Design & Research Operations Associate

Role: Design & Research Operations Associate Location: Abu Dhabi Role Purpose: The Design & Research Ops Associate supports the smooth running of the design and research function, ensuring teams have the tools, systems, and processes they need to do their best work. This is an entry-level role, ideal for a recent graduate eager to build a career in design operations. The associate helps maintain design systems and research repositories, coordinates the logistics of user research, organizes documentation, and supports the day-to-day operational tasks that keep design and research activities organized, consistent, and efficient. Key Responsibilities: Recruit, screen, and schedule research participants, managing consent forms, incentives, and follow-up communications. Maintain and organise the team’s research repository so insights, recordings, and reports are easy to find and reuse. Manage design and UX research tools — licenses, subscriptions, user access, and onboarding/offboarding of team members. Coordinate the logistics of user research sessions, including booking rooms or video calls, preparing equipment, and setting up testing tools. Maintain participant databases and panels, keeping records accurate, compliant, and up to date. Track and triage incoming design and research requests, routing them to the right people and monitoring turnaround times. Maintain documentation, templates, and standard operating procedures that keep design and research workflows running smoothly. Technical knowledge and skills: Comfortable using everyday productivity tools such as Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Strong organisational skills with attention to detail and accuracy. Good written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic is an advantage. A genuine interest in design, research, and digital products and how they are created. A proactive, can-do attitude and eagerness to learn new tools and ways of working. Able to work collaboratively as part of a team. Any exposure to design or prototyping tools (e.g., Figma) is a plus, but not required — full training and support will be provided.

Technical knowledge and skills: Comfortable using everyday productivity tools such as Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Strong organisational skills with attention to detail and accuracy. Good written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic is an advantage. A genuine interest in design, research, and digital products and how they are created. A proactive, can-do attitude and eagerness to learn new tools and ways of working. Able to work collaboratively as part of a team. Any exposure to design or prototyping tools (e.g., Figma) is a plus, but not required — full training and support will be provided.

Recruit, screen, and schedule research participants, managing consent forms, incentives, and follow-up communications. Maintain and organise the team’s research repository so insights, recordings, and reports are easy to find and reuse. Manage design and UX research tools — licenses, subscriptions, user access, and onboarding/offboarding of team members. Coordinate the logistics of user research sessions, including booking rooms or video calls, preparing equipment, and setting up testing tools. Maintain participant databases and panels, keeping records accurate, compliant, and up to date. Track and triage incoming design and research requests, routing them to the right people and monitoring turnaround times. Maintain documentation, templates, and standard operating procedures that keep design and research workflows running smoothly.