Product Researcher
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About this role
The Product Researcher plays a critical role in identifying and advancing new product opportunities through direct customer engagement, field-based research, workflow observation, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. This role focuses on understanding how tradespeople work, how tools are used in real-world environments, and where unmet needs, inefficiencies, frustrations, or opportunities exist within trade workflows.
The ideal candidate is comfortable engaging with people in the trades, observing tools and processes in use, asking thoughtful questions, and quickly making sense of complex or unfamiliar work environments. This individual is curious, collaborative, and able to translate customer behaviors, jobsite observations, and research findings into clear direction for product, engineering, industrial design, marketing, sales, and go-to-market teams.
This role requires strong project ownership. The Product Researcher will lead research initiatives from scoping through execution, synthesis, and stakeholder alignment. The successful candidate is comfortable working through ambiguity, adapting as new information emerges, challenging assumptions with evidence, and helping move projects forward with urgency and a win-as-a-team mindset.
Emerson’s global Professional Tools business is an equal opportunity employer, offering the broadest portfolio of reliable tools and technologies for those working in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades! With unparalleled expertise from RIDGID, Greenlee, and Klauke, we deliver trusted products to handle the industries’ toughest challenges.
- Lead end-to-end research projects supporting new product development, from planning and execution through synthesis and stakeholder alignment.
- Conduct field research, customer interviews, jobsite observations, and workflow analysis to uncover customer needs, pain points, and opportunities.
- Translate research findings into actionable recommendations that inform product, engineering, industrial design, marketing, and sales decisions.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to define research objectives, evaluate concepts, and support product development decisions.
- Design and execute qualitative and quantitative research to validate assumptions, evaluate opportunities, and guide product strategy.
- Manage research timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables to ensure projects progress efficiently and insights are delivered when needed.
- Develop and share research tools, templates, and best practices that strengthen research capabilities across the organization.
- Mentor and advise teammates and business partners on research planning, customer interviewing, field observation, research synthesis, and insight communication.
You are naturally curious and motivated to understand how customers work, what challenges they face, and where better solutions may exist. You are comfortable talking with tradespeople, observing tools in use, and asking questions that uncover practical needs, pain points, and opportunities.
You can take unclear or loosely defined business questions and turn them into structured research plans, workflows, and actionable outputs. You are flexible when project needs change, but you are also willing to challenge assumptions and push teams to make decisions based on evidence. You communicate clearly across functions and levels, build trust with stakeholders, and create a team-first environment that helps others move faster and make more confident product decisions.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as Marketing, Business, Engineering, Human Factors, Design Research, Psychology, Anthropology, Industrial Design, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience conducting customer, product, user, design, market, or business research through professional experience, internships, academic projects, or equivalent applied work.
- Experience or strong aptitude for conducting qualitative research, including interviews, observation, field research, contextual inquiry, or workflow analysis.
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to ask effective questions, listen actively, synthesize information, and present findings clearly.
- Ability to translate customer needs, pain points, and observed behaviors into actionable product insights and recommendations.
- Collaborative mindset with a willingness to support team goals, build trust across functions, and contribute to shared success.
- Strong organizational and project management skills.
- Ability to travel for customer visits, field research, and jobsite observations.
- Legal authorization to work in the United States - sponsorship will not be provided for this role.
- 3+ years of experience in product, customer, user, or design research.
- Experience working with contractors, tradespeople, technicians, or industrial customers.
- Familiarity with professional tools, construction environments, or physical product development.
- Experience supporting new product development and collaborating with product, engineering, and design teams.
At Emerson, we prioritize a workplace where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to grow. We foster an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives—because we know that great ideas come from great teams. Our commitment to ongoing career development and growing an inclusive culture ensures you have the support to thrive. Whether through mentorship, training, or leadership opportunities, we invest in your success so you can make a lasting impact. We believe diverse teams, working together are key to driving growth and delivering business results.
We recognize the importance of employee wellbeing. We prioritize providing flexible, competitive benefits plans to meet you and your family’s physical, mental, financial, and social needs. We provide a variety of medical insurance plans, with dental and vision coverage, Employee Assistance Program, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, employee resource groups, recognition, and much more. Our culture offers flexible time off plans, including paid parental leave (maternal and paternal), vacation and holiday leave.
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