Director, Rentals Data Science

About the team

Zillow Rentals is transforming the way renters and property managers connect—making renting as seamless as possible. The Rentals Shopping and Transactions Data team sits at the heart of this effort, powering decisions and strategy with data. We are looking for a visionary Director of Data Science to lead this high-impact team and drive insights across the end-to-end rentals transaction journey—spanning user acquisition, search & shopping behavior, re-engagement, listing quality, applications, leases, and payments.
This leader will bring statistical rigor, product intuition, and business savvy to a dynamic team that serves partners across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Strategy.

About the role

As the Director of Rentals Data Science, you will be at the forefront of redefining the rental journey. You will lead a talented team to uncover insights that shape our product, simplify the search and transaction process, and ultimately help millions of people find a place to call home.

You Will Get To:

• Lead and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists, analysts and data visualization engineers supporting Rentals Transactions and Shopping initiatives.

• Shape the long-term data strategy for Rentals shopping and transaction experiences, from listing exposure to payment completion to buying a home down the road.

• Provide hands-on technical mentorship to your team—supporting model development, experimental design, and rigorous analytics.

• Foster a culture of continuous learning and elevate the technical bar through code reviews, design discussions, and peer learning forums.

• Partner closely with product managers and engineering leaders across verticals

• Design, guide, and interpret A/B tests and causal inference studies that inform product decisions and optimize user experience.

• Build and promote data products (dashboards, models, frameworks) that improve internal visibility and external outcomes.

• Evangelize data storytelling—synthesizing complex metrics and trends into compelling narratives for senior leadership and external stakeholders

• Champion best practices in experimentation, statistical analysis, self-serving tooling and data governance across Zillow Rentals

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, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, 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, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, 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

This role requires a unique blend of technical expertise, leadership, and business acumen. We're looking for candidates who possess the following requirements:

• 10+ years of relevant industry experience in data science, analytics, or similar roles—with a strong track record of driving impact through data.

• 3+ years leading data science teams in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

• Expertise in SQL, Python or R, and experience working with cloud-based data infrastructure and tools (e.g., Databricks, Tableau, Mode).

• Deep understanding of A/B testing, experimentation frameworks, and statistical inference.

• Experience with B2C and B2B product data, ideally in multi-sided marketplaces or complex transaction flows.

• Strong mentorship mindset and a passion for developing talent—from early-career data scientists to seasoned experts.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence product and business strategy.

• Comfort working with complex event data (e.g., clickstreams, funnel conversion metrics) and understanding user behavior acro