Lead user research for a generative AI platform used by a UK government department. Plan and conduct qualitative and quantitative research across product phases, investigate trust and comprehension of AI outputs, validate human-in-the-loop workflows, synthesize findings, support GOV.UK service assessments, and collaborate with product, design, and engineering teams in secure, regulated environments.
Overview
We are seeking an experienced Senior User Researcher to lead research activities for a
Generative AI platform for a UK government department. This role focuses on understanding
how internal government users work today, how they perceive and trust AI-assisted outputs,
and how the platform can be designed to support safe, effective, human-in-the-loop
decision-making — while meeting GOV.UK Service Standard expectations for user research.
Key Responsibilities
Research Strategy & Planning
Define and own the user research plan across discovery, alpha, beta, and live phases,
ensuring research activities are timed to inform key product and design decisions rather than
validate them after the fact.
Understanding Trust & AI Interaction
Conduct research to understand how internal government users interpret, trust, and act on
AI-generated answers, retrieval sources, and confidence indicators, surfacing risks around
over-reliance, misunderstanding, or mistrust of AI outputs.
Research Execution
Plan and conduct a range of research activities — including interviews, contextual inquiry,
usability testing, and diary studies — with civil servants and other internal government users,
recruiting participants in line with government research standards and data handling policies.
Human-in-the-Loop Validation
Test and validate that human-in-the-loop checkpoints and escalation flows (as defined by
policy/technical leads) are understood and usable by real users — an execution and
validation role, not a policy-setting one.
Synthesis & amp; Insight Sharing
Synthesise research findings into clear, actionable insights for Product, UX, and
Engineering teams, and present findings to senior stakeholders in a way that supports
evidence-based decision-making.
Service Assessment Support
Prepare and present user research evidence for GOV.UK service assessments
(Alpha/Beta/Live), ensuring research practices and outputs meet the Service Standard's
evidentiary requirements.
Documentation & Handover
Contribute research findings, methodologies, and participant insights to "Docs-as-Code"
artifacts supporting the OKUA knowledge-transfer framework, so future teams understand
the evidence behind design and product decisions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Work closely with UX Designers, Product Managers, and Engineers to ensure research
findings directly inform design iterations, evaluation criteria, and roadmap prioritisation.
Required Skills & Experience
● Demonstrable experience as a User Researcher on complex, digital products, ideally
involving data-heavy or AI-assisted systems
● Strong grounding in a range of qualitative (and ideally quantitative) research
methods: interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiry, surveys
● Experience researching trust, transparency, and comprehension issues in software
presenting automated or algorithmic outputs
● Experience recruiting and conducting research with government or otherwise
sensitive/regulated user groups, following appropriate ethical and data protection
standards
● Practical experience with GOV.UK Service Standard research expectations and
preparing evidence for service assessments
● Strong synthesis and communication skills, able to translate research into clear
recommendations for varied audiences (designers, engineers, senior stakeholders)
● Comfortable working within secure, regulated environments and handling sensitive
data appropriately
Desirable Experience
● Direct experience researching LLM/RAG-based products, chatbots, or other AI-
assisted decision-making tools
● Experience delivering digital services within UK central government or the wider
public sector
● Experience designing or evaluating human-in-the-loop or escalation workflows
● Familiarity with accessibility research methods and inclusive design principles
● Exposure to research repositories, tooling, or open-source UX research communities
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