Principal Strategic Researcher

ZINC Zillow, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 182,000 - 291,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity awards

Job summary

Zillow Group is seeking a Principal Strategic Researcher to bring structure, creativity, and foresight to high-risk, ambiguous areas by partnering with product, design, engineering and business leaders. You will identify critical questions and design decisive mixed-methods studies that shape strategy and de-risk bets.

The role is remote within the U.S. and offers equity awards in addition to a competitive base salary.

Qualifications

• Have extensive experience (10+ years) executing research in a product-focused environment.
• Developed a comprehensive mixed-methods research toolkit and chose the right approach for the problem, risk, and decision.
• Led strategic research that shaped product or business direction with measurable impact.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leaders through storytelling and trusted relationships.
• Thrive in ambiguity and define a path forward when the problem and audience are evolving.
• Created frameworks to codify, communicate, and land findings with partners.
• Owns the role as a strategic operator, not just a researcher.
• Hands-on experience experimenting with AI tools in research workflows.

Responsibilities

• Identify customer-focused questions in ambiguous spaces.
• Design and execute mixed-methods research to inform decisions with rigor and speed.
• Shape product strategy through close partnership with senior product, design, engineering, and business leaders.
• Build durable, reusable knowledge from strategic research to improve decisions.
• Raise the bar for research craft and customer judgment with colleagues.
• Use AI tools to amplify insights and influence partners.

Skills

10+ years exp

Mixed-methods toolkit

Executive influence

Product strategy partnership

Ownership mindset

AI in research

Ambiguity handling

Frameworks and models

Job description

About the team

Zillow Customer Research is a modern, multi-disciplinary team of research operations professionals, technologists, behavioral scientists, researchers, and research specialists. Our goal is to build the customer understanding, judgement, and conviction that Zillow’s experiences are built upon. We deliver this through building research capabilities and platforms that enable the company to build a shared understanding of what we know, execute self-service research, prototype with customer context, and conduct strategic research on select high-risk bets.

About the role

Zillow focuses its strategic researchers on high-risk opportunities that are ambiguous, moldable, and ripe for de-risking. As Principal Strategic Researcher, you'll bring structure, creativity, and foresight to these areas through deep partnership with product, design, engineering, and business leaders. You'll go where the business needs this capability most, and that focus will shift as Zillow's priorities evolve.

You’ll get to:

• Identify the customer-focused questions that matter the most in ambiguous spaces.
• Design and execute mixed-methods research approaches to answer those questions, choosing the rigor and speed needed to influence decision-making.
• Shape product strategy through close partnership with senior product, design, engineering, and business leaders.
• Build and refresh Zillow's foundational customer understanding by turning your strategic research into durable, reusable knowledge.
• Raise the bar for research craft and customer judgment alongside your Zillow Customer Research colleagues.
• Use AI tools to amplify your strengths and flex your creativity in how you land your learnings and influence partners.

This role has been categorized as a Remote position. “Remote” employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company. U.S. employees may live in any of the 50 United States, with limited exceptions.

In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $182,100.00 - $290,900.00 annually. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia the standard base pay range for this role is $173,000.00 - $276,400.00 annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

In addition to a competitive base salary this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. Employees in this role will not be paid below the salary threshold for exempt employees in the state where they reside.

Who you are

You're drawn to untangling complex business and customer challenges through research. You have a demonstrated track record of translating learnings into conviction that business leaders act on.

Specifically, you:

• Have extensive experience (10+ years) executing research in a product-focused environment.
• Have developed a comprehensive mixed-methods research toolkit and consistently choose the right approach for the problem, the risk, and the decision at hand.
• Have led strategic research that shaped product or business direction, and can point to decisions your work has changed.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leaders and executives through clear storytelling, strong points of view, and trusted relationships built over time.
• Thrive in ambiguity and can define a path forward when the problem, the audience, and the approach are still taking shape.
• Created frameworks and models to codify, communicate, and land findings with partners.
• Have an ownership mindset; you act as a strategic operator, not just a researcher.
• Hands-on experience experimenting with AI tools in your research workflow and curiosity to push what’s possible

Nice to Have

• Experience drawing on behavioral science, psychology, or decision science frameworks to explain customer behavior or frame problems.
• Partnered with data science or product teams to design or interpret experiments, and combined attitudinal and behavioral evidence.

Get to know us

At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help people navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.

How we work is a key part of that transformation. Through Cloud HQ, our strategic approach to distributed work, most employees have the flexibility to work from wherever they’re most productive—enabling us to move fast, stay connected and deliver on our people promise.

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, and included on TIME’s America’s Best Companies 2026 list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.

No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.