Ability to formulate specific, answerable, and practical research questions.
Strong problem-solving mindset and analytical skills.
Familiarity with a broad array of research tools and methodologies.
Experience in managing development-related projects.
Experience working in an early-phase product team or experience launching one.
Experience with user testing, collecting reviews, research moderation, and facilitating workshops.
Robust portfolio or equivalent showcasing your research work and impact.

What Makes You Stand Out

Japanese language proficiency at a business or native level which allows you to liaise with our primarily Japan-based users
Understanding of cultural differences
Knowledge and experience in chatbots, AI, marketing, and SaaS products

Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

Zeals has received the LinkedIn Top Startups award twice in a row. We believe this is a testament to our growth and our ability to attract great talents–who could potentially be your colleagues!

Ready To Roll Up Our Sleeves

We obsess over bringing hospitality to everyone–be it our customers or you! You’re an individual with unique needs. So, while we can’t attract you with ping-pong tables or all-you-can-drink espresso bars, we promise you a once-in-a-lifetime experience and co-workers that you can brag about to your friends, family, or anyone you meet the next time you go out for a party! As an employer, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and change the status quo if it means to make your experience better!

Salary Range: competitive (performance review every 6 months)
Performance review: twice a year
Holidays: 10 days paid holidays during the first year, weekends off, national holidays, summer and winter break.
Visa support: We sponsor visas for the right candidates. You can expect full visa support from our professional HR team.
Education support: Udemy, Frontend Masters
Flexible working: Highly flexible, remote-first international organization

For Japan residents: Work from anywhere, interim work from overseas, full flex time

Housing allowance (within 1.5KM away from office)
Club activity allowance
Shuffle Lunch allowance (Cross department lunch)
Zeals Bar (bi-monthly free-flow beer party)

APPLY NOW ➜

About Zeals

The #1 Japanese Conversational Commerce Solution.

ZEALS is not another chatbot. They are the #1 Japanese conversational commerce solution. Using AI-powered, human-designed conversation flows across chat platforms, ZEALS enables brands to build personalized, automated conversations with their consumers and develop a deeper understanding of their preferences while creating a delightful, seamless shopping experience.

Phenomenal Growth
Having nearly doubled revenue YOY the last few years, targeting a 290B TAM, ZEALS benefits from a strong product market fit, clear ROI tied to their solution, and high customer retention rates. With over 480+ enterprise companies currently using their product globally, including well-known brands like L’Oreal and Nissan, ZEALS is well positioned to capture market share and drive exponential growth both in the Japan and US market as their next target region. Investors have taken notice – they raised nearly $40M and were backed by Salesforce Ventures in May of 2022, and they are planning to use these funds to continue their aggressive investment in both technology and people.

ZEALS is Revolutionizing Hospitality on the Internet
ZEALS enables consumers to purchase and reserve products via a well-designed conversational experience. The goal is simple: to “revolutionize hospitality on the Internet,” unlocking digital customer service experiences that used to be limited to physical stores previously. By allowing customers to converse about their purchase before making it, purchase rates are increased by about 5 times, driving a 9.6% average conversion rate across 1.5 million monthly active users. ZEALS’ service is widely adopted across verticals including ecommerce/DTC, travel, cosmetics, fitness and fintech.

Won LinkedIn Top Startups Award Twice in a Row
ZEALS has received the LinkedIn Top Startups award twice in a row. They believe this is a testament to their growth and ability to attract great talents–who could potentially be your colleagues!

Opportunities to Socialize
ZEALS provide a club activity allowance, a “shuffle lunch” allowance for having cross-departmental lunches, and ZEALS Bar, free flowing beer party.

Japanese Language Policy
At ZEALS, the product and technology team members primarily speak English (dev-related discussions happen in English on Github or Slack). There might be occasional discussions in Japanese, but most Slack messages are in English (or both languages).

As for meetings, all dev-related discussions take place in English. Given the above, Japanese skills are not required for most positions in the Product & Technology departments. However, one unique aspect of ZEALS’ culture is the desire to increase teamwork and engage with each other, which is why many Japanese members are working on their English skills while many non-Japanese members also work to improve their Japanese skills.

In order to build a truly global team, ZEALS has many multilingual members that proactively support the rest of the team to ensure smooth communications.

Even outside of the Product & Technology departments, all important company-wide announcements are made in both English and Japanese. For example, hiring announcements, new product launches etc. are generally announced in both Japanese and English.

Also, simultaneous interpretation for presentations at large meetings and events is provided to ensure that everyone gets the information they need.
Paid Leave
- All Japanese public holidays off
- 10 days of PTO (awarded 3 months after joining)
- Summer Holidays, Year-end Holidays, Childcare Leave, Congratulations/Bereavement Leave
Benefits
Here are some examples of the benefits which full-time employees can receive:

💻 Loaned Laptops

👩‍🏫 Udemy E-Learning Support & Frontend Masters🇯🇵 Translation Support (EN<>JP)

👶 Shorter Work Hours for Employees Taking Care of Children

👶 Parental Leave

👕 Flexible Dress Code

🏠 Rent Allowance

💜 Social Security / Insurance Benefits Included

🏥 Healthcare Insurance, Periodic Health Checks

💚 Pension Insurance

🚃 Commuter Reimbursement
Remote Work
Although ZEALS requires you to either be in or relocate to Japan, once you’re here, you can choose whether you work from home or in the office.
- Full-time employees in Japan can work from home or come to the office. Transportation reimbursement to and from the office is available and people living close to the office can receive a housing allowance.
- If you’re not based in Japan yet, you can work from overseas while we help you obtain a Japanese working visa.
Work style
ZEALS is flexible when it comes to working hours. They have core time from 1:00pm to 3:00pm JST, but otherwise you’re free to set up your day however you want to meet the monthly working hour requirements.
Values

FROM ZEAL

< Passion >
Good things come from giving it your all

BET ON PARADOX

< Unorthodox >
Never settle for the established norm

UNITED WILL

< Team >
Teamwork is the heart of achievement

Office

The ZEALS office is in the heart of Tokyo, situated in Meguro, near Gajoen, a famous hotel known for hospitality. You can work from the office at a desk as well as use small booths or meeting rooms. You can hook your laptop to large screens and sit in Ergohuman chairs. Lounge areas and standing tables are also available. Everyone is free to choose the work style that works best for them, either full-remote or in the office.