Electronic Arts

Player Experience (PX) transforms player voices into actionable insights that shape better games. As Director, Research Operations, you will lead the operational backbone that makes player-led research predictable, fast, scalable, and trusted across EA’s global portfolio.

This role manages the systems, partners, labs, and programs that power our research at scale. You will lead a globally distributed Research Operations organization, manage our vendor relationships and ensure that every study, across every franchise, reaches the right players and delivers impact on time.

This role enables EA’s growth by connecting teams to new players, markets, and platforms. It owns the strategy and execution of EA’s playtesting ecosystem—spanning methods, mediums, and scale—to ensure we reach players faster, smarter, and with greater impact.

What You’ll Do

Research Program & Project Management

• Lead the operational delivery of research programs from intake through execution and delivery.

• Standardize project workflows, timelines, and resourcing to reduce friction and increase throughput.

• Partner closely with Research, Data, and Studios to prioritize work and ensure on-time, high-impact delivery.

Vendor Management

• Own EA’s global research vendor ecosystem, ensuring the right partners are used for the right research needs.

• Stay deeply informed on the vendor landscape and emerging capabilities to guide smart, future-ready choices.

• Pilot new vendors, tools, and approaches to assess quality, speed, scalability, and player experience before scaling.

Player Recruitment & Global Labs

• Define and deliver a global strategy for player recruitment and lab operations that ensures fast access to the right players and consistently high-quality research execution.

• Ensure global playtest labs are operationally excellent: scalable, compliant, well-staffed, and optimized for speed, reliability, and insight quality.

• Build and evolve recruitment pipelines, panels, and processes to reduce time-to-recruit while improving player fit and diversity.

• Continuously improve lab workflows, tooling, and standards to meet the pace and demands of modern game development.

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in Research Operations, UX Operations, or Research Program Management.

• 5+ years leading managers or large, multi-layered global teams.

• Proven, hands-on expertise in:

  • Research program and project management

  • Participant and player recruitment at scale

  • Playtest lab and field operations

• Strong operational judgment with the ability to design systems that scale.

• Clear, confident communicator who can articulate operational value, influence stakeholders, and demonstrate ROI.

• A passion for games and player-centred development.