Kikoff: A FinTech Unicorn Powering Financial Progress with AI
At Kikoff, our mission is to provide radically affordable financial tools to help consumers achieve financial security. We're a profitable, high growth FinTech unicorn serving millions of people, many of whom are building credit or navigating life paycheck to paycheck. With innovative technology and AI, we simplify credit building, reduce debt, and expand access to financial opportunities to those who need them the most. Founded in 2019, Kikoff is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by top-tier VC investors and NBA star Stephen Curry.

Why Kikoff:

This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.

About the Role

We are looking for a scrappy and resourceful User Experience Researcher to join our fast-moving team. In this role, you will work side by side with product managers, designers, and engineers to uncover what really matters to our customers - fast. Your research will directly shape how we build and iterate, ensuring our products deliver true value to customers. This is a 3-month contract role with the potential to make an outsized impact on both product direction and customer experience, and may lead to either extended contract or a full-time role depending on performance.

What you’ll do

• Run lean, high-impact studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys, analytics, etc.).

• Get scrappy with data—dig into Amplitude, session replays, and other signals to surface friction points and opportunities in critical user journeys.

• Turn insights into actions by synthesizing findings into sharp, digestible recommendations that drive product decisions.

• Partner closely with design and product teams to move quickly from insight → design → test → iterate.

• Champion the user by bringing their voice into product conversations.

• Help shape our research toolkit and playbook as we scale, introducing scrappy best practices that work for a fast-moving startup.
  

What we’re looking for

Required:

• Hands-on experience conducting user research in industry (not just academia).

• Strong working knowledge in qualitative and quantitative research methods.

• Strong storytelling and communication skills—you can distill complex findings into crisp insights that drive actions.

• Comfortable working lean and fast in a startup environment, with incomplete data and evolving priorities.
  

Nice-to-have:

• Experience working with consumer-facing digital products, particularly web or mobile applications.

• Comfort with research tools (e.g., usertesting.com, Figma, qualtrics, etc.).
  

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.