UX Researcher — Seattle, WA
Hi, I'm Brendan Thatcher.
I'm a qualitative UX Researcher who turns complex user behavior into clear product decisions — for cloud platforms, healthcare tools, and the products people use in their everyday lives.
From cloud platforms to CPAP patients, I research real humans with real problems.
Enterprise cloud, medical devices, and environmental conservation.
Every study I run is connected to a business goal and a result.
Where I Am Now
Currently at Orcasound
I'm a qualitative UX Researcher and Product Manager at Orcasound, where I lead discovery research to define what gets built — and why. My work spans enterprise cloud platforms, medical devices, and environmental conservation, and I bring the same disciplined approach to all of them: understand real users, surface what matters, and make sure the product team can act on it.
I'm currently open to UX Research roles where I can combine strategic research leadership with hands-on study execution — at companies building products that improve how people work, stay healthy, or experience the world.
Where I've Worked
Mar 2023 – Present
Impact by the Numbers
Featured Projects
Research That Moved Products Forward
Optum
Improving an Internal Cloud Platform to Save Software Engineers 20 Minutes a Day
A poorly designed internal tool was costing engineers time and driving them toward external resources that exposed proprietary data.
ResMed
Helping 166,000 CPAP Patients Stay on Therapy
CPAP patients weren't meeting insurance compliance requirements — and a new onboarding concept needed validation before launch.
Orcasound
Launching Shipnoise: Research-Driven Tool to Quiet Commercial Ships for Orca Conservation
No tool existed to help commercial ship Pilots understand or reduce the underwater noise their vessels create for endangered orcas.
What I Do
Core Competencies
| Research Methods | Tools & Platforms |
|---|---|
| Qualitative Usability Testing | Miro, FigJam — synthesis & collaboration |
| User Interviewing | Figma, Sketch — design review |
| Contextual Inquiry | UserTesting.com, EnjoyHQ |
| Workshop Moderation | Jira, GitHub — project tracking |
| Persona Development | Microsoft Office, SharePoint |
| Journey Mapping | |
| Heuristic Evaluation |
Leadership
What Managers Say
In Their Own Words
"Brendan jumped right into his project and immediately started building relationships and laying groundwork for his studies. Brendan is a friendly, professional, and hardworking researcher."
Rob Maahs-Henderson Research Manager — Optum
"Brendan is a highly motivated and passionate researcher. He worked closely with other researchers, UX Designers and Product Managers to ensure research met the needs and expectations of the team, incorporating feedback."
Dawn Ta Research Lead — ResMed
"Brendan has been an amazingly dedicated contributor with the Orcasound hydrophone network and open-source community. He's shown impressive leadership and organizational talent as the UX lead. He's also proven himself as a team manager, ably collaborating and organizing with other Orcasound volunteers, coordinating team efforts involving up to 10 active contributors."
Scott Veirs Founder — Orcasound
Let's talk about what I can do for your team.
I'm currently open to new UX Research opportunities. If you're building something people will actually use, I'd love to help you figure out how.