Director, Marketing AI & Automation

About the teamZillow Group is seeking a Director, Marketing AI & Automation to lead a new team within Marketing, Technology & Operations. This role will be accountable for delivering Marketing AI big bets, responsible for the roadmap, the platform, the governance, and the path that carries use cases into scaled production.

This role is responsible for shepherding AI big bets from strategy development to scaled implementation, including the platform and integration work they depend on, the measurement that proves impact, the change management that makes them stick, and the handoff to the teams who will run them day to day. The role also owns what comes next: sourcing and shaping the next generation of bets as the technology and the business shift, building the case for what to invest behind, and deciding what to retire.

This role will be responsible for building and leading a multidisciplinary team responsible for scaling AI use cases. The team is expected to have a mix of strategic, technical and operational skills.

About the role

Key Responsibilities

• Own the Marketing AI roadmap: Setting and defending the use-case portfolio, including what gets built, in what order, and for whom, prioritized against reclaimed capacity and business impact

• Run the path from idea to production: Building and operating the intake stage-gate from idea to pilot to production to owned, including the handoff model that transfers run-state to the team accountable for the outcome

• Stand up the agent and orchestration platform: Owning the shared layer, reusable components, and the data and vendor integration that AI use cases depend on, focused on integration and orchestration rather than model building

• Own AI governance for Marketing: Running agent audits, brand-risk scoring, and exclusion zones in partnership with Legal and Brand, aligned to Zillow's AI Principles and to external standards

• Drive adoption across the org: Running the adoption program and the network of embedded AI liaisons so that capability is embedded in day-to-day workflows rather than sitting unused

• Build and lead the team: Hiring into net-new technical and strategic roles, integrating talent redeployed from across Marketing, and setting the performance bar for a newly formed team

• Report value to leadership: Owning the measurement of capacity gained, speed to market, and business impact, including a clear account of what did not work

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 $236,000.00 - $377,000.00 annually. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations. In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia the standard base pay range for this role is $224,200.00 - $358,200.00 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.

Who you are

• 10+ years in marketing technology, growth engineering, applied AI, or technical product, including 4+ years leading teams.

• Production track record: Has moved AI use cases from proof of concept to scaled operation, and can speak specifically to what was built, what broke along the way, and what the measured impact was

• Marketing fluency: Strong understanding of how Marketing operate, with enough depth to hold a substantive conversation with a channel leader about where AI helps and where it does not

• Technically credible: Able to go deep with engineers on agent orchestration, data integration, and evaluation, and to distinguish a serious architecture from a demo, without needing to build models directly. Familiarity with a modern composable stack (CDP, reverse ETL, cloud data platform, enterprise LLM tooling) highly valued

• Enablement mindset: Track record running a center-led function that transferred capability outward as it matured, rather than accumulating ownership. Experience standing up a center of excellence or platform team from zero a plus

• Governance judgment: Experience managing brand, legal, and privacy risk in AI systems, and building the review mechanisms rather than resisting them

• Influence without authority: Able to drive outcomes that land inside other teams, on other roadmaps, without direct control

• Build-versus-buy judgment: Experience evaluating and managing AI and martech vendors, with a clear view of when a platform partner beats an internal build

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in a technical or business field (MBA, Computer Science, Engineering, Analytics) a plus

Get to know us

At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help people navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.

How we work is a key part of that transformation. Through Cloud HQ, our strategic approach to distributed work, most employees have the flexibility to work from wherever they’re most productive—enabling us to move fast, stay connected and deliver on our people promise.

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, and included on TIME’s America’s Best Companies 2026 list , reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.

No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.