About Maria Ana
Hi, I’m Maria Ana. I’m a UX Researcher focused on helping teams understand complex user behaviours, reduce ambiguity, and make evidence-based product and service decisions that align with business and strategy goals.
Experience
Over the past 6+ years, I’ve worked across research, strategy, and design projects in collaboration with startups, agencies, consultancies, corporations, universities and multidisciplinary teams. My experience spans industries including education, automotive, e-commerce, public safety, and innovation technologies, where I’ve helped teams uncover user needs, navigate uncertainty, and make more informed and strategically aligned product decisions.
My work is grounded in qualitative research, systems thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. I’m especially drawn to projects that involve complexity, emerging opportunities, and translating human insight into meaningful strategic direction.
Career Highlights
- Led a foundational study that enhanced marketing clarity on customer and sector needs, boosting actionable insights for roadmap development by 40%
- Led internal audits that identified design flaws, doubling early bug detection and resolution opportunities
- Delivered quantitative and qualitative research uncovering 8+ key customer pain points, challenging assumptions and driving a 34% increase in user satisfaction
Areas of Focus
- Foundational & evaluative user research (user interviews, usability studies, A/B testing)
- Service and systems thinking
- Qualitative research moderation & synthesis
- Product experience evaluation (UX Audits)
- Strategic insight translation
- Workshop facilitation & stakeholder alignment
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I work in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Learn more about me on my linkedin profile: /in/maria-ana-lopes-
Portuguese
Native or bilingual
Spanish
Fluent
English
Fluent
Italian
Conversational
Remote only
Primarily works remotely
Experience
- OgilvyOne BCN - Spain
On Malt
UX ResearcherRESTAURANTS AND FOOD SERVICEJune 2025 - June 2025 (1 month)Barcelona, SpainThe project lasted for three weeks and included the following:- Conducted 20 User Interviews in A/B Testing Project- Research Analysis- Research Report - Glosa StudioFounder, UX ResearcherRESEARCHJune 2025 - Today (1 year)Volos, GreeceDesign research and strategy studio, helping businesses make impactful decisions through in-depth and strategic user research.Services:- Foundational Research (for early-stage products, product expansion, or to address new needs. May include methods such as desk research, competitor analysis, market and trend analysis, interviews, focus groups, card sorting, task analysis).- UX Audits (across development stages of products, focusing on understanding and optimizing the user journey. Includes methods such as usability testing, user journey and IA review, accessibility review)- UX Research (for small- and large-scale projects. Depending on scope, methods may include IA and journey map review, heuristic evaluation, competitor analysis, desk research, usability testing, user interviews).- Research Moderation / Other Services (research moderation and research workshops).- Multilingual research: research conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.Visit my website and get in touch!
- SEAT & CUPRA, VW Group (subcontractor:Arttalo Tech)Product OwnerAUTOMOBILEMay 2023 - May 2025 (2 years)Barcelona, Spain
- Planned, prioritised and delivered 80+ features on schedule, efficiently managing specifications, reworks, and workflow disruptions
- Fostered new cross-departmental processes that accelerated delivery, improved problem-solving, and mitigated risks
- Led internal audits that identified design flaws, doubling early bug detection and resolution opportunities
- Built strong stakeholder partnerships, enhancing decision-making and streamlining processes and communication
- Nurtured a supportive team culture through in-person and virtual initiatives, boosting productivity and engagement by 15%
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Education
- Certified SAFe 6 Product Owner / Product ManagerScaled Agi le, Inc2024Certified SAFe 6 Product Owner / Product Manager
- MACentral Saint Martins, University of the Arts London2016MA