Principal Data Scientist

Zillow

Principal Data Scientist leading measurement strategy for Zillow’s Elevate on-site advertising platform. Collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive insights and advertiser value.

Posted 4/24/2026full-timeRemote • California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $178,300 - $284,700 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

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.

Requirements

What you’ll need

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.
Experience partnering with Product, Engineering, Commercial, Sales, and external stakeholders; familiarity with third-party measurement partners or modern data tools is a plus.
A proactive, strategic mindset and the ability to connect technical rigor to advertiser value, revenue outcomes, and product direction.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Competitive base salary
Equity awards based on experience, performance, and location

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

data scienceadvertising analyticsA/B experimentationincrementalitylift testingcausal inferencemarketing attributionmarketing mix modelingSQLPython

Soft Skills

influence senior stakeholderscross-functional alignmentanalytical skillscommunication skillsstrategic mindsetmentoringtranslating methodologiesproactive approachcollaborationdecision-making