Why UX Research Might Need a Different Org Chart

Monday I shared a prototype job description for a future Applied Researcher. (Link in comments.) 83 reactions. 8 reposts. 2 actual job applications. For a role that doesn't exist yet.

That response told me something. People aren't just curious about the title. They're hungry for a different way to think about where research lives in an organization.

So let's go one level up. Because if the role changes, the org chart changes too.

• Slide 1: One common structure today. Research buried two levels down, reporting through a CPO. Functional silos with execution layers underneath.

• Slide 2: A more radical model. Research doesn't disappear. It evolves into Applied Research Strategy. A peer function sitting directly alongside Product Strategy, Experience Design, and Data Science. All reporting to the CEO.

No CPO. No standalone Head of Research.

This is a hypothesis, not a roadmap.

But if AI compresses execution work, the differentiator becomes strategic framing and decision shaping. Not delivery.

So the real question isn't "what do we call this role?" It's: where does this capability sit in the organization?

Curious to hear reactions, especially from current Heads of Research, CPOs, and VPs of Design who've lived inside these structures.