Senior Director, Research & Insights
New York, NY
Who We Are
Kargo creates powerful moments of connection between brands and consumers to build businesses. Every day, our 600+ employees work to radically raise the bar on what agentic AI, CTV, eCommerce, social, and mobile can do to deliver unique ad experiences across the world’s most premium platforms. Taking a creative science approach to all we do, we continuously innovate solutions that outperform industry benchmarks and client expectations. Now 20+ years strong, Kargo has offices in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Sydney, Auckland, London and Waterford, Ireland.
Who We Hire
Techies who want to build the future. Creatives who want to design it better. Communicators to win business. Collaborators to build it. Data pros who turn numbers into insights. Product builders who turn ideas into innovations. Anyone eager to be on a team that doesn’t stop to ask what’s next, because they’re already building it.
Title: Senior Director, Research and Insights
Job Type: Full-time, Hybrid
Job Location: NYC
Role Summary
We are seeking a Senior Director, Research & Insights to lead a market-facing insights function that drives revenue, strengthens client partnerships, and advances the company’s leadership position across digital advertising.
This is a true functional leadership role, responsible for setting the vision, priorities, and operating model for the team. The ideal candidate brings a strong commercial mindset and understands how research and insights directly drive product adoption, pipeline growth, client strategy, and measurable business outcomes.
You will lead the company’s research, measurement, and insights-driven thought leadership strategy across CTV, mobile, video, and cross-channel digital media solutions. This role requires platform-level thinking and the ability to shape how the company positions its broader capabilities and value proposition in market.
This is a highly visible, client-facing role requiring strong industry expertise, executive presence, and established relationships across agencies, brands, and the broader adtech ecosystem. The role will regularly engage in senior-level client conversations, industry events, and external presentations, serving as a strategic voice for the company in market.
What You’ll Do
Leadership & Strategy
- Lead and grow a high-performing Research & Insights team (6+ people)
- Define and evangelize the vision, priorities, and operating model for the function
- Drive the evolution of the team into a proactive, commercially focused organization
- Align research initiatives with business goals, revenue impact, and platform adoption
- Serve as a strategic leader across Sales, Marketing, Product, Data, and Client Success teams
Research, Measurement & GTM Strategy
- Own the company’s measurement and ad effectiveness strategy across digital, CTV, and cross-channel solutions
- Partner with VP of Product Marketing on go-to-market strategy for research and insights initiatives, ensuring strong market positioning and adoption
- Oversee custom and syndicated research studies that demonstrate campaign performance, platform value, and business outcomes
- Evaluate and integrate emerging methodologies, tools, and partners to maintain industry leadership
- Translate campaign, audience, and platform data into actionable insights and strategic recommendations
Narrative Ownership & Market Positioning
- Input research perspective into the company’s narrative, positioning, all contributing to a data-backed point of view in market
- Develop compelling data/insights stories that clearly articulate product and platform differentiation
- Drive/support thought leadership initiatives across content, PR, case studies, events, and executive communications
- Represent the company externally through industry conferences, panels, client presentations, and strategic engagements
Sales & Client Leadership
- Drive insight-led sales strategies that support pipeline growth and revenue generation
- Lead high-impact client conversations and executive presentations focused on measurement, effectiveness, and platform value
- Develop data-backed narratives and strategic recommendations that influence investment decisions
- Build and maintain strong relationships across agencies, brands, publishers, and measurement partners
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Partner with Product and Data teams to inform platform innovation and measurement strategy
- Influence product positioning and GTM priorities through market intelligence and customer insights
- Ensure research outputs are scalable, actionable, commercially impactful, and aligned with organizational objectives
Who You Are
- 10+ years of experience in research, insights, measurement, analytics, strategy, or product marketing within adtech, media, publisher, agency, or digital advertising environments
- Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams and building organizational functions
- Strong commercial acumen with a demonstrated ability to connect insights and measurement to revenue growth, product adoption, and client outcomes
- Deep expertise in ad effectiveness, media measurement, attribution, and ROI analysis across digital and CTV channels
- Strong understanding of the adtech ecosystem, including programmatic, premium publishers, mobile, video, and emerging channels
- Experience working with leading research and measurement partners such as Nielsen, Comscore, Kantar, Dynata, Adelaide, Upwave, DoubleVerify, IAS, and similar platforms
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex data into clear, compelling, and revenue-driving narratives
- Extensive experience leading client-facing initiatives and partnering closely with Sales and Client Success organizations
- Strong executive presence with the ability to engage credibly with senior clients, agency leaders, and internal stakeholders
- Established industry relationships and experience representing organizations externally through events, panels, speaking engagements, and thought leadership initiatives
- Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive organizational alignment
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience
In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency laws, the anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, education, and skills.
Our Laurels
- AdAge Best Places to Work
- ThinkLA Partner of the Year
- Built In Best Places to Work
- Cynopsis 2025 Top Women in Media - Jeannine Shao Collins
- Martech Breakthrough Awards - Best Overall Adtech Company
- Digiday Media Awards Best Event
- Cynopsis Media Impact Awards-Best CTV Platform
- Martech Breakthrough Awards-CTV Innovation
- Adweek Media Plan of the Year Awards - Best Use of Insights
Follow Our Lead
- Big Picture: kargo.com
- The Latest: Instagram (@kargomobile) and LinkedIn (Kargo)
Kargo is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and dignity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or family status, national origin, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.
Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Kargo will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.