Senior Economist and Editorial Director of Data Insights

About the role

NerdWallet is seeking a Senior Economist to be both the analytical engine behind NerdWallet's original research and the person who takes it to the world — explaining it to journalists on deadline, on broadcast, on podcasts, and increasingly on social platforms in your own voice. You will own the research, analysis, and insights, partner with the Communications team to find story angles inside the numbers, and lead a small team of data journalists who turn analysis into coverage. This role reports to the Director, Public Relations & Communications.

Where You Can Make An Impact

Original research and analysis

• Set and own NerdWallet's economic research and reports, including flagship annual studies, recurring indices, and one-off investigations that define what we are known for.
• Conduct original quantitative analysis across every kind of source: NerdWallet's data, commissioned consumer surveys, federal statistics (BLS, BEA, Census, Federal Reserve, CFPB), and private sector datasets (Zillow, ADP, Indeed, Realtor.com and others).
• Design and interpret survey research, writing the report with new and relevant topics.
• Develop and publish commentary on major data releases (CPI, jobs report, FOMC, GDP, housing) as soon as they publish.
• Hold NerdWallet's editorial standards for methodology, sourcing and writing.

Story angles and partnership with Comms

• Work side by side with Communications to translate findings into pitchable angles. You are in the room when we decide what to pitch, not handed a request after the fact.
• Maintain a forward-looking pipeline of data narratives tied to the seasonal, cultural and policy moments where consumer finance becomes news.
• Identify where NerdWallet's data says something no one else can say, and push to invest there.
• Develop the supporting materials, like talking points, backgrounders, and methodology that make a story easy for a journalist to run with.

Spokesperson and public presence

• Serve as NerdWallet's primary economic voice across national broadcast, print, digital and podcast media.
• Build and sustain relationships with reporters and producers so that you are the call they make when consumer finance is the story.
• Build a personal public presence on social and video platforms — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn — with support from our teams. You do not need an audience today, but you need to want one.
• Represent NerdWallet on conference stages, at media dinners and in briefings with policymakers, partners and executives.

Editorial leadership

• Lead, mentor and edit a small team of data journalists producing original analysis and survey-driven studies.
• Own the editorial calendar for data studies and the quality bar for everything that carries a NerdWallet number.
• Raise economic and data literacy across a ~100-person editorial organization through training, guidelines and coaching, as needed.
• Act as an internal advisor, connecting macro conditions to what our audience and our business are seeing.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Economics, Statistics, Public Policy or a related quantitative field (PhD welcome; strong applied experience can substitute for a Master's).
• 8+ years of applied economics experience, ideally in consumer finance, household economics, housing or labor markets.
• A public body of work: published research, commentary or analysis written for a general audience, not only for academic or internal ones.
• Demonstrated comfort as a quoted expert across broadcast, podcast, print or stage. Existing media relationships are a significant plus.
• Willing and eager to be on camera and to build a social presence. An existing following on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or X is a plus, not a requirement; the requirement is the appetite and the willingness to show up consistently.
• Hands-on quantitative skills: R or Python, SQL, and the judgment to work with messy, incomplete or short time series and caveat honestly rather than over-model.
• Fluency with survey methodology, including sampling, weighting, question design, margin of error and with the limits of first-party behavioral data (selection bias, panel drift, coverage gaps).
• Exceptional writing. You can turn a regression result into a headline and a chart into an argument.
• Fluency with AI tools for research, coding and analysis. You use them daily and have a point of view on where they help and where they don't.
• Editing and mentoring experience, or clear evidence you'd be good at it.

Preferred Qualifications

• An established audience or content franchise, including newsletter, YouTube channel, podcast or large social following.
• Experience at a data-PR-forward organization.
• Experience building a research or data journalism function from scratch.
• Familiarity with credit bureau, transaction-level or open banking data.
• A track record with policymakers, regulators or congressional testimony.

Location

This role will be remote (based in the U.S.).

Benefits

Work Hard, Stay Balanced

• Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision health care plans for employees and their dependents
• Rejuvenation Policy – Flexible Vacation Time Off + 11 holidays + holiday company shutdown
• New Parent Leave for employees with a newborn child or a child placed with them for adoption or foster care
• Mental health support
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years for Nerds to recharge, gain knowledge, and pursue their interests
• Health and Dependent Care FSA and HSA Plan with monthly NerdWallet contribution
• Monthly Wellness Stipend, Cell Phone Stipend, and Wifi Stipend (only remote Nerds are eligible for Wifi Stipend)
• Work from home equipment stipend and co-working space subsidy (only remote Nerds are eligible for these stipends)

Have Some Fun!

• Nerd-led group initiatives – Employee Resource Groups for Parents, Diversity and Inclusion, Women, LGBTQIA, and other communities
• Hackathons and team events across all teams and departments
• Company-wide events like NerdLove (employee appreciation) and our annual Charity Auction
• Take 8 hours of volunteer time off per quarter and donate to your favorite causes with a company match

Plan for your future

• 401K with 4% company match
• Be the first to test and benefit from our new financial products and tools
• Financial wellness, guidance, and unlimited access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) through Northstar
• Disability and Life Insurance with employer-paid premiums