Product Researcher - EMEA - Remote

About Us At Pencil, we are driving innovation in advertising technology through our state-of-the-art SaaS product, which harnesses Generative AI to redefine content creation. Our mission is to make AI the default in advertising without replacing creative people. To achieve this, we need to make sure that our technology isn’t just in the hands of big brands - we need to try to help small businesses and creative individuals too.

As a Product Researcher at Pencil, your mission is to be the bridge between Generative AI and the humans who use it to scale their brands. You will live in the trenches with our clients, translating messy, real-world feedback into clear, actionable insights that shape the future of creative automation. You don’t just ask users what they want; you figure out what they need before they do. Beyond just extracting insights, you will nurture a community of ‘power users,’ ensuring they feel like partners in our innovation rather than just a data source.

Key Responsibilities

• User Discovery & Advocacy: Lead end-to-end research cycles, from recruiting participants to conducting deep dive interviews and usability tests to uncover the “why” behind user behavior.
• Continuous Feedback Loop: Manage day to day interactions with clients to capture granular feedback on new GenAI features, ensuring the product team is solving real pain points, not just shipping tech.
• Methodological Excellence: Select and apply the right research methods (e.g., diary studies, surveys, RITE testing) to provide high-quality insights for both routine updates and complex new assignments.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Managers and Engineers to turn research findings into creative solutions and product requirements.
• Process Evolution: Identify bottlenecks in how we gather feedback and suggest improvements to our research operations to help the team scale.
• Closed Loop Communication: Own the relationship with our most engaged superusers; proactively present “You Told Us, We Listened” updates to show how their feedback directly influenced the Pencil roadmap.
• Value Exchange Management: Design and execute ways to deliver value back to research participants - whether through early access to features, exclusive roadmap previews, or expert deep-dives into GenAI trends.

Your Background

• 3 - 5+ years in Product Research, UX Research, or a similar client-facing insight role, ideally within a SaaS or high-growth tech environment.
• AI Literacy: Strong experience with Generative AI and a deep understanding of how it impacts creative workflows.
• Independent Execution: Proven ability to manage multiple medium projects simultaneously with minimal oversight.
• Communication: Exceptional storytelling skills - you can take complex data and make it resonate with stakeholders across the company.
• Strategic Judgment: Ability to distinguish between one off feature requests, and systemic product opportunities.
• Technical Familiarity: Comfortable using modern research tools.

You’ll Thrive Here If You…

• You are an Owner: You don’t wait for a ticket to be assigned. You see a gap in our understanding of the user and you proactively go fill it.
• You keep it Simple: You can take the complex nature of GenAI and explain it to users in plain, fluff-free language.
• You move Fast: In the world of AI, a week is a lifetime. You prefer “good and quick” over “perfect and late,” iterating on the fly.
• You are Human: You build genuine, productive relationships with clients. You’re not just a data-gatherer; you’re an empathetic listener.
• You love the Surprising: You get excited when a user does something unexpected with our tool. You’re curious about the edge cases that lead to the next big breakthrough.

KPIs & Success Measures

• Insight Velocity: Average time from “User Conversation” to “Actionable Brief” delivered to the product team.
• Feature Adoption Rate: The percentage of users engaging with features that were built or refined based on your research.
• Research Impact Score: Stakeholder feedback on how effectively your insights influenced the product roadmap and reduced development rework.
• Client Satisfaction (NPS/CSAT): Qualitative feedback from interviewed clients regarding their feeling of being “heard” and seeing their input reflected in the tool.
• Superuser Retention/Engagement: Measuring the ongoing participation rate of our core feedback group.

Benefits

• 25 d…