About Jim

I've spent the last two decades leading UX and market research at places where getting the answer right really mattered — PayPal, Meta, Ten-X, and early-stage startups where the runway was short and the stakes were high.

At PayPal, I built and led the global UX research function — a team spanning six cities and three continents, covering everything from ethnographic fieldwork to large-scale quantitative studies. We didn't just test interfaces; we shaped product strategy for consumer and merchant experiences used by hundreds of millions of people.

At Ten-X (formerly Auction.com), I came in as the first research hire and ended up running customer experience across UX research, market research, and marketing design. I led the research that drove a full brand repositioning — new products, new identity, new market segments.

At Meta, I spent seven years working on some of the company's most sensitive and consequential research challenges. I led studies that informed platform-wide policy decisions on safety, privacy, and integrity — research that went directly to company leadership and sometimes into legislative testimony. I also managed the research teams behind products like Messenger Kids and Facebook Stories, and was part of the leadership team evaluating acquisitions.

My strength is designing mixed-methods research that cuts through ambiguity on high-stakes questions — the kind where the answer shapes a product roadmap, informs a board presentation, or changes how a company thinks about its market.

Why fractional

After 20 years inside large organizations, I realized that the expertise I'd built — scoping complex research programs, navigating cross-functional politics, translating findings into strategic action — was exactly what many teams need but can't justify a full-time senior hire to get.

So I started Ursus Moon to bring that experience to multiple teams at once. I work on both focused, one-off projects and extended part-time engagements where I embed with a team and provide ongoing research leadership. Either way, you get a seasoned researcher who's seen the patterns before and can move fast.

Beyond the work

I hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science and have published research on online learning and user experience design. I hold multiple patents related to e-commerce and predictive systems from my time at Ten-X.

I'm based in Santa Rosa, California, and work with teams across the country and around the world.

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