How to Cultivate a Resilient Research Career in the Age of AI

Senior UX Researcher at Made Tech

Natasha is a UX Researcher with over six years of experience across financial services, legal technology, and UK public-sector digital services. She recently worked at Santander UK, focusing on onboarding journeys, inclusive research practices, and strengthening research operations. Before that, she contributed to product development at LexisNexis and worked as a UX research consultant across several UK government departments. Earlier in her career, Natasha worked in information and communications at Oxfam — including time spent supporting programmes in a refugee camp — and held information specialist roles in both the NHS and Microsoft. These experiences shaped her evidence-led, grounded approach to research.

Outside of work, Natasha can usually be found planning her next trip, walking her dog Goose, playing drums, or doing Pilates and lifting weights, still trying — against all medical advice — to feel like a G6.

Design Researcher & Strategist at Thoughtworks

Raffaella Roviglioni is a design researcher and strategist with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of people, technology, and product innovation. With a scientific foundation and a long-standing passion for helping organisations understand real human behaviour, she now serves as Design Principal at Thoughtworks, where she partners with companies to build more human‑centered products and experiences.

Raffaella is the author of ‘Chi vuole cavalli più veloci?’ (Who wants faster horses?) — a book on mastering qualitative interviews and cultivating deep research intuition — and a recognized voice in the European UX community.

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Staff Researcher & Founder of the AIxUXR Community

Kaleb started his tech career as a Product Manager 20 years ago, before UX was a recognized field. Following his curiosity, he eventually moved into UX Research. Over the past 13 years, he has grown from a team of one to a Staff Researcher at Instacart, helping define the future of grocery and in-store technology.

When GPT-3 launched, the career he spent over a decade building felt suddenly at risk. In response, he founded the AIxUXR Discord community to foster healthy conversation and learning among researchers worldwide. Kaleb also partnered with User Interviews to create an AI in UXR 101 course, providing researchers with the fundamental skills to lead in this new era.

He believes the biggest threat to our craft isn’t automation—it’s atrophy. For researchers to thrive, we must design the future of our discipline intentionally.

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