Job Description

Ally and Your Career

Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that's more than some cliche people put on job postings. We live this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You're constantly evolving, so shouldn't your opportunities be, too?

The Opportunity

Customer centricity is part of our DNA at Ally. We are currently in search of a Sr. Usability Engineer who will devise and execute qualitative research studies that ensure successful business outcomes and delighted customers. You will work alongside a team of experienced, high-functioning Customer Experience (CX) and usability research professionals within the Digital Design group that supports all lines of business at Ally (Bank, Invest, Consumer Auto, Dealer, Mortgage).

* Convey what you learn in an engaging manner that will spark excitement and drive changes that will make the product/experience more successful.
* Build and maintain relationships and working agreements with both internal and external learners
* Contribute to the usability research practice at Ally. Collaborate with fellow researchers and research manager to share skills and elevate one another and the practice.
* To thrive in this role, you are the 1 advocate for the user / customer. Offering clear insights about the customer needs, behaviors, and product experience. You are a curious, active listener; self-directed, proactive, inventive and comfortable with fluid workdays.

The Work Itself

* Conduct the following types of research for desktop and mobile designs: qualitative formative, evaluative, generative, summative, usability research, one on one interviews, heuristic evaluations, online/in person research, secondary/competitive research, diary or ethnographic research
* Self-manage all the steps of the research process. Engage with business and UX design in an assigned product or experience scope to understand or uncover upcoming research needs and recommend appropriate approach and methods. Own all steps in the process from defining the goals of the research, defining the screening criteria for participants, writing screeners, writing discussion guides, when applicable - defining certain prototype needs, conducting research, analyzing research, reporting out on research. All steps would include collaborative review with partners.
* Collaborate with product and UX design partners to provide expertise on design and customer behavior.
* Understand the design and development road map for an assigned area and anticipate research needs.
* Communicate research results or summary points of view at all levels of the organization, tailoring the delivery to suit different audiences.
* Use both in-person lab-based research settings as well as online tools such as usertesting.com to conduct moderated or un-moderated research studies
* Understand and improve other sources of insights available to us from peer groups within Ally including market research, VOC, happiness and NPS programs, Brand research. Likewise, share your work with those teams and seek opportunities to connect dots.
* Understand and demonstrate performance data or customer segmentation data.
* On occasion: Provide inputs and participate in journey mapping related to your product or customer focus area. Provide inputs, assist in planning, assist with facilitation or participate in design thinking workshop, collaborative sessions related to your product or customer focus area.

The Skills You Bring

* Experience with qualitative research (formative, evaluative, generative, summative)
* Experience with usability testing with low fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes, one on one interviews, heuristic evaluations, online and in-person research, secondary/competitive research. Preferred diary study or ethnographic research
* Experience with in person lab-setting as well as online research tools such as Usertesting.com
* Experience with research on desktop and mobile design
* Experience with competitive evaluation, competitive documentation
* Preferred; Experience in financial services, experience organizing and leading design thinking sessions, experience with journey mapping
* 3+ years as a user research practitioner
* Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Human Computer Interaction/Science, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, Usability/Research preferred but will accept other related subject areas (Business, Communications, Writing) with certificate in UX, usability, user research

How We'll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. But Ally's total compensation -- or total rewards -- extends beyond your paycheck and is designed to support and enrich your personal and professional life, including:

* Time Away: competitive holiday and flexible paid-time-off, including time off for volunteering and voting.
* Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan and 529 educational assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, and other financial well-being programs.
* Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including dental and vision, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally and financially.
* Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy, and fertility support as well as parental and caregiver leave, back-up child and adult/elder day care program and child care discounts.
* Work-Life Integration: other benefits including LifeMatters Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers program and other employee discount programs.

Who We Are

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical or mental disabilities. For accommodation requests, email us at work@ally.com. Ally will not discriminate against any qualified individual who is capable of performing the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.