Director Market Research

Smith Arnold Partners; Washington, Baltimore (District of Columbia, MD); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith Arnold Partners seeks an accomplished Associate Vice President, Research & Data Operations to lead three critical functions—Audience Operations, Survey Operations, and Activation Operations—and help scale the systems, processes, and teams behind a growing data and research organization.

You’ll work closely with Sales, Account Management, Product, Partnerships, Finance, and senior leadership, serving as the technical and strategic voice for Research & Data Operations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in research operations, data operations, audience technology, survey methodology, or a related field.
• Proven experience leading multiple technical or research teams simultaneously.
• Deep expertise in at least two of the following: audience modeling and creation; programmatic audience activation; DSP/SSP or other technology integrations; survey research methodology; ETL/data processes; advanced analytics.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with C-suite executives and senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision and operating standards across Audience, Survey, and Activation Operations.
• Own the end-to-end delivery model, from intake and scoping through QA and final handoff.
• Align staffing, capacity, and team structure with business growth and revenue objectives.
• Establish consistent standards for quality, methodology, documentation, delivery, and accountability.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for data quality, audience methodology, survey design, analytics, and activation.
• Lead infrastructure and automation initiatives across data ingestion, audience distribution, activation integrations, and survey technology.
• Partner with Product to translate operational needs into meaningful technology roadmap priorities.
• Manage relationships with downstream activation platforms and technology partners.
• Ensure APIs and data integrations remain reliable, scalable, and continuously improving.
• Give senior leadership visibility into capacity, priorities, opportunities, and operational risks.
• Partner with Revenue teams on complex client scoping and feasibility discussions.
• Coach and develop Directors and emerging leaders while building a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
• Encourage cross-training and collaboration across research and audience functions.

Job description

This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for someone who combines technical depth with business judgment and enjoys building things from the ground up. You’ll have a direct influence on how research is conducted, audiences are built and activated, data quality is maintained, and products are ultimately delivered to clients. If you’re excited by the opportunity to build teams, modernize data operations, influence technology strategy, and help shape how a growing organization delivers research and data at scale, this is a chance to make a significant impact.

Why This Opportunity?

• This isn't simply a role managing existing operations. You’ll help define the future operating model for research and data—creating scalable processes, introducing automation, strengthening methodology, and developing a high-performing leadership team.
• Build the infrastructure, teams, and technology behind the next generation of research and audience data.

What People Are Saying

• "We have a real seat at the table and help shape products from the ground up."
• "The complexity surprised me. Between AI, consumer data, and the evolving state privacy landscape, every day brings new challenges that require thoughtful, practical solutions."
• "I came from big tech and expected to miss the rigor—honestly, the ownership here is higher."

Title: Associate Vice President, Research and Data Operations

Location: Arlington, VA - Hybrid

We’re looking for an accomplished Associate Vice President, Research & Data Operations to lead three critical functions—Audience Operations, Survey Operations, and Activation Operations—and help scale the systems, processes, and teams behind a growing data and research organization.

You’ll work closely with Sales, Account Management, Product, Partnerships, Finance, and senior leadership, serving as the technical and strategic voice for Research & Data Operations.

You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Lead multiple technical and research functions with significant organizational visibility.
• Shape the strategy for automation, tooling, data infrastructure, and audience activation.
• Partner directly with senior leadership and have a meaningful voice in business and product decisions.
• Build scalable systems that allow the organization to grow without sacrificing quality or speed.
• Develop the next generation of leaders across Audience, Survey, and Activation Operations.
• Work at the intersection of research, data, audience technology, analytics, and programmatic activation.

What You’ll Lead

• Audience Operations
• Oversee the teams and processes responsible for building high-quality audiences and datasets, including audience construction, modeling, data quality, and delivery.
• Survey Operations
• Set standards for survey methodology, programming, weighting, quality control, and scalable research execution.
• Activation Operations
• Lead the technology and partnerships that move audiences and data into downstream activation platforms. Oversee API integrations, data onboarding, delivery reporting, and troubleshooting.

Your Impact

• You’ll establish the standards that determine how the organization delivers accurate, high-quality research and data products at scale.
• You’ll also drive the transition toward greater automation and smarter tooling, partnering with Product and technical teams to identify opportunities, prioritize improvements, and reduce manual work.
• Just as importantly, you’ll ensure Research & Data Operations is viewed throughout the organization as a strategic partner—not simply a production function.

What You’ll Do

• Set the vision and operating standards across Audience, Survey, and Activation Operations.
• Own the end-to-end delivery model, from intake and scoping through QA and final handoff.
• Align staffing, capacity, and team structure with business growth and revenue objectives.
• Establish consistent standards for quality, methodology, documentation, delivery, and accountability.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for data quality, audience methodology, survey design, analytics, and activation.
• Lead infrastructure and automation initiatives across data ingestion, audience distribution, activation integrations, and survey technology.
• Partner with Product to translate operational needs into meaningful technology roadmap priorities.
• Manage relationships with downstream activation platforms and technology partners.
• Ensure APIs and data integrations remain reliable, scalable, and continuously improving.
• Give senior leadership visibility into capacity, priorities, opportunities, and operational risks.
• Partner with Revenue teams on complex client scoping and feasibility discussions.
• Coach and develop Directors and emerging leaders while building a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
• Encourage cross-training and collaboration across research and audience functions.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years in research operations, data operations, audience technology, survey methodology, or a related field.
• Proven experience leading multiple technical or research teams simultaneously.
• Deep expertise in at least two of the following:
• Audience modeling and creation
• Programmatic audience activation
• DSP/SSP or other technology integrations
• Survey research methodology
• ETL/data processes
• Advanced analytics
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with C-suite executives and senior leadership.
• A track record of building scalable delivery systems and maintaining rigorous quality standards.
• Experience aligning people, processes, and capacity with revenue and business objectives.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to connect technical concepts to broader business strategy.
• Strong strategic thinker who is equally comfortable getting into the details when necessary.

Nice to Have

• Experience in public affairs, brand research, or agency research.
• Knowledge of programmatic audience activation, identity resolution, or data onboarding.
• Experience managing DSP/SSP or other technology partnerships and API integrations.
• Experience influencing product strategy or technology roadmaps.
• SQL, Python, R, or similar technical skills.
• DC-area candidates strongly preferred.

Within this role, success means building an organization that can scale intelligently.

• Research, audience, and activation teams consistently deliver high-quality work.
• Capacity and staffing are proactively aligned with growth.
• Automation continually reduces manual effort and increases efficiency.
• Revenue teams see Operations as a trusted strategic partner.
• Directors and managers become increasingly autonomous leaders.
• Technology and activation partnerships are proactively managed.
• Data and research infrastructure becomes a true competitive advantage.