JOB DESCRIPTION: CONSUMER RESEARCH | HUMAN FACTORS SPECIALIST

US

d.light design is hiring a consumer research and human factors specialist to research and synthesize deep consumer, market, and distribution insights which can be developed into meaningful products & services.  This position will report directly to the CEO-India and operates out of our new headquarters in Noida.  The candidate must also be ready to join a rapidly growing startup and tackle multiple responsibilities, including product design, brainstorming, managing office logistics, and performing admin support as needed.

This is an incredible opportunity to work with a high growth Silicon Valley social enterprise funded by both US and Indian investors including Mahindra & Mahindra, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Acumen Fund, Nexus India Capital, Gray Matters Capital and Garage Technology Ventures.  Our goal is simple – to eradicate kerosene lanterns from the face of the earth.  To do this we will become the market leader in delivering safe and affordable lighting solutions to over 1.6 billion people who currently do not have access to electricity.  Our initial focus is India, where we will provide modern lighting to the 78 million families still using kerosene lanterns.

YOU

You are a self-starter.  You can formulate and execute research plans independently, and you are able to offer creative solutions to problems.  You are curious, patient and eager to spend multiple weeks at a time in rural & semi-urban UP, MP, Bihar, etc. sleeping in villages houses, building relationships and learning about our customer’s needs through observations, interviews and spending quality time experiencing their lifestyle.  You are outgoing, have a hands-on prototyping mindset, and you are comfortable with brainstorming multiple solutions and ideas with teammates. You are adaptive and excited to join a start-up, and willing to take on a myriad of roles, which will initially include coordinating logistics, setting up our design office and assisting the CEO.  Most importantly, you are a budding social entrepreneur, with the desire to empower the underserved and positively impact the lives of others.  These are the things that drive you through the long hours of work and extensive travel required.  Your role is to:

RESEARCH & ANALYZE

• Spend days and weeks interviewing and observing rural and semi-urban customers in order to build empathy and understand their true needs & context, i.e. needfinding
• Organize customer research data & draw insights and build frameworks from which d.light will make strategic & product design decisions
• Extensively research current market space, including competitor products, electronics & consumer goods markets, and rural & base-of-the-pyramid markets
• Spend quality time with multiple members of d.light’s supply chain in order to draw insights and innovate on d.light’s processes
• Actively prototype viable product & service ideas, packaging, instruction manuals, and marketing strategies in order to gain insights and develop strategies
• Synthesize customer data and effectively communicate insights and research summaries clearly to d.light team via powerpoint, creative visuals & diagrams, prototypes, emails/teleconferences, etc.
• Offer design advice and guidance as the leading ‘Customer Expert’

MANAGE & COORDINATE (until Office Manager is recruited)

• Organize & supervise day-to-day administrative activities for the CEO.  Take charge of IT related issues & challenges.
• Provide logistics support especially travel & accommodation

QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree; Engineering and/or social sciences degrees a bonus
• Hindi & English fluency required, other north Indian languages a bonus
• General know-how of Indian business procedures.  Extensive familiarity with Delhi/Noida a bonus
• Strong communication skills:
  • Able to communicate respectfully with rural customers
  • Able to properly coordinate & communicate with local & international businesses
  • Able to clearly present research findings via written and visual documentation to d.light team
• 2-3 years consumer product/customer/market research
• Engineering, Product Design, Graphic Design, and Web experience a bonus

COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with experience.  The Human Factors Specialist position is an integral part of creating our India team and product portfolio and will have a competitive salary. 

INTERVIEWS

You will favorably impress us by contacting India@dlightdesign.com and including your CV and either:

A description of a project where you used the human-centered design process to bring something new to the world—especially as it relates to product design.

OR

Your response to this exercise: Find an environment where you can watch people who you believe are earning less than Rs. 150 per day going through daily life (such as a park, a restaurant, a transit station or vehicle, etc.)  Spend time observing activities and interactions, documenting what you notice (in photos or diagrams for instance) and share with us your thoughts about how people’s experiences there could be enhanced, and what resulting opportunities there might be for a viable market offering.

Following successful phone interviews, Erica Estrada (Product Engineer and VP Customer Research) will conduct personal interviews in Noida.