Director, Research & Development

Director, Research & Development

Motorsport Network is hiring a Director, Research & Development to serve as the connector between our audience data and the commercial story we bring to market. This is an IC, hands-on role — equal parts data strategist, narrative architect, and insight product owner. The successful candidate will translate syndicated, first-party, and behavioral data into category-led audience resources, pitch-ready insights, and a clear point of view on what makes the Motorsport Network audience uniquely valuable in the global media landscape.

Working in close partnership with Sales, Business Development, Audience Development, Client Solutions, Client Success, Programming, Content, and other cross-functional teams, this role will provide the insight backbone of custom proposals, sponsorship narratives, and franchise launches. The Director will translate complex data sets into language that lands consistently with an agency planner, a brand director, and a CMO — fluent, confident, and commercially relevant.

Beyond synthesis of existing data, this role is accountable for building Motorsport Network's proprietary intelligence capability — designing the roadmap for owned research communities, primary field studies, and leading custom intelligence engagements that generate first-party insights no competitor can replicate.

Required:

• 10+ years in audience research, insights, or marketing strategy inside a major media company, network, publisher, or agency — including a minimum of two years at the Director or senior-manager level leading work end to end.
• Demonstrated ComScore and Nielsen competency. Able to build, defend, and challenge audience claims using these tools without translation.
• Fluency with the broader research stack, including MRI-Simmons, GWI, social listening platforms, and first-party or behavioral analytics.
• Hands-on experience designing and fielding primary research, including quantitative surveys, qualitative studies, and audience segmentation work.
• Track record of building or scaling proprietary research assets — research communities, panels, or insight platforms — that produced ongoing first-party value to a commercial organization.
• Experience leading custom or syndicated intelligence engagements on behalf of advertiser or partner briefs, end to end.
• A portfolio of work that converted a data set into a commercial outcome: a pitch won, a category opened, or a narrative that became the house point of view.
• Outstanding presentation craft. Decks that read and look like they came from a major media company, not a research vendor; comfort presenting at every level from agency planner to CMO.
• A synthesizer's instinct. The ability to hold multiple data sets, stakeholder agendas, and a CMO-level question in mind simultaneously, and return with the single insight that answers them.
• Comfort operating in a lean, global, fast-paced environment, with an ownership mindset and a strong bias toward action.

Highly Valued:

• Background in sports media, automotive, or endemic enthusiast categories.
• Experience working in or with luxury, automotive, watches, finance, or travel categories on the brand side.
• Familiarity with social, programmatic, addressable, retail media, or first-party audience products and how they show up in a pitch.
• Experience supporting global sales teams, with an emphasis on the US and UK. This role is based in New York City with a hybrid in-office schedule. Compensation: $120K to $140K - Compensation package will depend on experience and training.