Saf McKenzie
@safmckenzie
Senior User Researcher delivering evidence-based change in regulated digital services.
United KingdomWhat I'm looking for
I’m a Senior User Researcher and digital transformation consultant with 7+ years’ experience delivering evidence-based change across secure, regulated, and data-sensitive environments, including central government, healthcare, and financial services. I’m known for diagnosing complex problems and translating ambiguous challenge areas into decision-ready insight.
Across my roles, I lead end-to-end discovery, concept validation, and usability testing—blending qualitative research with behavioural insight and product analytics to identify usability issues, friction points, and optimisation opportunities. I then turn findings into prioritised recommendations that shape product direction, roadmap decisions, and measurable value outcomes.
I also bring a practical transformation lens: I’ve led research across multiple government programmes, built and maintained cross-government research repositories, and supported service, process, and operating model design. I apply AI-accelerated research and synthesis workflows while maintaining rigour, judgement, and alignment to organisational goals, and I mentor junior researchers to strengthen research capability across multi-disciplinary teams.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Digital Researcher
Yorkshire Building Society
Apr 2025 - Present (1 year 3 months)
Lead UX research across complex, regulated product environments, delivering end-to-end discovery, concept validation, and usability testing. Translate findings into prioritised recommendations to inform product direction and roadmap decisions, applying AI tools to accelerate synthesis and insight generation within secure contexts.
Led experience-led discovery and analysis across multiple government digital transformation programmes with 15+ departments in highly regulated environments. Built and maintained a cross-government research repository, partnered with product and delivery teams on strategy and value-driven outcomes, and mentored junior researchers while delivering policy-aligned digital service recommendations (e.g
User Experience Researcher + Strategist
Comuzi
Jun 2019 - Nov 2022 (3 years 5 months)
Owned research strategy across public sector digital transformation programmes spanning participants across 15 UK Government departments. Built cross-government research infrastructure, partnered with product and delivery teams to prioritise research aligned to organisational goals and constraints, mentored junior researchers, and directed research for GOV.UK Forms Adoption to deliver measurable p
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Queen Mary University of London
Bachelor of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
2016 - 2020
Earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Queen Mary University of London (2016–2020). Developed structured, decision-ready recommendations and combined qualitative research, behavioural insight, and product analytics to inform strategy, prioritisation, and delivery.
Availability
Location
United KingdomAuthorized to work in
Job categories
Skills
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