Head of Marketing

Darkroom · Foster City

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About Darkroom

Founded in 2017, we set out to redefine what a modern agency could be, by replacing the inertia of legacy advertising behemoths with a model built for speed, intelligence, and measurable impact.

At our core, Darkroom is a human services company powered by Shadow, a universal AI commerce layer that integrates executive-level strategy with proprietary agentic technology. This fusion enables our teams to deliver outsized returns by enhancing creative output, operational efficiency, and revenue generation across every stage of the customer journey.

Our track record speaks for itself: billions in attributable revenue driven across e-commerce marketplaces, media networks, DTC ecosystems, and social commerce platforms. Every engagement feeds into our proprietary data infrastructure, enabling a continuous feedback loop that accelerates growth, improves margins, and compounds results across our client portfolio.

What began as a boutique design studio has evolved into one of the fastest-growing private companies in America (Inc. 5000) and among the most effective performance media agencies of the 2020s (Varos). Our founders were recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 for advancing the intersection of technology, marketing, and advertising, cementing Darkroom's role as a defining player in the future of media innovation.

About the Role

Our client is a fast-growing consumer AI company with a mobile app at the center of its business. They’re looking for a strategic, results-driven Head of Marketing to own user growth end to end: app installs, registrations, activation, engagement, and retention.

You’ll build and lead an integrated consumer marketing strategy spanning paid media, performance creative, organic social, website content, and lifecycle marketing. A central part of the role is serving as the primary strategic lead and point of accountability for the company’s external media, creative, and performance marketing agency of record. You’ll set objectives, guide creative and media strategy, manage investment decisions, and make sure the agency delivers measurable outcomes.

This is a role for someone who pairs strong consumer marketing and creative instincts with deep expertise in performance marketing, mobile app growth, and analytics.

What You’ll Own

• The integrated consumer marketing strategy, aligning awareness, acquisition, activation, and retention with company growth goals

• Performance against ambitious targets for app installs, registrations, efficient CAC, and downstream engagement and retention

• The go-to-market calendar across product launches, feature releases, seasonal campaigns, and growth initiatives

• The agency of record relationship: translating business goals into clear briefs, priorities, creative requirements, and KPIs, and holding the agency accountable to results

• Paid acquisition strategy across Meta, Google, Apple Ads, TikTok, YouTube, and emerging platforms, including budget allocation, channel diversification, audience strategy, and testing priorities

• Performance creative strategy that continuously tests messaging, value propositions, use cases, audiences, and formats

• Weekly performance reviews, strategic planning sessions, and periodic business reviews with the agency

• Organic social strategy and brand voice across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn, making advanced AI feel accessible and relevant to everyday consumers

• Creator, influencer, community, and partnership programs that drive authentic product advocacy

• Lifecycle marketing from onboarding through activation, engagement, retention, and win-back, across email, push, and in-app messaging

• Behavioral segmentation and activation milestones, in partnership with Product, tied to stronger retention

• Website and app store content strategy, landing pages, and conversion optimization (visitor-to-registration, web-to-app)

• Organic discoverability across SEO, ASO, and GEO, including AI-powered search and answer experiences

• Brand positioning and messaging that translate complex AI capabilities into clear, emotionally resonant, accurately substantiated benefits

• Integrated launches aligning creative, paid, organic, web, and lifecycle

• The measurement framework connecting spend to installs, registrations, activation, retention, and LTV, including attribution, incrementality testing, and executive reporting

• Marketing budgets, vendors, tooling, workflows, and a prioritized roadmap, plus recommendations on future team structure and hiring

Must Have

• 10+ years of progressive experience in consumer, growth, or digital marketing, with significant ownership of strategy and business results

• Experience leading marketing for a consumer mobile app, subscription product, or high-growth consumer tech business

• A proven track record driving measurable growth in app installs, registrations, acquisition, and activation

• Deep knowledge of performance marketing across paid social, search, video, and mobile app advertising

• Significant experience directing external media, creative, or performance agencies, with direct ownership of budget, strategy, and results

• Strong creative judgment and the ability to give actionable creative direction that connects storytelling to performance

• Hands-on experience with lifecycle and retention marketing (onboarding, CRM, segmentation, re-engagement)

• Experience owning website content, landing pages, SEO, and CRO

• Strong analytical fluency across attribution, funnel performance, cohort retention, and marketing ROI

• Exceptional written and verbal communication, with the ability to turn complex products into compelling consumer narratives

Nice to Have

• Experience marketing AI, productivity, or other emerging consumer tech products

• Hands-on experience with incrementality testing or MMM

• Familiarity with mobile measurement and lifecycle tools (e.g., AppsFlyer, Adjust, Braze, Iterable)

• Experience with ASO and optimizing for AI-driven search (GEO)

• A background building organic social or creator programs centered on short-form video

Culture Fit

• You own the number, even when execution sits with a partner

• You’re comfortable moving between big-picture strategy and hands-on execution in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment

• You hold a high creative bar and back decisions with data

• You build strong working relationships across Product, Engineering, Data, Creative, and leadership

• You default to experimentation and learn quickly from results

Not the bar: if your experience is mainly in B2B or ecommerce without mobile app growth, or you’ve managed agencies only from a distance without owning budget and outcomes yourself, this likely isn’t the right fit.

What It's Like to Work at Darkroom

Darkroom is not a typical agency. We are looking for A players who want to build something great. We move fast, think deeply, and expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership, but we also support each other relentlessly. No egos, no red tape. Just world-class talent building something remarkable.

We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics.

• Unlimited PTO + US holidays: Rebooting is part of the work. Take the time you need to stay sharp.

• Embedded with the client: This role is based in the San José Area and works from the client's office four to five days a week, as part of a 150-person independent agency.

• Health & Wellness: Company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Finances, growth, and retirement: Darkroom offers a robust 401(k) program with company match and profit-sharing opportunities to help you save and grow as the company grows.

• Parental Leave: Flexible parental leave to support new parents during this important transition.

• Growth: Our interdisciplinary model gives every Darkroomer exposure far beyond their core role. Grow your skills, expand your influence, and stay at the forefront of the industry.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Darkroom is an equal opportunity workplace. We are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

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