Senior UX Researcher · Open to new roles
I'm a mixed-method researcher who turns everyday user behavior into opportunities that shape product roadmaps. I build scalable research processes, run centralized research repositories, and lead studies that uncover unmet needs.
Kris brings a genuinely great attitude to his work every day. No matter how much is on his plate, he shows up positive, focused, and ready to tackle whatever is needed. He regularly juggles multiple studies at once, while maintaining strong rigor, clear process, and high-quality outputs. His work has had real impact, helping drive several important initiatives forward by delivering thoughtful, well-structured insights that stakeholders trust and act on.
Kris made UXR so much easier for me personally. I used to avoid testing because it was cumbersome. I got much more comfortable testing even the small things while working with Kris and I’ll be forever grateful.
Just because Kris makes research look effortless, does not mean the work and consistency he brings to the team are easy! He is proactive, thoughtful, and thorough every step of the way. He sets an amazing example juggling stakeholders and building trust every day. All of this, he does with a great attitude and a personality that makes me excited to log on every day and be his colleague! Kris' work and attitude is the glue that keeps the UXR team running like a well-oiled machine.
I recently had the opportunity to partner with Kris on a customer support usability test, and he went above and beyond expectations! I truly appreciate his passion for advocating for our members and ensuring their voices are represented in every step of the process. His findings and insights were the missing puzzle piece to the feedback we’ve been tracking since the migration to the new platform and brought clarity and alignment that will help drive meaningful improvements.
Kris, the Researcher who I usually respond to research requests for, is quite excellent.
Selected work
Each case study covers the problem, my role, the methods I chose and why, and what changed because of the research.
Nearly 70% of users who entered a credit card feature left before the final page. Research traced it to the wrong cards being displayed with no good way to fix them. Engineering fixed the data problem, drop-off improved, and card editing was added.
Prior to a product launch, research showed that a new product would not give users more value than they already receive elsewhere. Product and development work was cancelled, likely saving months of time and effort.
Users long asked to import their insurance policy, and a prototype delivered it. After launch, forgotten logins and 1-5+ minute waits caused abandonment. Stakeholders observed the delays and worked to fix them.
Users ignored a loan-offer personalization carousel. Four research methods in two weeks narrowed many designs to one that was twice as effective in an A/B test. 78,000+ users have since completed it.
How I work
Every project starts with one question to stakeholders: what are you trying to learn? The answer decides the method. Open any method to see what it is and when I choose it.
I also use AI to organize evidence, surface patterns, and make past research easier to find. I treat its output as a first pass and check it against the source evidence before it becomes a finding.
Does this design work for users?
Live sessions where users think aloud as they use a prototype or product, with follow-up questions on what I observe.
I reach for it when we need to understand why users struggle, not just where.
Users complete tasks on their own time while their screens and voices are recorded.
I reach for it when the questions are focused and we need answers within days.
Running usability sessions on a competitor's product to learn what works and what frustrates users.
I reach for it when we're entering a market and don't have our own product to test yet.
Can users see it and find it?
Predicts where users look on a screen, giving objective data on what captures attention first.
I reach for it when design elements don't appear to stand out.
Shows where users click first when given a task, a strong signal for findability.
I reach for it when a key entry point needs to stand out on a busy page.
Reveals what users notice and remember in the first five seconds of seeing a design.
I reach for it when a page has to communicate its value at a glance.
Finds where users get stuck looking for information or finishing a task because the navigation is unclear.
I reach for it when users land in the wrong place or drop off mid-flow.
How do users think it should work?
Compares design options to confirm which one aligns with what users prefer, and why.
I reach for it when a team is split between two directions.
Qualitative questions about how users perceive specific design decisions.
I reach for it when we want reactions from more users than sessions allow.
Users group and label information in ways that make sense to them, revealing their mental models.
I reach for it when content is being reorganized or new sections are added.
Checks how well a site or app's structure matches how users expect to find things.
I reach for it when a new structure needs validating before any design is built.
How do findings reach decisions?
Short reels of real users that bring their voices straight into stakeholder discussions.
I reach for it when a finding needs to change a plan. Watching users struggle persuades more than my summary.
Every session goes into Condens, tagged with a shared library of 250+ tags, so findings can be found and reused.
I reach for it when a stakeholder's question may already be answered by past research.
Dynamic journey maps show where users struggle, and product teams can file Jira tickets straight from a pain point.
I reach for it when a problem spans several steps or teams, like registration abandonment.
How I move faster without losing rigor
First-pass highlight summaries, grouped observations, and questions across sessions in Condens.
I reach for it when I'm working through many sessions and want a starting point to check against the recordings.
Tools like Outset and Great Question run interviews and tests without a live moderator.
I reach for it when the questions are well defined and we need speed or breadth.
AI-assisted search, including Condens in Slack, lets stakeholders find past evidence without needing a researcher to retrieve it. This roughly saved 20 minutes per request.
I reach for it when a question may already be answered by past research.
Workflow skills that my team developed review transcripts and recordings, propose potential findings, draft reports, assemble highlight reels, and check findings against source evidence, with researcher review built in.
I reach for it when a study needs to move faster and the evidence can be checked at each step.
AI helps synthesize reviews and compare existing experiences.
I reach for it when we need landscape context before or alongside primary research.
An AI theme or summary is never a final finding. I check it against the evidence, look for contradictions, and use the study context to decide what it means. AI-generated statements aren't participant evidence, and automated checks are never the only basis for approving a report. Participant information is handled before AI processing, and identifying details stay out of shared outputs.
Moderated usability studies moved from roughly 3–4 weeks to 1.5–2 weeks, and competitive and secondary research from 2–3 days to about one day.
About
I’m a loving husband and a dad to my daughter, and most of my time away from work goes to them: cooking, hiking, and traveling. I’ve been to 31 countries and plan to reach at least 50. I’m also a Cleveland Cavaliers and Guardians season ticket holder and a 9-time fantasy football champion, with a soft spot for music and good TV. My favorite coworker is my dog, Piper.
Teammates would describe me as friendly and caring, a calm presence in the room.
My career started in 2012, as the team researcher on a Kraft Foods project in a grad school product design studio. After several years in agency market research, a General Assembly course led me to UX research in 2018. At Hyland Software, I ran B2B research with users across government, finance, higher education, and healthcare. At Experian, I led B2C research for the Marketplace, Insurance, Emerging Verticals, and Customer Support teams, advocating for users on their path to better financial health.
What I love most is the moment research becomes personal: sitting down one-on-one with the people who use my companies’ products, observing their challenges, and letting their voices be heard. I’m looking for a role where I can keep being a bright spot in my users’ days and keep making an impact in their lives.
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