Director, Customer Insights

McDonald's Corporation•Chicago, IL

1d•$178,121 - $222,651•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Go-To-Market (GTM) Consumer Insights leads the integration of the customer and crew voice into marketing activation across McDonald’s U.S., ensuring campaigns, messaging, digital experience (i.e., McDonald’s App and Delivery), and in-restaurant experiences are grounded in a deep understanding of consumer behavior and realities of our restaurants. The team primarily supports the Marketing organization but spans its impact to any work that is eventually seen by our customers.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in consumer insights, marketing, or analytics
Proven track record influencing strategies, product launches, or major campaigns
Experience in QSR, retail, CPG, or a fast-paced, consumer-centric industry a plus
Strategic & Analytical Skills: Strong ability to connect customer insights to business strategy and commercial outcomes
Leadership & Influence: Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across cross-functional teams. Strong storytelling skills—able to synthesize complex data into clear, compelling narratives. Experience leading and developing high-performing teams
Execution & Impact Orientation: Ability to balance strategic thinking with executional rigor. Comfortable operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with multiple stakeholders. Strong bias toward action and measurable impact
Bachelor’s degree required
Must live in Chicago area

Nice To Haves

advanced degree (MBA, MA/MS in Behavioral Science, Psychology, Economics, or related field) preferred

Responsibilities

Serve as Strategic Thought Partner: Lead insights across the full GTM lifecycle—from concept development and in-market testing to post-launch evaluation. Translate consumer, cultural, and competitive insights into actionable GTM strategies across campaigns, menu launches, and value platforms. Partner with Marketing cross-functional teams to influence upstream decisions, ensuring insights are embedded early in planning. Build acumen with organization on how to land messages and drive intended behaviors.
Bring Voice of Customer and Crew to Paid Communications: Partner with marketing organization to develop campaign strategy and insight. Guide team to develop consumer+crew research plan for paid national campaigns (i.e., insight generation, neuro creative testing, etc).
Strengthen Digital Experience and Owned Channels: Guide team to design and test interventions to drive trial, frequency, and trade-up (e.g., pricing cues, menu design, bundling strategies). Partner with digital and delivery teams to drive acquisition, ease of use and retention.
Lead and Develop a High-Performing Insights Team: Lead and develop a high-performing insights team of 4 individuals focused on GTM excellence. Build organizational capability in applying insights and behavioral science to business decisions. Foster a culture of curiosity, transparency, and impact. Continue to advance tools and capabilities to adapt to the future needs of the business and customer.