Octane is a Fintech company whose mission is to connect people with their passions. The transaction process for large purchases such as powersports, RVs, and boats is slow and frustrating, but Octane is changing that through automated underwriting, innovative credit products, and financing through our in-house lender Roadrunner Financial.  Octane reaches millions of enthusiasts through editorial brands like Cycle World and Cycle Volta and helps consumers buy their favorite products with instant, frictionless financing on Octane.co. Octane is revolutionizing lending in under-served verticals that account for tens of billions of dollars in annual transactions. 

Octane is gaining traction quickly with customers, as evidenced by growth in originations through our platform of more than $1B since inception. Octane works with more than 3,500 merchants in the USA and offers promotional financing with low rates for more than 40 OEM brands.  Because we’re the platform and the lender, we have both high growth and positive unit economics - rare for a fintech. We have raised more than $192M in capital from leading investors, including Valar Ventures, IA Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Third Prime, Progressive Insurance and Citi Ventures and our lending securities are rated AA by Standard & Poor’s.

What We Need

We are seeking an experienced market researcher with deep subject matter expertise to fill the newly created Director of Market Research & Consumer Insights position. This role will develop the organization’s research capabilities and serve as the voice of the customer. The successful candidate will have a firm grasp of research methodologies, be excited about picking up the phone and speaking to customers and will be proficient at conducting research studies to extract meaningful insights and recommendations. Reporting to VP Marketing, this crucial role will partner with cross functional teams to ensure the organization has a pulse on customer and market trends to inform growth strategies.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and maintain firm grasp of industry including understanding competitive landscape (pricing/promotions/marketing strategies etc)
• Identify insights via the execution of research studies to identify opportunities and help drive sales and marketing priorities 
• Lead the design and implementation of market research, analyze data and develop actionable insights and recommendations from the research; communicate research findings to stakeholders and leadership team
• Conduct interviews/focus groups with customers on an ongoing basis to build customer empathy and develop understanding of customer needs, wants, hopes and fears 
• Test positioning, value proposition and key differentiators with customers to build competitive, differentiated product positioning
• Identify new opportunities for high-impact research to answer organizational knowledge gaps around dealer and consumer needs 
• Own NPS reporting - including data collection, unpacking results, forming recommendations and serving as voice of customer for organization
• Effectively manage projects, prioritize and manage timelines

Who You Are

• 5 years of experience leading and managing research projects 
• Comfortable building research agenda and identifying opportunities to leverage research across organization 
• Passionate customer advocate – someone who loves understanding people, attitudes, needs, and behaviors and enjoys picking up the phone and interviewing customers, conducting focus groups etc
• Grounded in market research fundamentals – understands what is required to get quality insights
• Results-oriented and able to identify when/how to make tradeoffs between speed and quality
• Able to manipulate first and third-party data to surface learning opportunities, advance learning agendas, refine research designs, and enrich research analyses
• Well-rounded from a disciplinary perspective. Experience using methodologies that involve behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, neuroscience, etc. to better understand consumer decision making, especially motivating insights that drive customers to take action
• Articulate storyteller; comfortable packaging and presenting insights in a compelling way to senior leaders
• Effectively able to influence and impact the thinking of partners and leadership 
• Brings a positive attitude and great team player

Benefits

• Robust Health Care Plans (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Up to 5 weeks PTO (self-managed)
• Generous Parental Leave
• Retirement Plan (401k) with Company contribution 
• Educational Assistance/Tuition Reimbursement up to $3K/year 
• Powersports Safety Benefit: reimbursement of up to $500/year for the purchase of any powersports safety equipment
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Short Term / Long Term Disability & Life insurance
• Team Activities (remotely)
• Monthly company gift

Octane Lending is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion and other terms and conditions of employment.

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