UX Research · Product Strategy

I partner with cross-functionals to bring conviction on what to build and why.

Triangulating qual and quant signals to inform near-term roadmap priorities and long-term product vision.

Manahil Hashmi
Product & UX Researcher
Focus
Product Influence | Human-AI Interaction | AI Craft Enablement
Location
Toronto
Open to relocate
Experience
8+ Years
Open to roles Portfolio
About me

Research with a seat at the strategy table.

I’ve led research across telecom, food delivery, q-commerce, and mobility, spanning 0→1 launches, iteration, and growth. Across all of it, I care about deeply understanding users to make sense of the problem space. I do research with the team, not just for the team, which means staying close from problem framing to what ships, shaping decisions as they’re made.

I balance rigor and velocity by continuing to build the muscle of rightsizing in context of the present question and constraints. I also protect space for strategic and anticipatory research alongside the tactical work that keeps the roadmap moving.

Selected work

Research, translated into product.

Every study starts with a business question. I translate it into a tightly scoped research question, choose the appropriate method for the context, and partner with teams to sequence what ships now vs later.

How I work

Qual depth, quant rigor, strategic altitude.

Qualitative

  • Generative & foundational interviews
  • Concept & usability testing
  • Diary & longitudinal studies
  • Journey mapping
  • Thematic analysis & frameworks

Quantitative

  • Survey design & sampling
  • Descriptive & inferential stats
  • Behavioral + attitudinal triangulation
  • Trackers & longitudinal measurement

Strategy & craft

  • Connecting insights to product bets
  • Executive storytelling & readouts
  • Research democratization & ops
  • Cross-functional influence
Resume

Experience

UX Researcher
Lyft · Toronto, Canada
March 2024 – Present
  • Leading Lyft’s earliest 0→1 research on how AI shows up in rideshare, from third-party LLM integrations to first-party AI experiences.
  • Led research and product thinking behind the growth strategy for premium economy rides and the redesign of Lyft’s rider feedback system.
  • Built an analysis and synthesis pipeline using Claude Code to up-level research craft at Lyft, and stretched functionally into Science and Design work.
Senior UX Researcher
Careem (an Uber company) · Dubai, UAE
May 2022 – March 2024
  • Shaped Careem Quik’s fresh produce quality strategy by decoding customer expectations and uncovering dissatisfaction drivers, operationalized into product improvements and dark-store quality controls.
  • Led an investigation into food-delivery checkout abandonment; surfaced price-expectation gaps and hidden offer conditions, partnering with product and design to ship clearer fee breakdowns and a minimum order value tracker that reduced drop-off.
Senior UX Researcher
CreditBook.pk · Lahore, Pakistan
August 2021 – May 2022
  • Led field research with MSME merchants in Punjab to uncover paper-based billing practices, translating insights into the design and launch of CreditBook’s first digital bill book and enabling thousands of MSMEs to digitize billing for the first time.
Research Assistant
University of Michigan · School of Information · Ann Arbor, Michigan
April 2021 – April 2022
  • Published academic research with Dr. Robin Brewer on a tele-community (IVR) for visually impaired seniors (65+), studying how audio blogging enables new forms of online participation and support.
Examining Voice Community Use — ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction →
User Experience Specialist
Jazz Telecom · Islamabad, Pakistan
June 2018 – September 2020
  • Led a multi-channel service design study of Jazz’s SIM sales process, mapping journeys across retail, digital, and partner channels.
  • Findings on documentation and experience inconsistencies informed internal efforts to streamline and align processes across touchpoints.
Education
M.S. Design Research | Information
University of Michigan · Rackham Graduate School (Fulbright) · 2020–2021
B.S. Computer Science — HCI | Psychology Minor
Lahore University of Management Sciences · 2014–2018
Skills & Toolkit

Methods

Exploratory researchExplanatory researchEvaluative researchSurvey design & analysis

AI Tools

NotebookLMClaude Code + Skills + SubAgentsHexFigma MakeClaude Design

Tools

AlchemerQualtricsSurveyMonkeyDscoutUserTestingSQLAmplitudeMixpanel

Collaboration

Product thinkingCross-functional facilitationStorytellingInsight socializationResearch democratization