About Me

I’m Sean Hinton, a senior UX Researcher and Customer Insights professional with over a decade of experience turning complex questions into clear, actionable answers. My career has spanned corporate, academic, and entrepreneurial worlds — from leading global research programs at Seequent, SolarZero, and Spark NZ, to launching my own internationally distributed products for a thriving retro gaming community.

I specialise in bridging customer insight and product design. My work blends qualitative depth with quantitative precision, empowering organisations to make decisions grounded in evidence, not assumptions. I’ve built research communities of 20,000+ participants, delivered 10,000+ hours of testing, and embedded insight frameworks that have reshaped product strategy and service design.

Alongside my industry work, I hold a PhD in Business Information Systems, where my research explored gamification and user engagement. This academic foundation gives me both the rigour to design methodologically sound studies and the creativity to uncover unexpected opportunities.

I believe research is most valuable when it’s accessible, scalable, and integrated into everyday decision-making. That’s why I’ve invested heavily in capability building — creating toolkits, training programs, and self-service systems so that anyone in an organisation can engage meaningfully with customers.

When I’m not running studies or refining frameworks, I’m often prototyping my own products, collaborating with global suppliers, and navigating the quirks of Amazon FBA and Shopify. Whether it’s a precision-engineered PS3 tool or a replica console faceplate, my approach stays the same: understand the user, design for their needs, and deliver with uncompromising quality.

If you’re looking for someone who can see the big picture, sweat the details, and bring people along for the journey, we should talk.

Core Focus Areas

  • UX & Product Research Strategy

  • Mixed-Methods Research & Insight Synthesis

  • Global Research Operations & Governance

  • Research Capability Building & Enablement

  • Product Development & Go-to-Market Strategy