Posted May 13, 2026
*Notice to applicants:
We have seen a rise in recruitment scams. Please note that outreach from Khan Academy recruiters will only come from the @khanacademy.org domain. Our team does not use Gmail or other personal accounts for contacting potential candidates. Khan Academy will never solicit money, equipment fees, or sensitive financial information at any stage of the hiring process. We also do not work with external recruiting agencies, so outreach from headhunters presenting opportunities on behalf of Khan Academy is illegitimate. Please always check the email domain and cross-reference the position with the official Khan Academy Careers page to confirm an opening is valid.*
ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY
Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission to deliver a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Our proven learning platform offers free, high-quality supplemental learning content and practice that cover Pre-K - 12th grade and early college core academic subjects, focusing on math and science. We have over 181 million registered learners globally and are committed to improving learning outcomes for students worldwide, focusing on learners in historically under-resourced communities. OUR COMMUNITY
Our students, teachers, and parents come from all walks of life, and so do we. Our team includes people from academia, traditional/non-traditional education, big tech companies, and tiny startups. We hire great people from diverse backgrounds and experiences because it makes our company stronger. We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as necessary to achieve our mission and impact the communities we serve. We know that transforming education starts in-house with learning about ourselves and our colleagues. We strive to be world-class in investing in our people and commit to developing you as a professional. THE ROLE
We’re looking for a Staff UX Researcher to join our Design team. The heart of this role is not just conducting research, but building the high-performance engine that powers user understanding across our entire product. You will be the architect of our "People Who Do Research" (PWDR) program, empowering our Design team to conduct their own tactical research while you provide the methodological rigor, technical guardrails, and strategic oversight. We are looking for an expert who can lead our transition into AI-enhanced research operations—acting as the essential "Human-in-the-Loop" to ensure that as we accelerate our workflows, our insights remain grounded, ethical, and highly actionable. You will play a vital role in scaling our impact, serving as a coach and consultant to product teams as they navigate the complexities of U.S. school districts. By building the playbooks and knowledge systems that turn raw data into institutional wisdom, you will help us fulfill the mission of the organization: to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. WHAT YOU’LL DO
WHAT YOU BRING
Mastery of research methods and rigor: 12+ years of UX research experience in complex enterprise software or SaaS environments. You have a deep command of the craft that allows you to spot flaws in research design or AI-generated summaries. - Coaching skills: Proven experience in mentorship, coaching, or building "Research Ops" programs. You find as much professional fulfillment in enabling others to do great as you do in conducting the research yourself. - Responsible AI fluency: Deep technical curiosity regarding GenAI and LLMs, with a practical understanding of their limitations. You know how to leverage AI for speed while acting as the ultimate guardrail for quality and ethics. - Operational architecture: A track record of building scalable systems, templates, and workflows that have successfully improved the velocity and quality of a design organization. - Design and product fluency: A sophisticated understanding of the product development lifecycle (PDLC) and software development lifecycle (SDLC), enabling you to integrate research checkpoints into the existing workflows of designers and engineers seamlessly. - Communication and influence: Exceptional communication skills and "executive presence," with the ability to convince cross-functional leaders of the value of democratized (yet governed) research. - Motivated by the Khan Academy mission “to provide a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere."
Proven cross-cultural competency skills demonstrating self-awareness, awareness of other, and the ability to adopt inclusive perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors to drive inclusion and belonging throughout the organization. Qualities we value in ourselves, and those who join our team:
Introspective, mature, low-ego, and emotionally intelligent
Growth mindset, willingness to learn and to teach others
Proactively seek out the people and info you need to move work forward and unblock yourself
High comfort level working within a strong top-down product vision led by our CEO, Sal Khan
Able to balance the immediate tactical needs of helping deliver and ship features with scouting ahead for what’s next
Comfortable with ever-shifting priorities and ambiguous situations, like you’d experience in a startup
Willing to roll your sleeves up and pitch in when a project goes off-script
Excited about education and engaging learning experiences, deeply curious about how and why people learn
NOTE: Submitting a portfolio with your application is required. We're looking for a portfolio that highlights the parts of your background and experience that are relevant to the job description. Applications without a portfolio link or attachment (plus password if required) will not be considered.
PERKS AND BENEFITS
We may be a non-profit, but we reward our talented team extremely well! We offer:
At Khan Academy we are committed to fair and equitable compensation practices, the well-being of our employees, and our Khan community. This belief is why we have built out a robust Total Rewards package that includes competitive base salaries, and extensive benefits and perks to support physical, mental, and financial well-being. The compensation band for this role is $152,908 - $172,022 USD annually for candidates based in the United States and $206,626 - $232,455 CAD annually for candidates based in Canada. The pay range for this position is a general guideline only. The salary offered will depend on internal pay equity and the candidate’s relevant skills, experience, qualifications, and job market data. ### OUR COMPANY VALUES
Live & breathe learners
We deeply understand and empathize with our users. We leverage user insights, research, and experience to build content, products, services, and experiences that our users trust and love. Our success is defined by the success of our learners and educators. Take a stand
As a company, we have conviction in our aspirational point of view of how education will evolve. The work we do is in service to moving towards that point of view. However, we also listen, learn and flex in the face of new data, and commit to evolving this point of view as the industry and our users evolve. Embrace diverse perspectives
We are a diverse community. We seek out and embrace a diversity of voices, perspectives and life experiences leading to stronger, more inclusive teams and better outcomes. As individuals, we are committed to bringing up tough topics and leaning into different points of view with curiosity. We actively listen, learn and collaborate to gain a shared understanding. When a decision is made, we commit to moving forward as a united team. Work responsibly and sustainably
We understand that achieving our audacious mission is a marathon, so we set realistic timelines and we focus on delivery that also links to the bigger picture. As a non-profit, we are supported by the generosity of donors as well as strategic partners, and understand our responsibility to our finite resources. We spend every dollar as though it were our own. We are responsible for the impact we have on the world and to each other. We ensure our team and company stay healthy and financially sustainable. Bring out the joy
We are committed to making learning a joyful process. This informs what we build for our users and the culture we co-create with our teammates, partners and donors. Cultivate learning mindset
We believe in the power of growth for learners and for ourselves. We constantly learn and teach to improve our offerings, ourselves, and our organization. We learn from our mistakes and aren’t afraid to fail. We don't let past failures or successes stop us from taking future bold action and achieving our goals. Deliver wow
We insist on high standards and deliver delightful, effective end-to-end experiences that our users can rely on. We choose to focus on fewer things — each of which aligns to our ambitious vision — so we can deliver high-quality experiences that accelerate positive measurable learning with our strategic partners. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.As part of this commitment, Khan Academy will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contactcareers@khanacademy.org*
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