Principal Data Scientist

Zillow

1d•Remote

About The Position

Zillow is seeking a Principal Data Scientist to lead measurement strategy for Elevate, our on-site advertising business. This is a high-impact individual contributor role for someone who combines deep technical expertise with strong business judgment and cross-functional influence. You will shape how Zillow measures advertiser value, scales experimentation, and turns complex data into decisions that inform product & sales strategy, revenue growth, and advertiser trust.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in data science, marketing science, advertising analytics, or applied measurement.
Deep expertise in on-site advertising measurement, including lift testing, incrementality, A/B experimentation, advertiser reporting, and performance optimization.
Strong knowledge of measurement approaches such as causal inference, marketing attribution methods, and marketing mix modeling.
Experience working in or closely with ads platforms, retail media networks, sponsored listings, or similar on-site advertising environments.
Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional alignment without formal management authority.
Strong analytical and technical skills, including experience with large-scale behavioral, clickstream, or marketplace datasets and proficiency in SQL plus Python or R.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex methodologies into clear business recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences.
A proactive, strategic mindset and the ability to connect technical rigor to advertiser value, revenue outcomes, and product direction.

Nice To Haves

Experience partnering with Product, Engineering, Commercial, Sales, and external stakeholders; familiarity with third-party measurement partners or modern data tools is a plus.
We value the experience and perspective of candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. We encourage you to apply if you have transferable skills or related experiences.

Responsibilities

Define and evolve the measurement strategy for Zillow’s Elevate on-site advertising platform, including ad placements, pricing models, inventory optimization, and advertiser value.
Lead incrementality, lift testing, and experimentation frameworks that support advertiser reporting and internal decision-making.
Build KPI frameworks that connect ad performance to advertiser outcomes, product decisions, and revenue growth.
Partner with Ad Product, Ad Tech, Sales, Commercial, and Data Engineering teams to ensure measurement solutions support both monetization and advertiser trust.
Translate ad performance and marketplace data into actionable insights that shape product roadmaps and go-to-market strategy.
Collaborate with third-party measurement vendors, platform providers, and data partners to strengthen Zillow’s advertising measurement capabilities.
Drive cross-functional alignment on experimentation design, measurement standards, and scalable analytical best practices across the ads ecosystem.
Mentor data scientists, improve analytical systems and data reliability, and identify responsible AI-enabled workflows that increase efficiency while maintaining rigor and governance.