Head of Research Operations

Who we’re looking for

As Head of Research Operations, you will own the strategy, team, and operating model that enable Knit to collect high-quality research data with exceptional speed and efficiency. You will lead Programming, Fieldwork, and Data QA, building a function that becomes a competitive advantage as Knit scales.

You will be accountable for Research Operations’ contribution to three shared business objectives:

• →Customer retention and expansion: Improve research speed, quality, and reliability to strengthen customer relationships and drive Net Revenue Retention.
• →New business growth: Expand audience reach and operational capabilities to increase win rates and unlock new research opportunities.
• →Gross margin improvement: Optimize sample spend, team capacity, and automation so revenue can grow faster than delivery costs.

Key Responsibilities

Define the vision, priorities, and roadmap for the function, translating Knit’s company objectives into clear investments, operating plans, and measurable outcomes. Establish and own the function’s OKRs, KPIs, and operating cadence. Make informed investments across speed, quality, feasibility, and cost, and hold the team accountable for results.

Lead the Programming, Fieldwork, and Data QA teams, developing strong ICs and Player Coaches and establishing clear ownership across each area. Own organizational design, hiring, talent development, and performance management. Anticipate demand and align headcount investments with revenue growth. Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Own the end-to-end performance of Knit’s data collection operations. Set ambitious service standards and build the systems, processes, and team capabilities to meet them consistently as volume and complexity grow. Your team’s priorities will include:

• Reducing time to final sample without compromising quality.
• Strengthening data quality standards and controls across the research lifecycle.
• Improving feasibility for niche audiences, complex studies, and different sampling approaches.

Serve as the senior operational partner to Product and Engineering, identifying where automation can create the greatest improvements in speed, quality, and cost. Translate operational expertise into clear priorities for programming, fieldwork, feasibility, and data QA tooling. Own adoption and workflow transformation within Research Operations, ensuring product investments translate into measurable gains in productivity and scalability.

Partner with Research, GTM, and Product leadership to determine which new capabilities, markets, and audiences Knit should support. Own operational readiness—from assessing feasibility and investment requirements to building repeatable delivery models. This includes expanding international capabilities, developing sample partnerships, and enabling the programming, fieldwork, and QA requirements of advanced research methodologies.

Manage the function’s budget, sample partner network, and resource allocation. Establish partner selection criteria, commercial terms, and performance standards that improve reach, quality, reliability, and cost. Use demand forecasts and operational data to guide staffing, vendor, and automation investments, improving gross margins while maintaining strong delivery performance.

Required Skills & Experiences

• 7+ years in the insights and market research industry - our ideal candidate has worked in a market research tech agency, leading research operations 
• Proven track record of having built and scaled complex sampling operations for multiple research methodologies (quick-turn, quant & qual).
• Proclivity for automation and productization, a leader who has innovated and built efficiencies into processes that otherwise would not exist 
• Our ideal candidate has cross-functional experience leading and enabling both internal and external teams on research ops processes from idea to full implementation. For example, pricing & feasibility with Sales, positioning with Marketing, compliance with Operations, innovation with Product, etc. We are not looking for a participant in the process - we are looking for a leader who has been in the driver role standing up net new organizational-wide capabilities from scratch. 
• Highly effective people operations leader both cross-functionally and at the function level - specifically in: 
• Adapting processes as the operating tooling evolves 
• Process mapping, organizational design, capacity management, staff forecasting, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, performance management, conflict resolution, and morale building
• Deep experience with survey programming across tools like Qualtrics, Decipher, etc.

In accordance with New York pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role is $160,000 - $200,000. Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s level, experience, and qualifications upon joining Knit.

• Are 1% better every day: We approach situations with a growth mindset and ask, “How can we make the business better?” and “What would it take?” 
• Play to win: We set audacious goals and push ourselves to achieve them with a bias towards action  (When we see a need, we take initiative, and hold ourselves accountable to seeing it through).
• Keep the main thing the main thing: Identify what has the biggest impact and prioritize to focus on it.