About Rafeeq

Rafeeq is a fast-growing on-demand marketplace operating across Qatar — connecting buyers, sellers, and delivery couriers in real time. We're building a platform that works for a diverse, multicultural audience in one of the world's most dynamic markets. Our success depends on deeply understanding the people who use our product — and designing experiences they actually love.

The Role

We're looking for a Senior UX Researcher to be the first dedicated researcher at Rafeeq. You'll build our research practice from scratch — and make it the foundation of how we make product decisions.

This is a high-ownership role where you'll:

Conduct research across the full spectrum of methods — from generative discovery to evaluative testing
Build and maintain a living knowledge base of user insights
Scale research culture across the product and design teams
Embed qualitative discovery into how we work — sprints, roadmaps, and strategy alike
Be the voice of the user in every important conversation

You'll work hand-in-hand with the product and design teams and report directly to the Head of Product.

What You'll Do

Discovery & User Research

Plan and run research: Conduct in-depth interviews, usability tests, diary studies, card sorting, Jobs-to-be-Done sessions, and contextual inquiry — with buyers, sellers, and other platform participants
Go beyond sessions: Use surveys, analytics, heatmaps, and session replays to complement qualitative findings with quantitative signal
Cover both sides of the marketplace: Understand the needs, motivations, and pain points of both buyers and merchant-sellers — they often have conflicting goals
Bridge time zones and cultures: Run remote research over Zoom as your primary mode, with periodic travel to Qatar for immersive field research and in-person interviews

Research Operations & Knowledge Management

Build the repository: Design and own a living, structured knowledge base — not a folder of old decks, but an actual system where insights are tagged, searchable, linked to product areas, and regularly refreshed. This is one of your most important deliverables.
Keep it alive: Establish a clear process for adding new research, retiring outdated findings, and surfacing relevant insights when the team needs them — so the knowledge base becomes a habit, not a graveyard
Define research standards: Create templates, screeners, consent flows, and documentation practices so research is consistent and replicable regardless of who runs it
Pick the right tools: Assess and introduce tools for recruiting, note-taking, synthesis, and knowledge sharing — we don't have a preset stack, we want you to own the decision
Track what we don't know: Maintain an open questions log and flag knowledge gaps to the product team proactively

Discovery Process & Culture

Co-design discovery with product and design leadership: Work closely with the Head of Product and Head of Design to define what good discovery looks like at Rafeeq — what questions we ask before building, what evidence we need, how research plugs into sprints and roadmap cycles
Make discovery a team habit: Train PMs and designers to run lightweight research themselves — interviews, assumption tests, prototype feedback — so research scales beyond one person
Embed research into the rhythm: Ensure discovery is built into how the team works, not bolted on at the end. Help establish recurring touchpoints — research reviews, insight shares, discovery sprints
Champion the user in the room: When the team debates priorities or solutions, be the one who brings the evidence — and the one who flags when we're building on assumptions instead of data
Make insights actionable: Translate research into formats the team actually uses — opportunity maps, user need statements, design principles — not just reports that get filed away

What We're Looking For

Required:

3+ years of experience as a UX Researcher or User Researcher in a product company
Proficiency in a wide range of research methods — both qualitative (interviews, usability testing, ethnography) and quantitative (surveys, tree testing, first-click studies)
Experience operating as a solo or founding researcher — you've built processes, not just followed them
Strong ability to synthesize complex findings into clear, prioritized, actionable insights
Excellent communication skills in English — written and verbal; you can speak to engineers, designers, and executives equally well
Experience running remote research sessions effectively — recruiting, moderation, synthesis
Comfort working in fast-moving environments with short iteration cycles

Strongly Preferred:

Experience in e-commerce, marketplace, or foodtech — understanding two-sided platforms is a big plus
Experience building or scaling a research repository or knowledge base
Ability to facilitate workshops and teach research methods to non-researchers
Exposure to diverse or multicultural user audiences, or research in emerging markets
Experience connecting qualitative findings with quantitative data (analytics, funnels, surveys)
Familiarity with product discovery frameworks (Continuous Discovery, JTBD, Double Diamond)

Nice to Have:

Arabic language skills — even conversational level opens doors in the Qatari market
Experience with MENA or GCC audiences
Background in B2B or seller-facing research
Contributions to the UX research community (talks, writing, mentorship)

Why Join Rafeeq?

🔬 Build from zero: You'll be the first researcher — which means you design the practice, choose the tools, and set the culture. Rare opportunity to own this entirely.

🤝 Real product influence: Research at Rafeeq isn't a checkbox — it's how we decide what to build. You'll be in the room when roadmap decisions are made.

🌍 Fascinating market: Qatar is a high-density, multicultural, fast-adopting market. Researching it is genuinely interesting — and the insights don't exist in any playbook yet.

🎯 Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with product and design teams who actually want your input — not just your reports.

💰 Competitive compensation: Market-rate salary in USD

⚡ Remote-first: Work from anywhere, travel to Qatar periodically for field research

🚀 Room to grow: As we scale, you'll have the opportunity to build and lead a research team

Hiring Process

Application Review: HR screens applications — quick initial response
Intro Call: 30-minute conversation with the Head of Product about your background and approach
Team Interview: Deeper discussion with product and design leads — we'll talk about how you've worked in the past and how you think about research
Final Interview: Covering research philosophy, collaboration style, and how you'd build the practice here
Offer: Fast turnaround — typically 2–3 weeks from application to offer

We move quickly for strong candidates. International talent is very welcome.

What Success Looks Like — First 90 Days

Understand the users: Complete at least 10–15 exploratory interviews with buyers and sellers; document key mental models and friction points
Audit what we know: Map existing research, data, and assumptions — identify the biggest gaps and open questions
Launch the knowledge base: Design and ship the first version of the research repository; establish the process for keeping it alive and useful over time
Co-design discovery with leadership: Work with the Head of Product and Head of Design to agree on what discovery looks like at Rafeeq — cadence, triggers, how research connects to roadmap decisions
Run the first discovery cycle: Partner with a PM on an active initiative — from problem framing through insight delivery
Establish research presence: Hold a team research readout; run one internal workshop to get designers and PMs doing lightweight research themselves
Propose the toolkit: Evaluate and recommend the research toolstack — from recruiting to synthesis to knowledge management

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