Executive Researcher, Executive

About the team

The Executive Recruiting team at Zillow partners with senior leaders to hire executives who shape the future of the company. We manage highly visible and complex searches across all functions while delivering a fast, high quality and confidential experience for candidates and clients. This team plays a central role in building the leadership talent that drives Zillow’s mission to reimagine real estate.

As an Executive Researcher, you will generate the insights that drive Zillow’s executive hiring. You will map markets, identify leaders and analyze organizational structures to guide search strategy and hiring decisions. Working with Executive Recruiters and senior stakeholders, you will shape leadership profiles and strengthen Zillow’s executive pipeline, accelerating and improving how we hire top talent.

You will get to:

• Drive research for executive searches, including market mapping, target company lists, talent profiling, and competitor insights
• Build and maintain executive talent pipelines for current and future hiring needs
• Collaborate with Recruiters and cross-functional partners to create talent pipelines for succession planning and key organizational needs
• Provide market and role-based insights that inform search strategy, calibration, and decision making
• Create candidate summaries, research briefs, and market overviews for kickoff, update, and calibration meetings
• Maintain organized research resources, tools, and CRM or ATS data to support efficient search execution
• Track leadership trends, organizational changes, and industry developments relevant to Zillow’s business
• Actively source and engage senior leadership talent, primarily for VP+ and complex Sr. Director searches, including proactive outreach to passive candidates, initial screening, and slate building, in close partnership with Executive Recruiters
• Support improvements to research tools, processes, and methods to enhance search effectiveness

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, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $ - $ annually.

This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations. In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont the standard base pay range for this role is $ - $ annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations 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. Employees in this role will not be paid below the salary threshold for exempt employees in the state where they reside.

• A research-driven problem solver with curiosity for talent markets and leadership dynamics
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously
• A clear and concise communicator who can present insights to senior audiences
• Comfortable operating in confidential and ambiguous situations with professionalism and sound judgment
• Collaborative, low ego, and effective at building trust with recruiters, HR partners and business leaders
• Motivated to elevate executive hiring through insight, accuracy, and strong execution

• 4+ years in executive research, executive search, or research-focused recruiting
• Ability to conduct market research and map organizations to identify prospective leaders
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn complex information into clear insights
• Effective partner to senior stakeholders with strong influence and communication skills
• Proficient with tools such as Linked In Recruiter, Gem, or similar platforms, plus CRM or ATS systems
• Skilled at managing…