Associate Director, SEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

VML•Chicago, IL

11h•$75,000 - $180,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As the Associate Director, SEO, you will help deliver cutting-edge, high-quality search and generative engine optimization (GEO) work that is customized to specific goals. Working within our Discoverability group in support of a major enterprise client, the focus will be to drive brand visibility inside AI-generated answers as well as traditional search results, using the client's brand visibility platform. The ability to manage multiple workstreams across products, sub-brands, languages and markets in a complex enterprise environment will be critical to the success of this role. This includes facilitating strategy workshops, building and expanding prompt sets, briefing content gaps, and running the post-launch optimization loop to ensure VML delivers a holistic, inclusive approach for all client needs.

Requirements

6-8 years experience working in SEO, agency experience required
Demonstrable GEO or AI-visibility experience, including prompt set design, LLM-oriented content briefing, or measurement of brand presence in AI-generated answers
Experience facilitating client-facing workshops or strategy sessions with senior stakeholders
Willingness and availability to complete hands-on demo environment work and the client's reference training before any client-facing engagement
Hands-on experience with enterprise brand visibility platforms, like Profound, Peec, Adobe, etc. or the ability to reach working fluency in a demo environment quickly. You will use the client's platform for prompt set import, gap review and uplift reporting, including live in-session reviews with the client
Management and leadership experience with direct reports
Strong client facing abilities, including comfort operating in co-branded settings alongside a partner's own team

Nice To Haves

Experience with SEO tools such as SEMRush, Deepcrawl, STAT, Screaming Frog, MOZ, and comparable AI visibility tracking platforms, preferred

Responsibilities

Workshop facilitation. Lead structured strategy sessions with client marketing and product stakeholders to set categories, map content frameworks to their product and launch calendar, and produce an initial prompt set ready for import into the brand visibility platform. You must be comfortable running this both solo and as a co-facilitator alongside the client's own team.
Content gap briefing. Translate the content framework output into actionable content briefs the client's own team can execute, identifying what owned content already exists, what is missing, and what must be created for each product launch. You will need to write a brief engineered for LLM visibility, not just SEO hygiene.
Prompt strategy development and expansion. Build and structure prompt sets that scale, growing prompt depth across products, languages, sub-brands and markets over time. Apply the distinction between branded and unbranded prompt coverage, funnel mapping, and intent balance as defined by the content framework matrix.
Post-launch optimization loop management. Return after deployment to review uplift in the platform, refresh the prompt set, identify new gaps, and coach the client through an ongoing GEO optimization cadence. Success is measured by prompt list growth and CDN page activation, not deliverable count.
Product fluency and platform credibility. Complete hands-on work in the platform environment and the client's reference training sessions before any client-facing engagement. Be credible enough in the platform to facilitate a live in-session gap review with the client, and confident enough in GEO fundamentals to hold the room in a co-branded facilitation context without misrepresenting the tool's native capabilities.
Foundational SEO expertise. Bring expert-level understanding and application of technical, on-page, off-page, mobile, local, international and e-commerce SEO, and use it as the substrate for GEO recommendations. Common supporting deliverables include SEO and content audits, keyword and entity research, competitive analyses, technical SEO consultation, on-page optimization, content development workflow support, off-page asset optimization, and analysis and reporting.
Strategic leadership. Think beyond tactical execution to deliver high-level strategic recommendations for custom-tailored, best-in-class discoverability work, and develop and consult on efforts that provide tangible results against previously defined goals. Lead projects of all sizes and take an active role in growing the business within the engagement.
Category currency. Stay current on the latest SEO and GEO tooling, evolving LLM retrieval and citation behavior, reporting capabilities, and industry voices to help keep VML at the forefront. Proactively keep clients, client counterparts and internal VML teams informed on current trends and changes.
Cross-discipline collaboration. Work with Paid Search and Performance Content team members to support Discoverability initiatives and maximize overall impact. Maintain a solid understanding of holistic integrated media tactics alongside organic search, including paid search, social media, mobile marketing, PR and analytics, and be prepared to leverage these disciplines to benefit clients.