About the team
Zillow’s mission is to give people the power to unlock life’s next chapter. The Experience Strategy & Architecture team is central to that mission, with the ambition to grow Zillow’s business by orchestrating how experiences fit together so people trust Zillow to guide them every step of the way home.
The team is currently leading a company-wide transformation, and this role will be critical to the success of that. It will be highly visible, helping to shape product strategy, while also influencing on-the-ground frontline operations.
About the role
As a Principal Service Designer on the financing team, you'll shape how millions of people experience the most complex, high-stakes transaction of their lives — buying or financing a home. You'll work at the intersection of Zillow Home Loans, real estate operations, and digital product experiences to define service strategies that connect customer needs, business goals, and operational realities. This is a highly visible role with the opportunity to influence long-term experience direction while driving meaningful improvements across teams and channels.
You Will Get To:
Lead Experience Strategy
- Define and champion a multi-year experience vision for ZIllow’s integrated financing customer journey, from pre-approval through close and beyond
- Identify strategic bets and investment priorities by connecting customer needs, operational constraints, and business outcomes
- Build the frameworks, narratives, and artifacts that help senior leaders make better experience decisions
- Translate enterprise strategy into actionable design direction for product teams
Lead Service Design
- Execute against an experience strategy by working closely with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Data Science, Sales Enablement, and Operations to deliver service improvements
- Audit an existing service via the creation of service design artifacts (journey maps, service blueprints, storyboards, multi-channel prototypes etc.) and lead design sessions and design critiques to co-create and iterate with partners
- Envision and create net new services and channels, driving innovation that fulfills larger business objectives
- Orchestrate the delivery of service improvements that cross channels and lines of business. Work through organizational silos to coordinate efforts and help others achieve better results
- Work with product designers, product managers, researchers, operations, content designers, loan officers, sales enablement, and engineers
- Build and implement agentic AI capabilities, specifically as it relates to service design work such as creating operating standards.
- Lead multiple projects independently and deliver high-quality work on time
- Mentor other designers & product managers, raise the quality and consistency of service design work, and explore how AI-enabled tools and workflows can strengthen service design practices
This role has been categorized as a Remote position. “Remote” employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company. U.S. employees may live in any of the 50 United States, with limited exceptions.
In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $178,300.00 - $284,700.00 annually. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations. In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont the standard base pay range for this role is $169,300.00 - $270,500.00 annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.
In addition to a competitive base salary this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. Employees in this role will not be paid below the salary threshold for exempt employees in the state where they reside.
Who you are
- 7+ years of experience in service design, design strategy, business design, product design, user experience design, or a related field
- Proven ability to operate at multiple levels, from executive storytelling and strategic framing to detailed design critique and delivery
- Experience influencing product or business strategy with senior stakeholders, not just executing against an existing roadmap
- Strong service design craft, including experience creating journey maps, service blueprints, storyboards, and other systems-level artifacts
- Experience working in complex, cross-functional environments and building strong partnerships across product, engineering, operations, customer support and business teams
- Ability to develop frameworks, tools, and approaches that help teams align and make better decisions
- Experience mentoring other designers and helping teams raise the quality of their work
- Expertise with Figma, Mural, or similar design and prototyping tools
- Experience in regulated or operationally complex environments, such as financial services or healthcare, is a plus
- Experience using AI tools (e.g., Claude Cowork, Glean, Replit) to support design thinking, service design workflows, or operating standards is a plus
- Please submit a portfolio and resume with your application
- Here at Zillow, we value the experience and perspective of candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. We encourage you to apply if you have transferable skills or related experiences.
Get to know us
At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help customers navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company that's reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.
Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the country. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2025, and included on the PEOPLE Companies That Care® 2025list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.
No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.
Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.