Jordan Birkbeck
Currently based in Hong Kong, and open to interesting work anywhere if the role and the company are right.
I've been at Goodnotes for about five and a half years — support first, then research. I work with product teams on decisions that have to ship, usually on Canvas.
When I'm not doing that I train Muay Thai, walk a lot, and spend too much money on coffee and dinner. History is still the thing I can't quite leave alone.
What the CV won't tell you
How I actually work
Fast is a discipline, not a shortcut
People assume fast research is sloppy research. It’s the opposite. Moving fast requires sharper questions and cleaner scope, because there’s no time to recover from asking the wrong thing.
Start with the decision, not the method
The most important thing I do before a project isn’t writing a discussion guide. It’s working out what the research is for: who has to act, and what they already believe.
If it doesn’t travel, it didn’t happen
A finding that sits in a Notion doc and never influences a decision is a failed project, however rigorous it was. I measure the work by how it moves.
Outside of work
The person you'd actually work with
Hong Kong, Muay Thai, too much history, and a lot of walking. The photos will do more of this than a paragraph should.
Muay Thai, the gym, or a hike. Something in motion.
Hong Kong — street, trail, or a table. Place, not a landmark postcard.
Coffee, food, or a night in. The rest of the person.
Work
Work history
Goodnotes — User Researcher — Canvas Team
Oct 2025 – Present
Hong Kong (Hybrid)
Goodnotes — User Researcher
Nov 2023 – Oct 2025
Remote (Leeds, UK)
Goodnotes — Senior Technical Customer Support Specialist
Apr 2022 – Nov 2023
London (Hybrid)
Goodnotes — Technical Customer Support Specialist
Apr 2021 – Apr 2022
London (Hybrid)
Freetrade — Customer Operations Associate
Aug 2020 – Apr 2021
London
PwC UK — Assurance Intern
Jun 2019 – Aug 2019
Leeds
University of Aberdeen — MA History — First Class Honours
2016 – 2020
Certifications
- Professional Certificate in User Research — UX Design Institute, Aug 2025
- Insights for Innovation — IDEO U, Dec 2023
- Google UX Design Certificate — Google