UXR Spotlight: Smiti Nathan Staudt

Smiti, tell us a little about yourself.
Hello! I’m Smiti Nathan Staudt and I started my first official UX Research role in August 2021. Prior to that, I worked in higher education, archaeology, and geospatial consulting. What drives me is making financial services and products more accessible to underbanked communities, as well as co-creating solutions to make our company’s research practice more inclusive.

From your experience, what is one of the biggest challenges user research(ers) face today?
As a fairly new user researcher, I still feel that it is a major challenge to break into the field. While I see more resources to help individuals network, get mentored, prepare job documents, and refine other key skills, there is still a need more more equitable and inclusive hiring pipelines at the organizational level. Building these structures and programs is definitely a big challenge, but I feel it is key to an inclusive recruiting strategy, especially for diverse talent.

How do you separate your work life from your home life?
I keep a consistent time-bounded work schedule. I usually start my work day between 8-8:30am and end my work day at 5pm. Having a toddler helps me stick with this schedule because I start work when he leaves and I stop work when he comes home. He hates when I work instead of playing with him so it’s a good personal motivator to stay on schedule.

How can people find you?
I’m happy to connect with folx on LinkedIn, as well as Twitter (@travellingarch) where I chat a bit more about my life.

Thank you, Smiti!