Director, Paid Media

About Darkroom Darkroom is the leading next-generation growth marketing firm engineering the brands of tomorrow. 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 As a Director, Paid Media, you will be responsible for a small portfolio of high-growth consumer brands that have engaged with Darkroom to accelerate their growth. You are one-half hands-on media practitioner, spending your day inside the ad platforms building, launching, and optimizing campaigns, and one-half strategic growth partner, architecting the omnichannel media plan and financial narrative behind it. This is a client-facing position meant for the best and brightest in paid media, capable of moving fluidly between in-platform execution and executive-level strategy. Perfect candidates will be obsessed with paid media performance, experts at deploying efficient omnichannel advertising campaigns (Meta, TikTok, Paid Search, Amazon, and beyond) that deliver impact, with deep, hands-on fluency in at least one major platform and a working knowledge of DTC economics at large. You should be comfortable scaling a single account from under $50K to $500K-$1M+ per month as equally as walking a founder through a marketing pro forma. This position is focused on owning accounts directly, not managing a team. Being successful in this role requires mastery of at least one paid media platform at the hands-on execution level, a willingness to understand (and master) how paid media performance connects to broader business outcomes, and effective communication across teams and departments. You will directly manage the relationship with the client, scale ad accounts upwards of $500K-$1M USD per month, and bring excellent client relationship management skills. You live and breathe campaign execution, funnel construction, and performance marketing. You'll report to the Managing Director of Paid Media and play a key role in scaling Darkroom's paid media capabilities across a portfolio of high-growth consumer brands. You'll be responsible for owning full-funnel advertising efforts for your accounts, including weekly client touch-bases and QBRs, while working closely with Growth Strategy, Creative Strategy, and Paid Search to ensure performance goals are met. This is a fast-paced, high-accountability environment designed for media practitioners who are ambitious, curious, and ready to grow. You'll gain hands-on experience across a broad range of verticals and platforms, while developing the strategic and financial fluency needed to be a future Head of Paid Media or Managing Director. Darkroom is a career incubator for ambitious talent looking to operate at the intersection of business, media, and innovation.   What you'll do: - Build, launch, and optimize paid media campaigns directly inside ad platforms (Meta, TikTok, Amazon, Paid Search, programmatic) - Execute full-funnel programs across prospecting, mid-funnel, retention, and remarketing - Set up creative tests, audience tests, bid strategies, and structure iterations, and troubleshoot performance issues directly within the platforms - Own pacing, budget, attribution, and performance troubleshooting end-to-end - Architect omnichannel acquisition strategies across a portfolio of brands - Scale media budgets from early-stage spend to $500K-$1M+ per month - Develop funnel structures, testing roadmaps, and measurement frameworks - Identify opportunities to increase AOV, MER, LTV, and new customer revenue - Lead client calls, QBRs, weekly updates, and executive presentations - Connect performance insights to business outcomes for CMOs and founders, and own client satisfaction and retention across your portfolio - Partner with Data and Finance to align spend to business goals and project client spend based on performance - Track CAC, contribution margin, cohort data, and profitability levers - Read and interpret marketing pro formas for clients and internal stakeholders - Partner closely with Growth Strategy, Creative Strategy, and Paid Search to ensure cross-channel consistency and coordinated go-to-market execution - Stay ahead of platform algorithm changes, creative evolution, and attribution shifts, and bring proactive hypotheses and channel recommendations to clients weekly You should apply if this sounds like you: - 7+ years of hands-on paid media experience, with deep, personal, in-platform experience in at least one major channel (Meta, TikTok, Paid Search, or Amazon) - Fluent in campaign structures, bidding, pacing, pixel/event setup, and optimization - Experienced scaling accounts from under $50K to $500K-$1M+ per month - Strong understanding of DTC economics (AOV, CVR, MER, CAC, margin, cohorts) and comfortable engaging in discussions around contribution margin and profitability - Able to build and communicate clear testing frameworks and growth roadmaps - Confident presenting performance insights to executives, and capable of managing founder or CMO relationships with clarity and calm - Thrive working with Creative, Data, Retention, and other cross-functional teams, and strong at influencing without direct authority - You are excited by complex challenges that require innovative media strategies to unlock scale - You can be flexible, understand shifting client needs, deal with ambiguity, and adapt to the situation - You thrive in fast-paced, high-accountability environments   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. - Remote-First Culture: Many roles are fully remote. Employees based in or near our New York or Lisbon HQs are expected to work hybrid with weekly in-office time. Hub locations include Brazil and Spain. - 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 orientation, 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.