Daniel Najafi

How I Got Here

I Uncover What People Need Before They Know It Themselves.

For 7+ years, I've led research at Meta and Google, and global startups , not to confirm what teams believe, but to reveal what they're missing. At Meta, I discovered that advertiser onboarding wasn't failing because of complexity — it was choice architecture. At Google, I learned that enterprise customers trusted third-party tools not for features, but for one thing: clarity they could stand behind.

I'm drawn to the ambiguous. That's where the work matters most.

I Uncover What People Need Before They Know It Themselves.

For 7+ years, I've led research at Meta and Google, and global startups, not to confirm what teams believe, but to reveal what they're missing. At Meta, I discovered that advertiser onboarding wasn't failing because of complexity it was choice architecture. At Google, I learned that enterprise customers trusted third-party tools not for features, but for one thing: clarity they could stand behind.

I'm drawn to the ambiguous. That's where the work matters most.

I Uncover What People Need Before They Know It Themselves.

For 7+ years, I've led research at Meta and Google, and global startups — not to confirm what teams believe, but to reveal what they're missing. At Meta, I discovered that advertiser onboarding wasn't failing because of complexity it was choice architecture. At Google, I learned that enterprise customers trusted third-party tools not for features, but for one thing: clarity they could stand behind.

I'm drawn to the ambiguous. That's where the work matters most.

I've built from zero more than once, both personally, and professionally

I've been a short-term and long-term researcher, a founding researcher at international startups with no infrastructure, and a consultant embedded in teams where "research" meant a forgotten survey. Each taught me the same thing: good work compounds. It earns trust. It outlasts you.

At Google, I shaped research for different advertisers and highest-value enterprise cohort from recruitment design to executive readouts. At WythYou, a startups, I built research practices that five teams still use today.

I don't just study users. I build the systems that keep them central.

I've built from zero more than once, both personally, and professionally

I don't just study users. I build the systems that keep them central.

What Drives Me:
The people using the product are the point

At Meta, I listened to small business owners describe the weight of launching their first ad, real stakes, real stress. At Google, I heard enterprise advertisers say "every platform claims credit... how do I know what's true?" They weren't frustrated by dashboards. They needed something they could trust.

That shapes how I frame every finding. Not "users are confused", but "we're losing them at the moment that matters." Not "they prefer other tools" but "they need a source of truth they can defend."

I hold the line for the people who use what we make.

What Drives Me:
The people using the product are the point

That shapes how I frame every finding. Not "users are confused" — but "we're losing them at the moment that matters." Not "they prefer other tools" but "they need a source of truth they can defend."

I hold the line for the people who use what we make.

How I Work:
I Thrive in ambiguity, partner with across team and move the niddle

I work best when the problem isn't defined yet. I partner with design, product, and engineering — not to hand off reports, but to think together. I use AI tools to accelerate synthesis without sacrificing rigor, so insights arrive when teams can still act on them.

Whether I'm designing a research roadmap, moderating with enterprise customers, or presenting to leadership, I bring the same care: curious, clear, and committed to craft.

How I Work:
I Thrive in ambiguity, partner with across team and move the niddle

I work best when the problem isn't defined yet. I partner with design, product, and engineering not to hand off reports, but to think together. I use AI tools to accelerate synthesis without sacrificing rigor, so insights arrive when teams can still act on them.

Whether I'm designing a research roadmap, moderating with enterprise customers, or presenting to leadership, I bring the same care: curious, clear, and committed to craft.