Principal Researcher - Agentforce Platform

Description The Agentforce Experience team focuses on products and experiences that enable our customers to have seamless, streamlined, and scalable platforms that power their businesses. We support product strategy, user experience, and customer success across core infrastructure and services, data, integration, AI, and analytics to redefine the future of enterprise software and evolve the way we work.

We are seeking a Principal Researcher who can distill complex problems into insights that inform product, design, development, and business decisions. The ideal candidate will have domain expertise in AI and data platforms — think unstructured data and metadata processing, AI guardrails and governance, Agent building and observability, and API management and integrations. This role will work cross-functionally across highly technical teams, helping to root strategy in action; manage collaborative efforts across multiple research initiatives; and focusing on customer value above all else. At bare minimum, we require familiarity with enterprise software, particularly “as-a-service,” and its evolving personas (Admins, Developers, Data Engineers, BI, IT, CIOs, CDOs). Experience with enterprise AI adoption, data solutions and integration capabilities, along with advanced competency across mixed research methods, will be a value add.

Sound like you? Then you're someone we want to work with. Join our amazing team and you'll get to work with some of the best and brightest. You'll find startup-like scrum teams, consumer-style innovation, and the opportunity to deliver great experiences to millions of end-users. And, by the way, you’ll work for a company that has been named – 10 years running – in Fortune 100 Top Places to work.

Your Impact

• Scope and drive full research initiatives, including planning, developing, and executing studies, managing stakeholders, triangulating data, and translating insights into actions
• Proactively partner with senior management across cross-functional teams, including product, design, engineering, and customer success to identify and advocate for product strategy rooted in data and customer insights
• Conduct strategic, generative, and evaluative research using the appropriate mix of research methods, from large-scale survey design to in-depth interviews
• Synthesize research findings into actionable insights by creating narratives to frame problems and highlight the business value of recommended solutions
• Work on fast-paced and oftentimes ambiguous projects and programs, requiring attention to detail and working within constrained timelines, by staying true to scope and focusing on end goals and outcomes
• Contribute back to the broader Research & Insights organization through mentorship, cultivating and teaching craft and methodology, and facilitating deep collaboration across individuals and teams

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of experience conducting research in product research, user research, or other technology contexts
• Advanced understanding of research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and best practices, and familiarity with a broad range of user research tools
• Excellent project management, communication, storytelling, and presentation skills
• Advanced understanding in survey methodologies and tools (i.e. MaxDiff, Conjoints, segmentation, advanced analytics, SPSS, R)
• Proven track record influencing product direction and strategy with actionable insights
• Ability to plan, design, execute and communicate both strategic and tactical research engagements
• Ability to structure and lead internal and external workshops and analyze the outcomes to provide insight for stakeholders
• Experience working in cross-functional teams (e.g. customer success, solution architects, design, product management, engineering, marketing)
• University degree in a research- or business-focused discipline or in a field emphasizing human behavior (e.g., Psychology, Anthropology, HCI, Business, Research Methodology, Experimental Design, Design Research)
• Please provide 1-2 case studies of research projects you led. Please redact or anonymize any proprietary data, company names, or specific product features to comply with existing NDAs. We are most interested in your methodology, stakeholder management, and how your insights influenced product strategy.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.