Senior Consultant, Intelligence

Job-ID: 1793Category: ResearchLocation: Washington, DC, United States; Chicago, IL, United States; Raleigh, NC, United States; New York, NY, United StatesPosted: 2026-11-05APCO Intelligence, the research, analytics and AI-powered insights practice within the global advisory and advocacy firm APCO, is seeking a Senior Consultant to join our Integrated Services team. The position may be based in Washington, D.
C., New York, Chicago or Raleigh.
Our Intelligence team combines qualitative and quantitative opinion research, data science and digital media analysis to help clients understand their operating environments, their key audiences and the media landscape – and to guide the advisory and advocacy strategies built on top of that understanding. We are in the middle of a significant transformation of how we do this work: Expert-led, AI-powered Opinion Research is our default, not an add-on. Research design, sampling, fieldwork, analysis, synthesis and delivery are being rebuilt around APCO's AI infrastructure (including our proprietary Enterprise AI Stack and Margy platform) while preserving the methodological rigor, respondent integrity and provenance that make the work defensible. This role sits squarely inside that shift.
In this hands-on role, the Senior Consultant will be responsible for the day-to-day design, execution and analysis of primary opinion research (qualitative and quantitative) – built through APCO's AI-powered research infrastructure and partnerships. We're looking for someone who already has hands-on experience applying AI across the opinion research lifecycle (instrument design, sampling, fieldwork monitoring, analysis, synthesis or delivery) and who is excited to keep pushing that experimentation further as part of a team actively building the next generation of the discipline. This is predominantly an opinion research position, but APCO Intelligence is equally invested in secondary research, digital and social media analytics, data science and other AI-enabled solutions. The ideal candidate should be able to collaborate effectively across the team’s disciplines and comfortably apply insights across data streams to tell a holistic data story and develop data-informed strategies.

Responsibilities:
Designs, fields and analyzes AI-powered survey research studies, with particular depth in reputation, brand and issue programsLeads hands-on execution of research projects rebuilt around APCO's AI infrastructure and partnerships – AI-assisted instrument development, sample design, questionnaire programming, data collection management, analysis planning, AI-powered data synthesis and reporting – while upholding methodological rigor, respondent integrity and provenance standards throughoutServes as a day-to-day client and colleague contact on assigned accounts, confidently presenting findings and fielding questions from client teamsBrings hands-on, working knowledge of AI tools to every stage of the research process – from questionnaire and discussion guide drafting to data analysis, insight generation and reporting – and actively pilots new AI applications for the opinion research practice, not just individual projectsPartners with colleagues on Margy and other Intelligence & AI solutions, contributing opinion research expertise, sampling logic and survey methodology to how these tools interpret and prioritize informationRecommends research approaches based on the research objective, audience and resources, drawing on an “insights from anywhere” toolkit that spans AI-powered opinion research, digital/social listening and data analyticsTells the story of the “why” behind the data, translating findings into narratives that inform client advisory and advocacy strategiesMentors and coaches early career team members on both research fundamentals and AI-powered ways of workingSupports business development on existing and prospective accounts, including proposal and pitch supportManages project budgets and timelines on assigned workstreams, helping ensure profitable, on-time deliveryQualifications:4-7 years of relevant public opinion research, brand insights or market research experience, with hands-on tracker study experience strongly preferredDemonstrated, hands-on experience applying AI tools within an opinion research workflow – for example, AI-assisted questionnaire or discussion guide design, AI-powered data analysis or synthesis, automated or accelerated reporting, or similar – candidates should be able to speak to specific projects where they used AI to improve research design, speed or quality, not simply general familiarity with AI toolsBachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a related fieldMaster's degree and/or graduate work in a relevant field (survey research, mathematics, statistics, sociology, psychology, political science, public affairs, health policy) is preferred, but not requiredGenuine appetite to keep experimenting – eager to learn and help shape platf