Nicole Lupien
St. Petersburg,FL
Summary
Strategic, systems-thinking leader with extensive experience in UX research planning, customer insights, department orchestration, and cross-functional team alignment. Proven expert in building and scaling high-performing research and insights teams within Digital Customer Experience organizations. Highly skilled at acting as an internal consultant and trusted advisor to Product and Design leadership, bridging the gap between user insights and core business outcomes. Expert at translating complex application ecosystems into scalable research roadmaps that directly inform long-term digital strategies.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
UX Research Manager
National Grid
09.2024 - Current
- Consultative Advisory: Serve as an internal consultant and trusted advisor to Design leadership and Product Management peers, translating proactive research findings and user insights into actionable design decisions and product strategy.
- Department Orchestration: Manage the operations and strategic direction of the UXR function, shifting workflows into a foundational driver of the product development portfolio.
- Roadmap Prioritization: Direct and prioritize the research roadmap in lockstep with Product Management and Design leadership to synchronize user insights with business outcomes.
- Team Building: Lead, mentor, and scale a dedicated team of researchers, conducting detailed skills analyses and introducing structured professional classes to expand internal capabilities.
- Omnichannel Alignment: Orchestrate user experience and insight standards across all front-end customer touchpoints within the digital portfolio to ensure a unified and seamless experience.
Lead UX Researcher
National Grid
08.2022 - 09.2024
- Team Leadership: Acted as a player-coach, driving execution for high-priority UX initiatives as an individual contributor while managing 2 direct reports.
- Cross-Functional Partnering: Coordinated research efforts across multiple product teams, ensuring individual team outputs closely supported Product and Design requirements.
- Structured Mentorship: Mentored mid-level and junior researchers on refining their technical execution and structural rigor in qualitative inquiry and core user research.
- Portfolio Oversight: Managed the end-to-end research track for a suite of digital products, balancing immediate execution with long-term discovery across the portfolio.
Customer Experience (CX) Strategist
Allstate Insurance
01.2022 - 08.2022
- Leadership Integration: Serve as a core member of the Digital Customer Experience Leadership Team, partnering with cross-functional directors to build initiatives centered on service excellence.
- Ecosystem Strategy: Provide expert strategic guidance across complex customer journeys, defining standards for UX and user touchpoints to ensure a unified experience.
- Business Outcomes: Connect customer experience insights to high-stakes service environment performance, reducing user friction across digital interfaces.
Senior UX Researcher
Amica Insurance
04.2017 - 01.2022
- Strategic Advisory: Served as a core advisor to UX Design and Product leadership, establishing user-centered frameworks and insights to guide portfolio-scale digital initiatives.
- Research Operations & Logistics: Managed the full-cycle research ecosystem, including vendor relations, resource allocation, and project pipelines within agile environments.
- Framework Implementation: Championed structured research methodologies, mentoring the team on usability testing frameworks, behavioral interviews, and surveys.
Undergrad Research Assistant
ECSU
08.2016 - 03.2017
- Behavioral Investigation: Conducted primary research into digital and social media ecosystems, investigating psychological and environmental factors driving user engagement and platform adoption.
- Data Synthesis: Collaborated on qualitative data analysis to identify emerging themes, translating complex findings into structured insights regarding application feature adoption.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Information Systems
Eastern Connecticut State University
Skills
- Digital CX Leadership: Team & Process Management, Research Operations (ResearchOps), Team Building, Cross-Functional Alignment (Product & Design)
- Strategic Advisory: Consultative Partnering, Roadmap Prioritization, Stakeholder Alignment
- Systems & Ecosystems: Experience Frameworks, Omnichannel Architecture, Agile Methodologies
- Research & Insight Synthesis: AI Integration in Research, Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis, Insight Governance
Certification
NN/G UX Master Certification – Nielsen Norman Group
Timeline
UX Research Manager
National Grid
09.2024 - Current
Lead UX Researcher
National Grid
08.2022 - 09.2024
Customer Experience (CX) Strategist
Allstate Insurance
01.2022 - 08.2022
Senior UX Researcher
Amica Insurance
04.2017 - 01.2022
Undergrad Research Assistant
ECSU
08.2016 - 03.2017
Bachelor of Science - Business Information Systems
Eastern Connecticut State University