Photo Editor

About the team

Zillow is building a world-class creative organization that drives the vision and development of compelling Brand, B2C and B2B communications for all customer touchpoints in the U.S. As a brand, Zillow brought transparency to the real estate market 15+ years ago by allowing buyers and sellers to see the value of every home—and we are reinventing the industry again. Today, we're going beyond search and find and helping our customers get home by connecting them to Premier Agents, Zillow Home Loans, and new tools and resources that make it easier for them to get the home of their dreams, whether they're buying or renting.

This team is responsible for delivering relevant and engaging experiences for our customers and partners through understanding the business and delivering compelling creative ideas and content across all mediums, including integrated campaigns and channel-specific content, activations, and experiences.

About the role

Zillow is seeking a Photo Editor to join its growing in-house agency, StudioZ. As part of a small, highly collaborative photo team, this role blends creative photo editing with production rigor and detail-focused workflow management. In addition to curating and editing imagery, this position plays a critical role in maintaining and evolving the systems that support image sourcing, rights compliance, DAM integrity, and efficient cross-team collaboration. This role works proactively across a broad network of creative, production, marketing, and external partners—anticipating needs, identifying potential challenges early, and helping teams move work forward smoothly and efficiently.

Success in this role requires the ability to build trust quickly, navigate a wide range of working styles, and collaborate productively with diverse stakeholders while keeping projects aligned, organized, and on track. This role is ideal for a detail-driven photo editor who thrives in complex production environments, enjoys owning systems and processes, and brings equal passion to image quality, rights management, and operational excellence.

Essential Functions of the Job

Photo Editing, Curation and Image Research

• •Curate and edit imagery that tells Zillow’s brand story across all customer touchpoints
• •Adept in image selection, sequencing, cropping, retouching, and color correction in alignment with Zillow brand standards
• •Consistently deliver high-quality, on-brand imagery while balancing multiple workflows, shifting priorities, and overlapping deadlines
• •Review photography from external shoots, evaluating aesthetics, sequencing, narrative, and intended usage alignment
• •Conduct in-depth image research across stock, commissioned, UGC, and emerging channels, including uncovering high-quality images from unexpected sources while ensuring rights and usage compliance.
• •Draw on broad knowledge of U.S.-based photographers, stock agencies, and UGC platforms to identify and cultivate new photography sources, with hands-on experience licensing imagery and managing usage rights and contracts. On-set experience with larger advertising campaigns is a plus.

Rights Management, DAM & Systems Ownership

• •Lead image rights tracking, licensing compliance, and usage governance within DAM systems
• •Ensure images are correctly licensed, documented, restricted, expired, or archived according to usage terms and legal requirements
• •Collaborate on and evolve DAM processes, metadata standards, naming conventions, and organizational systems to ensure long-term integrity and legal compliance. Orange Logic experience a plus.
• •Serve as a subject-matter expert for image rights management, DAM best practices, and image governance across teams

Production and Workflow Management

• •Independently manage assigned photo projects from intake through delivery, owning scope, timelines, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple concurrent projects
• •Take initiative to coordinate reviews and approvals with team and stakeholders, keep teams aligned on milestones, and proactively communicate status, priorities, and risks
• •Partner directly with external advertising agencies and internal teams, bringing a working knowledge of agency production processes, timelines, and deliverable needs to keep projects efficient and on-brief
• •Partner with stakeholders at kickoff to define requirements, usage needs, and success criteria, then build project plans and shot schedules that align on realistic deadlines
• •Define and document photo workflows that improve efficiency, reduce risk, and support collaboration
• •Maintain project visibility in tools such as Jira and Airtable, so anyone can see where a project stands at a glance

Strategic & Exploratory

• •Apply an understanding of U.S. real estate markets and the home-buying journey to inform image selection, sequencing, and storytelling decisions
• •Explore and test image-based and AI-assisted tools to improve research, editing, rights tracking, and workflow efficiency
• •Stay current on emerging photography trends, tools, platforms, and image technologies to continuously evolve Zillow’s visual ecosystem

This role has been categorized as a Field position. “Field” employees perform the majority of their work in a specified geographic location set by their management team. Employees are expected to live within a reasonable commuting distance to their region and/or service area. ZG has not defined a reasonable distance and expects employees will use judgment in determining this for themselves and understand the implications regarding time commitment and cost of daily commute.

In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $24.80 - $39.60 hourly. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia the standard base pay range for this role is $23.60 - $37.60 hourly. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

Who you are

Photo and Editorial Skills

• •3–5+ years of photo editing and image research experience with a consumer brand, top editorial publication, or advertising agency
• •Bachelor’s degree in Photography or a related visual field (or equivalent professional experience), with formal study in both the technical and creative foundations of photography
• •Strong visual sensibility and demonstrated experience shaping cohesive, compelling visual narratives through image selection, sequencing, and editing
• •Demonstrated, hands-on experience managing image rights, licensing, contracts, and usage compliance within DAM systems
• •Experience working within agency-led creative environments, with a strong understanding of agency processes, production schedules, creative reviews, and client-style feedback cycles—and the ability to anticipate needs and keep work moving efficiently
• •Strong working knowledge of U.S.-focused image licensing, copyright law, and usage restrictions
• •Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, with strong retouching and color correction skills
• •Solid understanding of photographic principles including composition, lighting, color, perspective, and storytelling, with the ability to apply these concepts in both editorial and commercial contexts
• •Highly organized and detail-oriented, with a proven ability to manage complex workstreams and meet deadlines
• •Comfortable working directly with advertising agencies and external partners, with familiarity navigating agency workflows, production timelines, and creative review processes
• •Strong understanding of production timelines, dependencies, and deliverable requirements, with the ability to support smooth execution across creative and production teams
• •Strong written and verbal English communication skills

Production, Workflow & Collab