Associate Vice President, Research & Data Operations

About Tunnl

Tunnl is building a future where artificial intelligence enables organizations to connect meaningfully with the people who matter most. We help organizations conduct research at scale, define the right audiences, surface real-time insights, identify optimal communication channels, and measure changing attitudes over time.

Tunnl serves brands, agencies, and advocacy groups alike - organizations navigating complex communications, reputational, and regulatory landscapes. These teams need smarter, faster ways to make audience-informed decisions that stand up to scrutiny and resonate across stakeholder groups. Whether you're building a brand, shaping public opinion, managing risk, or launching a new initiative, Tunnl empowers you to move from insight to impact with clarity & confidence.

About the Role:

Tunnl is seeking an Associate Vice President, Research & Data Operations to lead the teams that build, deliver, and ensure the quality of every audience, dataset, and research product that reaches our clients. This is a leadership role for someone with strong technical skills who likes to build scalable processes and highly effective teams. You will make calls on data quality, audience methodology, survey design, and downstream activation, while also building the systems and people that make RDO scalable.

The position will set the vision and standards for how Tunnl executes research and data operations at scale, align to revenue and delivery goals, and serve as a strategic partner to Account Management, Product, Partnerships, Sales, Finance, and senior leadership.

You will bring deep experience in research operations, data systems, audience technology, or survey methodology, a proven track record of building scalable processes, and the technical credibility to make quality calls across all three functions. DC-area strongly preferred.

Responsibilities:

Lead Research & Data Operations Across Three Functions

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight across Audience Operations, Survey Operations, and Activation Operations

• Set shared standards for quality, delivery, documentation, and team accountability across all three functions

• Ensure all three functions are resourced and structured to meet current and future client demand

• Own the RDO delivery model end-to-end -- intake, scoping, sequencing, QA, and handoff to the Revenue teams (Sales, Account Management, Partnerships)

Drive Automation & Tooling Strategy

• Sponsor cross-functional infrastructure improvements across data ingestion, audience distribution, activation integrations, and survey tooling

• Align tooling roadmaps across all three functions to organizational growth vision -- the long-term trajectory of RDO is toward improved tooling and automation, and you lead that transition

• Partner with Product to translate RDO operational needs into tooling requirements and prioritized roadmap items

Set Quality & Methodology Standards

• Define expectations for consistent and accurate deliverables across audience delivery, data activation, advanced analytics, and survey operations

• Establish methodology standards across survey programming, weighting, audience construction, modeling, and advanced analytics

• Balance rigor with speed across all three functions, with a strong sense of collaboration and client-oriented decision making

• Serve as the technical escalation point for data quality, audience methodology, survey design, and downstream activation issues

Manage Activation & Partnership Operations Relationships

• Oversee Tunnl’s technical relationships with a variety of downstream activation platforms

• Ensure API connections and data integrations supporting audience delivery are maintained and improved over time

• Own usage reporting infrastructure and ensure accuracy of delivery reporting to Account Management, Finance, and clients

• Set standards for how delivery troubleshooting is handled when audiences do not arrive as expected

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Ensure clean scoping and handoff processes between Revenue teams and RDO

• Set accountability expectations across departments for intake, delivery, and escalation

• Represent Research & Data Operations in senior internal discussions and with senior leadership

• Ensure exec visibility into RDO capacity, priorities, and risks

• Partner with Revenue teams on scoping conversations where RDO’s technical judgment is required to validate feasibility

Develop Leadership Bench Strength

• Coach team on scaling leadership, prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration

• Build a culture of accountability, documentation, and continuous improvement across all three teams

• Cultivate cross-training between Survey Operations and Audience Operations, deepening the team’s collective technical range over time

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in research operations, data operations, audience technology, survey methodology, or a related field

• Proven experience leading multiple technical or research teams simultaneously

• Deep familiarity with at least two of the following: audience modeling and creation, programmatic audience activation and DSP/SSP/Other Partnership integrations, survey research methodology, ETL processes, or advanced analytics

• Demonstrated ability to build credibility and influence with C-suite executives and senior organizational leaders -- someone who walks into a room with senior stakeholders and commands their attention and respect

• Strong track record of building scalable delivery systems and enforcing quality standards

• Experience aligning team structure and capacity to revenue and business goals

• Strong cross-functional communicator who can bridge technical and strategic conversations

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in public affairs, brand research, or agency research environments

• Familiarity with programmatic audience activation, identity resolution, or data onboarding

• Experience managing DSP/SSP/Other Partnership relationships and API integrations at scale

• Experience contributing to product direction or roadmap prioritization

• Proficiency with SQL, Python, R, or similar tools

• DC-area strongly preferred

What Success Looks Like

• All three functions -- Audience Operations, Survey Operations, and Activation Operations -- deliver consistently, accurately, and without recurring errors

• Staffing models are aligned to revenue targets and capacity is predictably managed

• Automation and tooling improvements reduce manual effort across all three functions year over year

• Revenue teams view RDO as a reliable, proactive delivery partner -- not a production bottleneck

• Directors are developing as leaders and operating with increasing independence

• DSP/SSP/Other Partnership and activation platform relationships are proactively managed, with issues resolved before they reach clients

• Tunnl’s research and data infrastructure is a measurable competitive advantage

Why You Should Apply:

• Join a team driven by curiosity, teamwork, integrity, and a shared passion for solving big challenges.

• A friendly, welcoming, and supportive culture with regular social and team events.

• Comprehensive benefits with excellent medical, vision, and dental coverage.

• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options.

• Employer-paid life insurance & short-term & long-term disability, with other voluntary additional coverage available (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity).

• Flexible hybrid work policy.

• Flexible paid vacation plus 80 hours of paid sick leave.

• 10 paid company holidays per year.

• 401(k) plan with 100% match up to 3%, plus 50% match up to 5% (subject to IRS limits).

• Cell phone reimbursement stipend.

• Monthly parking or commuter stipend for VA-based employees.