Lead, Insights

Nextdoor (NYSE: NXDR) is the essential neighborhood network. Neighbors, public agencies, and businesses use Nextdoor to connect around local information that matters in more than 340,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries. Nextdoor builds innovative technology to foster local community, share important news, and create neighborhood connections at scale. Download the app and join the neighborhood at nextdoor.com. 

Nextdoor is seeking Insights Lead to lead and evolve our Research function during a pivotal phase of the company’s evolution. This leader will define and drive the research strategy that ensures Nextdoor builds products grounded in a deep understanding of neighbors and small businesses, while balancing long-term vision with near-term product impact.

This role requires a strategic thinker and people-first leader who can synthesize diverse inputs into a clear point of view, guide teams through ambiguity, and partner closely with Design, Product, Data Science, Marketing and Engineering to shape decisions at the highest levels of the company. The ideal candidate brings strong methodological rigor, high emotional intelligence, and a passion for building empathetic, community-centered products.

If you crave a challenge in a fast-paced environment, developing a strong research point of view and take pride in building a world-class UX team, then this is the place for you!

At Nextdoor, we offer a warm and inclusive work environment that embraces a hybrid employment model, blending an in office presence and work from home experience for our valued employees. The hiring team will go over these expectations with you if you are being considered for a role near one of our offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and London.  

If you want the challenge of fast-paced growth, the satisfaction of seeing your design work come to life, and the pride in helping grow a world-class design team, this is the place for you. 

Your responsibilities will include: 

• Set the research strategy and vision for the team, ensuring a strong balance between forward-looking strategic research and near-term product research that unblocks execution
• Translate research into influence, triangulating insights across qualitative, quantitative, evaluative, and generative research to deliver a clear, compelling point of view to senior leadership
• Raise the bar for research rigor, establishing standards and practices that ensure methodological excellence, clarity, and credibility across all research efforts
• Scale research impact across the company by building programs and systems that enable rapid, high-quality research at scale while maintaining depth and integrity
• Build and nurture a high-performing team, supporting the professional growth of researchers through coaching, mentorship, and opportunities aligned with their career goals
• Create clear and trusted research processes, defining how teams engage with Research, how work is prioritized, and how insights are shared and activated
• Demystify and advocate for research, raising the profile of the function internally and helping partners understand when and how research can best inform decisions
• Partner deeply with Design, Data Science, Product, and Engineering, embedding research into product development and strategic planning as a core input rather than a checkpoint
• Lead with empathy and high EQ, ensuring that neighbors and small businesses remain at the center of product decisions and that research practices reflect care, inclusion, and respect for the communities we serve
• Build in-person relationships with team members and contribute to Nextdoor’s company culture
• Participate in in-person Nextdoor events such as trainings, off-sites, volunteer days, and team building exercises

• 10+ years of experience in UX Research or related user-centered research roles
• 6+ years of experience leading and developing research teams
• Demonstrated ability to define research strategy and connect research outcomes to business and product decisions
• Strong experience synthesizing complex, multi-source research into clear narratives and recommendations for senior stakeholders
• Proven people-management skills, including coaching, performance development, and career growth planning
• Experience establishing scalable research processes and programs in fast-moving product environments
• Deep methodological expertise across qualitative and quantitative research methods
• High emotional intelligence, empathy, and strong cross-functional collaboration skills
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience
• Eagerness to explore and apply AI and emerging technologies to reimagine how work gets done

Nice to Have:

• Experience working on consumer social platforms, marketplaces, or community-driven products
• Experience building research functions through periods of organizational or product change
• Familiarity with research operations, tooling, and scaling practices in mid-to-large organizations
• Strong sense of empathy for customer needs and insights as well as an intuitive grasp of the business problems we’re solving
• Deep curiosity about empowering neighbors to strengthen communities, understanding how local businesses enhance their communities, and what makes neighborhoods around the world thrive

Compensation, benefits, perks, and recognition programs at Nextdoor come together to create our total rewards package. Compensation will vary depending on your relevant skills, experience, and qualifications. 

The starting salary for this role is expected to range from $219,000 - $291,000 on an annualized basis, or potentially greater in the event that your 'level' of proficiency exceeds the level expected for the role. The salary range will be determined by the candidate’s geographic location.

We expect to award a meaningful equity grant for this role. With quarterly vesting, your first vest date will take place within 3 months of your start date.

When it comes to benefits, we have you covered! Nextdoor employees can choose between a variety of health plans, including a 100% covered employee only plan option, and we also provide a OneMedical membership for concierge care.

At Nextdoor, we empower our employees to build stronger local communities. To create a platform where all feel welcome, we want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the neighbors we serve. We encourage everyone interested in our mission to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or any other trait that unfairly targets a group of people. In accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we always consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

For information about our collection and use of applicants’ personal information, please see Nextdoor's Personnel Privacy Notice, found here.