David Barel - Senior UX Researcher & Strategic Consultant

Q: Where is David based?

David is based in Berlin, Germany .

Q: What languages does David speak?

David speaks the following languages: English (Native), Hebrew (Native), German (Intermediate) .

Q: How many years of experience does David have?

David has at least 13 years of experience. During this time, David has worked in at least 8 different roles and for 8 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 5 months . Note that David may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is David's latest experience?

David's most recent position is Senior UX Researcher & Strategic Consultant at adidas .

Q: What companies has David worked for in recent years?

In recent years, David has worked for adidas , Überseehub , Spread Group , Babbel , and TIILT (Technological Innovations for Inclusive Learning and Teaching) .

Q: Which industries is David most experienced in?

David is most experienced in industries like Education , Fashion and Apparel , and Retail . David also has some experience in Sport and Recreation , Healthcare , and Information Technology (IT) .

Q: Which business areas is David most experienced in?

David is most experienced in business areas like Research and Development (R&D) , Product Development , and Project Management . David also has some experience in Marketing , Business Intelligence , and Strategy and Planning .

Q: Which industries has David worked in recently?

David has recently worked in industries like Education , Fashion and Apparel , and Retail .

Q: Which business areas has David worked in recently?

David has recently worked in business areas like Product Development , Research and Development (R&D) , and Project Management .

Recommended expert

Berlin, Germany

Experience

Nov 2025 - Present

4 months

Berlin, Germany

Senior UX Researcher & Strategic Consultant

adidas

Leading mixed-methods discovery for the adidas Running App, using interviews, surveys (incl. choice-modeling), and AI-powered market/app-review intelligence to surface user needs and engagement opportunities.
Partnering closely with Product, Content Storytelling, CRM, and Analytics teams to translate insights into product direction, segmentation opportunities, and rapid experimentation.
Synthesizing extensive internal and external research to map knowns, identify critical knowledge gaps, and build an evidence-based research roadmap that supports continuous discovery and optimization.
Championing AI-supported research practices by guiding cross-functional teams in leveraging AI for faster user feedback synthesis, market intelligence, and rapid workflows.

Sep 2025 - Nov 2025

3 months

Senior UX Researcher

Überseehub

Drove product optimization and strategy for a proptech mobile app by executing a rapid, mixed-methods research program combining UX audits with quantitative experimentation; partnered with PM, UXD, and Marketing to define and monitor key experience metrics and translate strategic narratives (including a 25% increase in app engagement) into actionable recommendations for the Managing Directors.
Pioneered strategic market investigations on competitive and feature opportunities across the entire fintech product portfolio by leveraging AI-powered deep research queries and rapid thematic analysis of hundreds of user-generated reviews; uncovered high-value product differentiation opportunities, technical pain points, and subscription friction, directly informing the product team's vision and strategic market positioning.
Led foundational qualitative research across two main products by scripting, conducting, and analyzing in-depth user interviews; blended semi-structured interview protocols with think-aloud tasks to uncover user needs and jobs-to-be-done (JTBD), alongside perceptions and comprehension of early-stage prototypes, which directly informed business decisions and validated or pivoted product direction for key features.
Acted as the UXR team of one and a consultant to the Managing Directors, supporting vision and strategy discussions across three product lifecycle stages; de-risked critical product assumptions through mixed-methods research and drove the shift from ad hoc research to a data-driven process, building a unified research roadmap that ensures efficient design sprints and user-informed product decisions.

Jun 2023 - Dec 2023

7 months

Lead UX Researcher

Spread Group

Consulted D-level executives and led a team of 15+ cross-functional stakeholders to challenge assumptions and drive data-informed decisions, contributing to a large-scale online shop redesign and shaping the customer experience strategy across US and European markets.
Partnered with the Data Analytics team to design and execute rapid, iterative experiments; utilized quick on-site UXR surveys (1-week cycles) to establish high-confidence hypotheses for site experiments, informing large-scale A/B tests and redesign strategy to de-risk design decisions and build evidence for future conversion rate optimization efforts across B2B and B2C segments.
Conducted deep contextual inquiry (12 in-depth interviews) into the B2B customer experience, revealing critical insights into task flows, solution complexity needs, and ordering patterns; informed a strategic differentiation strategy for two distinct e-commerce properties, enabling creation of a high-value shopping flow tailored to business users.

Mar 2022 - Aug 2025

3 years 6 months

Senior UX Researcher

adidas

Drove organizational change and methodological rigor by critiquing and revising the company's use of NPS, influencing senior leadership; leveraged NLP techniques to structure and analyze open-ended NPS data, resulting in re-tooled targeting and improved follow-up questions for better feedback automation.
Led evaluative mixed-methods studies, applying NLP concepts to analyze customer service logs and large-scale open-ended survey responses, defining and measuring critical user sentiments to achieve a 20%+ increase in engagement and net sales through UX/CX optimizations.
Executed high-stakes preference modeling efforts using MaxDiff surveys grounded in mixed-methods preparation, including stakeholder workshops, expert interviews, and secondary industry research, prioritizing features and loyalty rewards for critical customer segments.
Spearheaded iterative optimization of digital touchpoints, running 300+ unmoderated qualitative studies and usability tests to rapidly identify user friction points, inform flagship app and website enhancements, and boost user engagement.
Partnered with Marketing and global markets (EU, NAM, LAM) during a one-month sprint to develop a data-backed messaging strategy for the loyalty program; designed and executed targeted surveys delivering taglines and messaging up to 10x more appealing while mitigating language that alienated key segments.

Jun 2021 - Sep 2021

4 months

Learner Experience Design Intern

Babbel

Conducted in-context user research and interaction analysis to optimize Babbel Live by identifying instructor behavior patterns and driving feature enhancements that improved engagement and instructional quality.
Created actionable design frameworks for game-based learning and gamification, synthesizing insights from competitive analysis, literature, and internal workshops to guide product innovation and inspire new feature concepts.

Aug 2018 - Aug 2020

2 years 1 month

UCD Instructor

Northwestern University

Co-developed and led a program teaching design and engineering students to critically approach technology and create accessible solutions for individuals with disabilities, emphasizing inclusive design and accessibility.
Mentored student teams on stakeholder interviews, design assumptions, and iterative testing to deliver impactful accessibility solutions.

Jan 2016 - Jun 2022

6 years 6 months

PhD Research Lead

TIILT (Technological Innovations for Inclusive Learning and Teaching)

Conducted a mixed-methods dissertation on teachers’ needs, challenges, and practices with game-based teaching; employed contextual inquiry, artifact analysis, interviews, and surveys to uncover barriers, instructional strategies, and student engagement patterns.
Directed six interdisciplinary research projects, combining contextual inquiry, experimental design, and user testing.
Managed interdisciplinary teams of designers, researchers, and engineers, iteratively developing educational technologies, conducting lab user testing, and running field experiments.

Jul 2014 - Aug 2016

2 years 2 months

UX and Design Research Coordinator

miLab

Supported human-computer interaction experiments in the fields of robotics and assistive technology design.

Mar 2013 - Sep 2015

2 years 7 months

Research Assistant

CAN lab

Programmed and conducted experiments using DirectRT and eye-tracking to study emotion perception in speech.
Designed, conducted, and analyzed an honors thesis experiment testing stereotype threat in older adults during cognitive screening by younger versus older clinicians.

Industries Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.

Experienced in Education (9 years), Fashion (3.5 years), Retail (3.5 years), Sport (3.5 years), Healthcare (2 years), and Information Technology (2 years).

Education

Fashion

Retail

Sport

Healthcare

Information Technology

Business Areas Experience

The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.

Experienced in Research and Development (13 years), Product Development (11.5 years), Project Management (6.5 years), Marketing (3.5 years), and Business Intelligence (1 year).

Research and Development

Product Development

Project Management

Marketing

Business Intelligence

Summary

UX Researcher with deep expertise in driving confident product and business decisions through strategic, iterative, end-to-end research. I combine methodological rigor with the ability to work fast in complex, high-velocity environments, using qualitative methods (e.g., interviews & usability testing) and advanced quantitative techniques (e.g., global surveys & choice-preference modeling). Comfortable owning research projects independently, from scoping to delivery while collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to align fast, drive momentum, and ensure insights land where they matter most. Recognized for influencing senior stakeholders and partnering cross-functionally to ground product direction, experimentation, and strategic decisions in empirical evidence and the voice of the customer.

Skills

Quantitative Research:

Excel
Experimental Research
Qualtrics
R
Sentiment/topic Analysis (Nlp)
Survey Research
Ux Metrics

Qualitative Research:

Ai-powered Qualitative Data Analysis
Contextual Inquiry
Ethnography
Interviews
Thematic Analysis
Unmoderated Sessions

Design Research:

Accessibility Evaluation
Customer Journey Mapping
Design Thinking
Prototype Testing
Usability Testing

Soft Skills:

Collaboration
Leadership
Storytelling

Languages

English

Native

Hebrew

Native

German

Intermediate

Education

Sep 2016 - May 2022

Northwestern University

Doctor of Philosophy · Learning Sciences · Evanston, United States

Sep 2012 - Sep 2015

Reichman University

Bachelor of Arts · Psychlogy · Herzliya, Israel

Certifications & licenses

AI Customer Research Analysis

Maven

Better Brand Health Tracking (BBHT)

Quantilope

Profile

Created

February 2026

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Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information.

Where is David based?

David is based in Berlin, Germany.

What languages does David speak?

David speaks the following languages: English (Native), Hebrew (Native), German (Intermediate).

How many years of experience does David have?

David has at least 13 years of experience. During this time, David has worked in at least 8 different roles and for 8 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 5 months. Note that David may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would David be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, David would be well-suited for roles such as: Senior UX Researcher & Strategic Consultant, Senior UX Researcher, Lead UX Researcher.

What is David's latest experience?

David's most recent position is Senior UX Researcher & Strategic Consultant at adidas.

What companies has David worked for in recent years?

In recent years, David has worked for adidas, Überseehub, Spread Group, Babbel, and TIILT (Technological Innovations for Inclusive Learning and Teaching).

Which industries is David most experienced in?

David is most experienced in industries like Education, Fashion and Apparel, and Retail. David also has some experience in Sport and Recreation, Healthcare, and Information Technology (IT).

Which business areas is David most experienced in?

David is most experienced in business areas like Research and Development (R&D), Product Development, and Project Management. David also has some experience in Marketing, Business Intelligence, and Strategy and Planning.

Which industries has David worked in recently?

David has recently worked in industries like Education, Fashion and Apparel, and Retail.

Which business areas has David worked in recently?

David has recently worked in business areas like Product Development, Research and Development (R&D), and Project Management.

What is David's education?

David holds a Doctorate in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University and a Bachelor in Psychlogy from Reichman University.

Does David have any certificates?

David has 2 certificates. These include: AI Customer Research Analysis and Better Brand Health Tracking (BBHT).

What is the availability of David?

David will be available part-time from March 2026.

What is the rate of David?

David's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.