VP of Research

Knit•New York, NY

11d•$250,000 - $280,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The VP of Research is an executive leadership role responsible for Knit’s entire Research organization, including Research Delivery, Research Operations, and the future Research Excellence function. The role oversees a current organization of 27 people and directly manages the Managing Director of Research and Head of Research Operations, as well as the future Research Excellence function. The VP reports to the CEO and Co-Founder and is a core member of the executive leadership team. The VP is accountable for building a world-class research organization, delivering excellent customer outcomes, and establishing market credibility. The role will help shape Knit’s company and product strategy, influence the product roadmap and go-to-market approach, and guide the company’s market positioning. Success is measured by impact on revenue growth, operating leverage, product innovation, and competitive differentiation. The VP owns Research’s organizational strategy, design, hiring, leadership development, capacity planning, performance, and operating standards. The role is accountable for Research’s contribution to gross and net revenue retention, and for scaling research output faster than headcount through operational excellence, AI adoption, and automation. In partnership with Product, Engineering, GTM, Marketing, and other executive leaders, the VP will advance research capabilities, support sophisticated customer engagements, develop differentiated methodologies and proprietary intellectual property, and position Knit as a leader in AI-native research. Knit is a researcher-driven AI platform that helps researchers conduct agency-quality quantitative and qualitative research at DIY costs and speed. The position is based in the USA, with New York City preferred. Candidates located outside NYC are expected to travel to NYC approximately once a month. The role offers a salary of $250,000–$280,000 plus a bonus; final compensation depends on the candidate’s level, experience, and qualifications.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in the insights and market research industry, including significant executive-level experience leading research organizations.
Proven experience building and leading high-performing, multifunctional research organizations spanning Research Delivery, Research Operations, and research methodology development.
Experience developing senior leaders, designing organizational structures, and scaling teams to support significant business growth.
Strong commercial acumen and business ownership, with demonstrated success driving customer retention, revenue expansion, operational efficiency, and profitability through research excellence.
Deep understanding of AI, automation, and the evolving research technology landscape; ability to identify opportunities to automate workflows, improve productivity, and scale research output faster than headcount.
Proven ability to shape company and product strategy through research expertise, including close partnership with executive leadership, Product, and Engineering to influence roadmaps and develop differentiated, scalable research capabilities.
Experience leading strategic cross-functional initiatives across Research, Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing, with ownership of strategy and capability development from concept through execution.
Exceptional people and organizational leadership, including building, mentoring, and developing senior research leaders and high-performing teams.
Experience in organizational design, capacity planning, talent forecasting, recruiting, hiring, and performance management.
Ability to establish clear accountability, operating rhythms, KPIs, and performance standards.
Experience leading organizational transformation, change management, and adoption of new technologies and processes.
Ability to build a culture of research excellence, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Deep expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including research design, data quality, sampling, fieldwork, and delivery operations.
Ability to provide strategic direction and make informed tradeoffs among research quality, speed, cost, and scalability.
Strong market presence and industry credibility, with the ability to establish thought leadership, develop differentiated methodologies and proprietary IP, support sophisticated customer engagements, and position Knit as a leader in AI-native research.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a technology-enabled market research company or agency.
Demonstrated success scaling research delivery, operations, and innovation.
Strong proclivity for innovation and productization, including experience turning research expertise into scalable products and capabilities.

Responsibilities

Shape Knit’s company and product strategy, priorities, OKRs, investment decisions, and company-wide execution in partnership with the CEO and executive team.
Influence the product roadmap, go-to-market strategy, marketing positioning, and long-term competitive differentiation using research expertise.
Own the strategy, organizational design, hiring, leadership development, and capacity planning across all Research functions.
Build and lead a high-performing Research leadership team; establish clear accountability, operating cadences, and a culture of research excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Ensure Research has the talent, systems, and resources required to support Knit’s growth ambitions, addressing bottlenecks and investment tradeoffs with executive peers.
Own Research’s contribution to gross revenue retention (GRR) and net revenue retention (NRR) by building teams, processes, and quality standards that deliver consistent, exceptional research and strengthen customer relationships.
Scale research output faster than headcount by improving efficiency across research workflows, programming, fieldwork, sample economics, and delivery operations.
Partner with Product and Engineering to shape the automation roadmap, accelerate AI adoption, reduce human involvement in research workflows, and preserve research quality.
Ensure Research capacity and productivity scale ahead of revenue growth; performance is measured in part by revenue per Delivery FTE, AI Leverage Margin, and time to research task speed.
Partner with GTM leadership to build and lead a Research Excellence function that supports sophisticated opportunities, strengthens strategic customer relationships, and enables expansion into new research capabilities and markets.
Work with Marketing and Product to develop differentiated methodologies, proprietary intellectual property, compelling research solutions, and an industry-leading point of view on AI-native research.
Contribute to new and expansion revenue and establish Knit as a leader in AI-native research.