Head Economist

About the team

As a leading voice on the U.S. housing market, Zillow Group’s Economic Research team provides research, commentary and insight for a broad audience including public, industry and internal business stakeholders. The work of our data- and fact-driven team is powered by Zillow’s industry-leading living database of all homes, as well as publicly-available data sources, and our findings are unbiased and independent of Zillow’s business goals. We explore topics and developments that we deem exciting and important in the housing market and shed light on how changing conditions affect a variety of perspectives and decisions. Our work on such a critical market and its participants also contextualizes Zillow’s business performance and helps advise long run company strategy. At Zillow, you’ll work in a lively, collaborative atmosphere with a high-performance team with diverse data engineering and analytical skills.

About the role

We seek a dynamic, creative Head Economist to lead Zillow’s economic research and thought leadership.  This high-impact leader will serve as Zillow’s top housing market expert for research and analysis efforts.  With your presence in broadcast media and presentations to other internal and external stakeholders, you will be a public voice on affordability, supply, mortgage trends, and macroeconomic forces that impact the housing industry.  This person will be responsible for harvesting Zillow’s proprietary and public datasets into compelling research on behalf of the customer and industry partners while informing internal strategy.  You will oversee a team of economists and analysts to produce original research and partner across the company to embed economic insight into our products and business decisions.  This is an excellent opportunity to shape both public discourse and the future of real estate technology at a national scale.  The role will report to the Vice President of Strategic Affairs and Investor Relations.

• Lead Zillow’s housing economics research team's research agenda and priorities. 

• Produce and publish research blending Zillow’s proprietary data with relevant government and industry data, by working with cross-functional data teams to extract key trends impacting the housing market and those participating. 

• Serve as market expert and Zillow data spokesperson to media, social media, industry partners, and internal business stakeholders on specific research, market statistics, and Zillow’s point of view on the latest housing market & economic trends. This includes live or recorded presentations, panels, and interviews for print and broadcast media. 

• Build novel measurements or metrics to understand real estate trends at scale.

• Manage and mentor a team of economists and data experts.

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, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $222,900.00 - $356,100.00 Annually. This base pay range is specific to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC 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.

Who you are

• PhD degree in economics, finance, statistics, or similar. 

• 10+ years of work experience in a fast-paced environment applying insights from big data to real-world problems.

• Expert in real estate markets, mortgage finance, demographics, and macroeconomic trends. 

• Commanding knowledge of econometrics, multivariate statistics, economic theory, and data science techniques is a plus. 

• Ability to turn complex data into clear insights that drive action. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• You love teaching and telling stories using data and are curious about real estate, housing policy, and urban affairs.

• Works well on direct and indirect cross-functional teams of all sizes with representatives from a diverse set of technic