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Rich drove material, measurable, quality improvements on many successful titles. Dev teams enjoyed working with him, and valued his input as did cross-functional partners.
Chris Jurney
Director of Oculus Publishing · Meta
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WHAT COLLABORATORS SAY
The way Rich ran research and broke down the feedback in a way that dev teams could action on was invaluable. Titles that he worked on were delivered at a higher quality because of him.
Zach Mumbach
Lead Designer · Founder, The Wandering Band
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Rich played an important role in supporting the games he worked on. He maintained regular communication with the leads and provided clear, impactful reports throughout development.
Steve Papoutsis CEO · Striking Distance Studios
Built orgs.
Shipped research.
Made impact.
My career has centered on entertainment tech — building research orgs, establishing protocols, and generating insights that dev teams can actually use to make better products and increase their revenue.
2025–NOW
2019–2025
2014–2019
2008–2014
RECENT EXPERIENCE
FREELANCE | Lead User Researcher
Consulting for partners like PlayTestCloud while conducting pro bono UXR for small game studios that need research but can't afford it. Actively evaluating opportunities for next long-term role.
META-OCULUS | Staff User Researcher + Founder of Oculus UXR Org
Built the games UXR organization from a team of one to 2 FTEs and 4 contractors. 100% remote model enabled nationwide recruiting and global studio reach. Drove actual change on dozens of VR apps that increased revenue 2X and 3X. Also, insights were published on the Quest developer forum to further impact.
YOUTUBE | Senior User Researcher
Sole researcher and core member of both YouTube Music and YouTube VR teams—from ideation to launch. Executed a multitude of mixed-method practices to bring insights that had tangible impact of both products that drove successful launches and buoyed retention. Additionally, worked closely with creators and built out VR creator education program which increased the quality of and number of videos available on YouTube.
ELECTRONIC ARTS | Senior User Researcher + Founder of UXR Org
Founded the UXR org from scratch and changed the development culture, and the org and the UXR culture still exists today. Designed two testing labs, established research protocols, built a recruiting operations team and participant panel, and scaled the org to support end-to-end research on a multitude of titles across the globe.. Considered an important member of the teams, my name appears in dozens of game credits.
LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
One-week, four-week, and 36-week formats. I've designed and run dozens of studies that have revealed insights into user behavior that have increased revenue and retention 3X.
INSIGHT EVANGELIZATION
Getting research to actually change how teams build is its own skill. I've spent a career developing frameworks for making findings stick with dev teams and leadership.
ORG BUILDING
Built UXR functions from scratch at both EA and Meta that persist to this day. Built trust throughout the company (EA) and business unit (Meta) and changed development culture.
MIXED METHODS W/ AI DEPTH
Strong qualitative skills paired with survey design and analysis, while also leveraging AI for insights that interpret leaders’ thoughts and concerns to inform confident decisions.
What else about me?
While my mindset is deeply rooted in research and understanding how people interact with the world, my curiosity doesn't clock out at the end of the day. I’m also thinking about how to quantify and study things.
At home, I’m a husband and a dad, navigating life with our kid, two dogs, and a cat. I channel my creative energy into designing board games, making short films, writing fiction, and cooking. And when I'm stepping away from the desk entirely, I'm usually adding to my tattoo collection or hunting down my next roller coaster.
I live in San Francisco and have for 25 years, and I don’t plan on leaving. Like ever.
Check out my work and ideas about research and making it impactful when you have time. And feel free to reach out.