Nicolas Lee, Sr. ReOps Manager at Alteryx, joined us for a Rally AMA on January 30 to discuss his early insights as a new ReOps leader.
Missed the event? Or want to revisit the key takeaways? Read the full recap below or watch the live discussion here. 

Who is Nico?

I’m the Senior Research Operations Manager at Alteryx. I joined four months ago, so I’m still pretty fresh and this role is very new for me. I’ve been in Research Operations for about eight years.

I actually have a degree in audio engineering and production and I spent the first half of my career working in media and audio production before making the transition to Research Ops. It was a hard left turn but that’s how life takes you sometimes – and that’s okay.

What led you into Research Ops? Was there anything in particular that sparked the transition?

I was working as a sound designer at Microsoft Game Studios in a contract role. When that contract ended, I explored a role in Microsoft Research, still with the Xbox team. That’s how I got my foot in the door.

At the time, research was something I wasn’t super aware of but I realized I had kind of been doing it unconsciously. As a sound designer, I mostly worked on voiceover production, running A/B tests internally – do we want this voice actor or that one? Polling people on it, analyzing the feedback. In a way, I was always doing research without realizing it.

When I truly understood what research was about eight years ago, I thought, This is really cool. I’ve always been interested in exploring and doing comparisons and trying to derive data from user experiences. So I decided to give it a go. They gave me a chance and it just went from there.

Tell us more about your current role. What does it look like to be a Research Ops team of one?

It’s an interesting situation. Previously, for four years, I was a Research Operations Specialist at DocuSign. Then, in October of last year, I moved to this position as a Senior Research Operations Manager at Alteryx. That sounds like a people management role, but it’s not – I’m the sole ReOps professional at this company.

The “manager” title is due to the level of responsibility and where it sits in the company hierarchy but I don’t manage people. If anyone has people management questions, I’m probably not the best person to ask. I’ve managed a couple of contractors before in previous roles, but this is more of a high-level IC (individual contributor) role.

How do you balance doing everything as a team of one while still being strategic as a leader?

I am still figuring that out. That is the challenge I’m facing right now – it’s an exciting and engaging challenge but definitely new for me. I’m used to having support from other ReOps specialists where we could spread out the work or push multiple initiatives forward at the same time. That’s no longer my situation.

My approach is hyper-focused prioritization. I focus on whatever is most critical at the moment. To figure that out, I communicate constantly with the researchers. My role exists to enable and empower them to gain valuable insights with as little friction as possible and it’s my job to remove that friction.

Instead of juggling multiple initiatives at once like I used to, I pick the one that needs to happen right now, knock it out, and move to the next. It’s a different workflow but necessary when working solo.

Another key part of this is learning to say no. Bandwidth is limited when you’re a team of one. I’ve always struggled with saying no because I want to make everyone happy. But in the past, that’s led to overpromising and then struggling to deliver. Part of my strategy now is being mindful about setting realistic expectations – whether that’s about taking on additional projects, timelines, or just saying, “No, I can’t do that right now.” It’s not something I’m comfortable with but I’m learning. And that’s part of growing in this role.

How important is cross-functional communication in Research Ops?

Critically important. In the four months I’ve been in this role, building relationships for cross-functional collaboration has been one of my highest priorities. This includes working with external vendors like account managers for tools like UserTesting as well as internal teams like legal, compliance, and finance.

Operations teams are responsible for handling these logistical and procedural elements so researchers can focus on their work. Understanding how these processes function in this specific company, since every company does things a little differently, has been crucial.

How many researchers do you support?

Right now, we have four researchers and a research manager that I report to alongside the UXRs. We’re currently in the hiring process for another researcher so we’ll be a team of five UXRs soon.

What has been the biggest challenge in moving from specialist to senior manager?

Two things.

First, learning to stop asking for permission. As a ReOps Specialist, I would go to my manager and say, “Hey, I think we need to overhaul these templates…can I do that?” When I started at Alteryx, I kept doing the same thing until my manager had to sit me down and say, “Nico, I hired you to make these decisions. You don’t need to ask unless it’s something major, like budget or a massive process change. Just do it.” That shift – realizing that I am in charge of making these calls – has been a wild adjustment.

Second, dealing with imposter syndrome. I don’t have a degree in a related field; audio production isn’t exactly a direct pipeline to Research Ops leadership. I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome my entire time in research but even more so now. Moving from a mid-level IC position to a senior manager role makes me feel like, “Why did they hire me? Did they make a mistake? Am I going to mess this up?”

It’s something I’m working on. Imposter syndrome isn’t unique to me but it’s definitely been heightened since stepping into this role.

What’s one misconception about Research Ops you wish you could dispel?

That Research Operations is just participant recruiting.

Yes, participant recruiting can be a part of ReOps but it’s not the whole job. There’s so much more to it – governance, knowledge management, research tooling, strategic planning, compliance, and more. The misconception that ReOps is just about getting “butts in seats” for research sessions is one of the biggest misunderstandings I come across.

What’s one thing you wish you had known before stepping into this role?

How much it would impact my mental health.

I didn’t expect to lie in bed at night unable to sleep because I’m thinking about strategy, how to improve processes, how to better support my researchers. I’ve struggled to separate work from personal life and I’m trying to get better about turning my work brain off at the end of the day.

It’s a work in progress.

What’s one thing you hope the audience takes away from this conversation?

It’s okay to not know everything.

You’re always learning, and it’s okay to be vulnerable about that. Soft skills, communication, and relationship-building are just as critical as technical skills. And most importantly: Be proactive. Don’t wait for problems to happen. Seek them out, get ahead of them, and solve them before they hit you.

Connect with Nico

If you enjoyed Nico’s AMA:

• Follow him on LinkedIn and say hello!
• Watch Nico’s Rally Around Research Ops presentation

Thank you, Nico!

Nico was an absolutely joy to have join our AMA series and we really appreciated his vulnerability, honesty, and insights. If you’d like to watch the full AMA, follow this link.