Hi, I'm

Kirsten Hosic, PhD.

I connect the dots between user needs and SaaS growth.

I'm a UX Researcher with 8+ years of experience driving research, strategy, and leadership initiatives in complex B2B SaaS product spaces.

UX Research Strategy Lead @ IBM

see my resume

Where I've worked

UX Research Strategy Lead @IBM

Mar 2026 - Present

  • Lead high-risk foundational and generative research for the Security Lifecycle Management space, shaping product strategy in a rapidly evolving, technical domain.
  • Scale research capacity by building an AI prompt repository for Gemini and CoPilot, enabling designers to generate rigorous research plans and ask precise questions autonomously.
  • Elevate UX research by optimizing participant recruitment pipelines and establishing a collaborative UXR community to share best practices.

projects

01

IBM · Secure UX

An agent that challenges designers to become senior researchers

Building a self-service research framework that let an entire design team plan and run their own studies, with senior-level rigor.

Research-ops designAI tooling (IBM Bob, Claude Cowork)Framework design
→
02

Google Cloud · Google Cloud Monitoring

Watchtower and Magnifying Glass

A mixed-methods study that uncovered a shift in how cloud teams want to monitor their systems, and reshaped two product roadmaps.

Goal-based framingSurvey (quantitative)In-depth interviews (qualitative)
→
03

Google Cloud · Observability for AI agents (new product area)

Designing for beginners in a beginner industry

Foundational research on the experience of building AI agents, revealing that even top engineering teams are beginners at it, and reshaping the product strategy around that.

Foundational interviewsCustomer discovery at top companiesWorkflow mapping
→
04

Google Cloud · Telemetry Explorer (Cloud Monitoring)

The redesign they loved, and the problem it hid

An evaluation that confirmed users loved the rebuilt Telemetry Explorer, then looked past the applause to the harder, more valuable problem underneath: people were not confident they were querying the right data to answer their question.

Mixed methodsIn-depth interviews (qualitative)Survey (quantitative)
→

off the clock

outside the research

Outside my day job as a researcher, I'm genuinely curious about many different aspects of life. A few of the things that keep me inspired when I'm off the clock:

  1. § 01

    The Mind

    My fascination with behavioral psychology and personality research goes far beyond my day job. I'm constantly thinking about how we become who we are, the things that change us, and how we vary individually.

  2. § 02

    The World

    I'm an avid world traveler, always eager to explore new cultures, architectures, foods, and perspectives.

  3. § 03

    The Space

    I like to play with colors and textures by way of interior design, treating my home as a canvas to explore how physical environments influence mood and behavior.

  4. § 04

    The Gym

    I love weightlifting. It's how I keep myself sane in a world that's constantly changing in unpredictable ways.

Kirsten at a wedding in Punjab, India
Kirsten exploring colorful architecture in India
⌖Punjab, India · a wedding, & the road there

what's next

get in touch

I love being challenged by different ideas and new problem spaces.

Whether you'd like to discuss UX research, collaborate on a project, or just connect, my inbox is always open!

Let's Connect