The Neuroscience, HCI & Cognitive Research Lead is a high-level, senior individual contributor (IC) role designed for an expert who bridges the gap between cognitive neuroscience, quantitative Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and high-density interface design.
Instead of managing people, you will lead the scientific and interaction strategy for the Doodle product ecosystem. Your goal is to systematically decode how humans perceive time, experience decision fatigue during group time coordination, and interact with automated time-creation systems. You will turn hard cognitive metrics into concrete design principles that our product and UX teams can execute immediately.
1. Strategic Research Leadership
Establish and track quantitative cognitive KPIs to measure interaction quality across all core workflows.
Embed behavioral evaluation frameworks directly into the quarterly product roadmap prioritization process.
Identify and mitigate behavioral and cognitive risks in product feature specs before they reach engineering development.
2. Applied Neuroscience & Cognitive Research
Design and execute rigorous experiments evaluating user attention allocation, interruption costs, and information processing limits.
Conduct deep-dive research into temporal cognition, which is how users psychologically process time, waiting periods, and availability synchronization.
Translate neuro-cognitive theories of habit formation and collective coordination into practical product loops.
3. HCI & High-Density Interface Design
Analyze and optimize complex, high-density time coordination interfaces to minimize visual noise and cognitive friction.
Develop clear, neuroscience-informed guidelines for font hierarchy, information chunking, and layout structures that reduce user anxiety during high-stakes availability matching.
Evaluate the psychological boundaries of Human-AI interaction, focusing on building appropriate user trust, transparency, and control in automated time-creation flows.
4. Interaction & Systems Thinking
Map holistic user attention flows across asynchronous digital ecosystems, looking beyond single-page sessions to understand multi-day coordination loops.
Diagnose systemic cognitive bottlenecks in complex B2B group time-creation journeys.
Predict and measure the downstream psychological effects of notifications, alerts, and calendar interruptions on user focus.
5. Organizational Research Enablement
Run targeted workshops and continuous coaching sessions for Product Managers (PMs) and Product Designers to upgrade internal literacy in behavioral economics and HCI principles.
Build a reusable, centralized repository of cognitive design patterns, validation checklists, and experimental frameworks.
Scale evidence-based product development by teaching teams how to run quick, statistically valid A/B behavioral checks.
6. Long-Term Innovation Research
Craft early, visionary interaction prototypes utilizing AI tools to rapidly simulate underlying logic, test behavioral hypotheses, and represent complex systemic ideas.
Anticipate the future of asynchronous alignment by exploring next-generation paradigms: ambient computing, voice/natural language coordination, and zero-UI predictive automation.
Build foundational mental models for how users will collaborate as AI agents increasingly handle automated time creation on their behalf.
7. Product Strategy & Business Impact
Align user cognitive comfort directly with core B2B business metrics, proving how reduced decision fatigue drives increased user retention, higher conversion rates, and lower churn.
Synthesize complex academic and experimental data into crisp, highly commercial briefs for executive leadership to steer long-term portfolio investments.
To illustrate the expected depth of this role, you will architect and execute research initiatives addressing multi-layered cognitive and behavioral friction points:
Scenario A: Structural Complexity and Working Memory Constraints in Collective Alignment
The Problem: Multi-party, multi-layered time coordination inherently scales cognitive friction due to the high volume of asynchronous variables processed simultaneously. When interaction systems fail to account for biological limits on visual working memory, users experience rapid cognitive fatigue, stalling the time-creation lifecycle.
Your Scope: You will architect advanced, non-invasive experimental protocols to evaluate how distinct information architecture patterns tax human processing capacity. Your role is to define the fundamental cognitive thresholds that govern complex data visualization in coordination systems, equipping our core design and engineering teams with the foundational interaction rules needed to prevent cognitive overload.
Scenario B: Dynamic Calibration of Intent and Automation in AI-Mediated Systems
The Problem: The shifting frontier of intelligent, predictive systems introduces a fundamental human-machine friction point: balancing user intent with autonomous system execution. In structural time creation, poor calibration of this boundary triggers either hyper-vigilant friction (due to low trust) or systemic errors (due to automation complacency).
Your Scope: You will design systemic Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) evaluation methodologies to study user agency across varying levels of automated coordination. By mapping how changes in interface responsiveness, information transparency, and state-sharing affect user mental models, you will establish the baseline psychological criteria required for humans to seamlessly co-operate with autonomous agents.
Years of Experience & Environments
7 to 12+ years of post-qualification experience as an applied researcher, product strategist, or interaction architect.
Must have a proven track record operating within fast-paced commercial digital product companies (SaaS, B2B/B2C productivity tools, collaboration platforms, or high-velocity tech labs).
Note: Purely academic profiles or individuals who have only worked in traditional UX agency settings will not have the required product exposure for this role.
Technical & Scientific Maturity
Educational Depth: Master’s or PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Cognitive Science, Behavioral Economics, or Experimental/Computational Psychology.
Methodological Mastery: Deep expertise in advanced experimental design, statistical analysis, quantitative usability testing, eye-tracking methodologies, cognitive load testing, and longitudinal behavioral studies.
The Blueprint Balance: You possess the scientific maturity to know when to demand strict academic rigor and when to optimize for rapid tech-product velocity.
Autonomy & Product Exposure
100% Autonomous Execution: This is a senior IC role. You do not need a manager to scope your projects, build your test environments, or interpret your data. You own the cognitive research roadmap end-to-end.
Deep Design & Product Fluency: You speak the native language of product squads. You can effortlessly jump into a Figma file with a Principal Product Designer to critique layout density, sit with a PM to redefine a feature's conversion funnel, or sync with a Data Scientist on behavioral telemetry tracking.
Expected Outcomes & Measurable Metrics
Success in this role will not be judged by the number of research papers written, but by the tangible improvement of our user experience and product metrics:
Product Performance: Measurable reduction in user drop-off rates and time-to-completion within high-density time creation workflows.
Cognitive Efficiency: Lowered subjective and objective cognitive friction indexes across core user journeys, verified through continuous panel testing.
Design Velocity: Creation of a finalized, adopted "Doodle Cognitive Design Manual" used daily by product design teams to ship interfaces that respect human attention.
Strategic Moat: Development of proprietary, defensible behavioral frameworks around how humans coordinate time, positioning Doodle as the definitive global thought leader in the evolution of interaction system design.
At Doodle, we’re committed to providing an environment of mutual trust and respect, where equal employment opportunities (EEO) are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to age, race, color, disability, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Diversity and inclusion are of utmost importance to us. We’re committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work and our products will be. We want to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to apply!We look forward to receiving your full application.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that we can only consider your application if you are based and have the right to work in Germany. At this time, we are unable to sponsor visa for this position or support with relocation.
