Penalva Research

About

A studio built on eleven years of asking the right questions

Penalva Research is the practice of Guilherme Penalva — senior UX researcher and AI product strategist, Toptal-vetted (top 3% of talent), with 60+ projects across 25+ industries for startups and multinational corporations.

The studio exists for one reason: too many product decisions are still made on opinion, hierarchy, or copied competitors. We bring the evidence — through rigorous research that any executive can read, and any team can act on. From ethnographic field studies in bank branches to AI-platform discovery for Fortune 500 science teams, the method changes; the standard doesn't.

Based in Porto Alegre, Brazil, working globally in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Guilherme Penalva, Founder & Lead UX Researcher
Guilherme Penalva
Founder & Lead UX Researcher

25+ industries served

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Enterprise AI & Digital Transformation
  • SaaS & Software
  • FinTech & Banking
  • Healthcare & Digital Health
  • Pharma & Biotech
  • Ecommerce & Retail
  • IoT & Smart Devices
  • Industrial IoT & HVAC
  • Government
  • Real Estate
  • Legal
  • Education
  • Media
  • Travel & Leisure
  • Ticketing & Booking
  • Environmental Non-Profits

Track record

Selected experience

Xnote.ai

Senior UX Researcher & Strategist

Product strategy with founders; roadmap features validated at 60–80% desirability; product analytics framework on Amplitude.

Colgate-Palmolive & Hill's Pet Nutrition

Senior UX Researcher & Strategist · Toptal Success Story

Two AI-powered platforms from POC to MVP; 16 AI tools researched, 15 validated features for global science teams across US, LATAM, and EU.

Carrier

Senior UX Researcher · Toptal Success Story

33 experiments, 3,360 users, top CSAT/SUS/CES results; ResearchOps templates for 11 study scenarios; +15% subscription rate from one qualitative insight.

Pfizer

Senior UX Researcher

Research operations, UX audits, journey mapping, and data consolidation for mobile products.

R/GA

Senior UX Designer

Heineken mobile app information architecture redesign; design sprints; accessibility QA.

AgileEngine, Sapient AG2, and more

UX Researcher & Designer

Ethnographic field research for private banking (ATMs & branches), mobile banking usability, venture building, and service design.

Methods & knowledge

  • User & stakeholder interviews
  • Moderated & unmoderated usability testing (SUS, CSAT, CES)
  • Click testing & A/B testing
  • Feature prioritization surveys & workshops
  • Competitive analysis & benchmarking
  • ResearchOps & atomic research
  • Desk research & product analytics
  • AI product research (agents, RAG, GenAI)

Tools

Product & Design

  • Linear
  • Jira
  • Notion
  • Confluence
  • Miro
  • Figma

Analytics

  • Amplitude
  • GA4
  • Looker
  • Clarity
  • Hotjar

User Research

  • UserZoom
  • UserTesting
  • Dovetail

AI Tools

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Gemini
  • Cursor
  • Codex
  • Antigravity

Automation & Data

  • Make
  • n8n
  • Obsidian
  • Supabase

Education

  • Postgraduate, User Experience Design and Beyond

    PUCRS — with additional certification in Leadership & Technology Management

  • B.A. Social Communication

    FAAP — Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado

  • Continuing education

    UserTesting certifications, AI Product Lead (PM3/Tera), ResearchOps, facilitation, information architecture, product discovery & metrics.

Work with a researcher your stakeholders will trust.

Verified track record, enterprise experience, and evidence-first communication — from the first call.

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