Full-time, Hybrid, Toronto, Ontario

12 month maternity leave cover

We are Koru.

Koru is a first of its kind venture studio funded by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. We partner with OTPP portfolio companies to build and invest in businesses with a clear right to win.

Founded in 2019, our mission is to drive value creation aimed at growing the overall value of OTPP’s portfolio companies by partnering with them to identify, validate, build and oversee new disruptive businesses. We go from 0-1, building ventures that address customer frictions head-on — and we leverage our corporate partnerships to gain unfair advantages in the market.

We offer a unique balance of risk and reward where startup talent can build with the backing of a $250B pension plan and the ability to impact portfolio companies all around the world, explore disruptive new opportunities and share in the upside of every business we put into the market. We promote a truly entrepreneurial mindset and a culture of fearless reinvention.

You will have a unique opportunity to be exposed to a wide array of industries, and be a vital voice when it comes to research, but also around all areas of the businesses you’ll launch. Since 2019, we’ve launched 11 ventures across a broad array of industries and problem spaces. Take a look at our portfolio of ventures to see for yourself.

As a Senior Researcher at Koru, you will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, partners, and enterprise organizations to address complex challenges. You’ll shape research goals, design and execute studies, and translate insights into strategies that guide ventures, products, and operations.

Key Responsibilities

Shape Research Strategy

Partner with Venture Leadership, Product, Growth, and Operations to define research needs, goals, and methods.
Prioritize critical hypotheses and assumptions relative to venture objectives.

Design & Execute Research

Plan and conduct qualitative and quantitative studies, including participant recruitment, field research, interviews, surveys, usability studies, and prototype testing.
Analyze user behaviour and market data to validate or invalidate venture hypotheses.
Iteratively test and refine product and service concepts to ensure problem-solution fit.

Synthesize & Communicate Insights

Translate research findings into actionable strategy, product direction, and operational decisions.
Create and share compelling deliverables (personas, journeys, frameworks, system maps, scenarios).
Facilitate workshops (problem framing, ideation, co-creation, prioritization) with internal and client teams.
Advocate research findings to diverse audiences, demonstrating their impact and significance in de-risking venture decisions.

We’re looking for someone with:

5+ years of research experience within a product organization, consultancy, or agency.
A proven ability to lead research end-to-end: scoping, execution, synthesis, and translation into strategy.
Strong facilitation and communication skills, with comfort adapting approaches in dynamic environments.
Experience across sectors or multi-stakeholder contexts.
Hands-on experience with participant recruitment and UXR tools (e.g., UserInterviews, UserTesting, PollFish, Dovetail, FigJam).
A portfolio demonstrating design and leadership of qualitative research projects.

It’s nice if you have:

Experience identifying user and market needs that informed new venture creation.
Familiarity with statistical analysis and measuring significance of findings.
A track record of shaping new products, services, or business strategies through research.

What happens next?

Once we review your application, if we’d like to move you forward in the process, here’s what you can expect:

Step 1: Interview with the Hiring Lead (Virtual, 30 minutes)

Step 2: Interview with a cohort team member (Virtual, 30 minutes)

Step 3: Practical Challenge ( ~3-4 hours preparation + Virtual, 60 minutes)

Step 4: 3:1:Team Interview (Virtual, 45 minutes)

Step 5: 1:1 Interview with a Partner (Virtual, 30 minutes)

Step 6: Offer

What does Koru offer you?

Our total rewards package is balanced, flexible, inclusive, and fair which makes it a key part of our employer value proposition. We regularly review and update our total rewards, taking into account best practices, industry trends, and feedback from our team. Currently, our total rewards package is inclusive of:

Cash compensation made up of 1) competitive base salary 2) annual bonus 3) company-matched RRSP and 4) participation in our equity program.
Comprehensive health benefits, including: Group insurance & a flexible healthcare spending account; Fitness & Mindfulness benefits.
Generous paid time off including vacation, sick, and a parental leave top-up.
Other benefits include, mobile phone reimbursement and education benefit.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Diversity of perspectives and experience is at the core of how we approach disruption and innovation. We believe in fostering an environment where team members of all backgrounds can feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work every day. We aim to ensure all of our employees work in an environment that makes them feel valued, heard and supported while they strive towards career pursuits and their personal and professional growth.

We are committed to providing accommodations for all candidates that require them and in all aspects of the recruitment, selection, and/or assessment process. If you are selected to participate in any part of the selection and/or assessment process, please inform us of any accommodation(s) that you may require.

Our location.

Koru’s offices are located in downtown Toronto. We humbly acknowledge that Koru HQ is located on land that is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, Chippewa (Anishinaabeg), Haudenosaunee, and Wendat. This territory is covered by the ‘Toronto Purchase: Treaty 13’ which was the surrender of the lands from the Mississaugas of the Credit to the British Crown initially in 1787. Koru staff and/or board members are made up of settlers, immigrants, descendants of immigrants, or a combination thereof. Our roots lie in continents across the world and we are grateful for the opportunity to share this land where we work and live.

We’re flattered that you’d like to join our team, but only applicants selected to proceed in the hiring process will be contacted.

Koru

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