Director, Performance Media

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

13h•$180,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Reporting to the General Manager of the US Ecommerce business, the Director of Performance Media will own the strategy, execution and performance of our paid acquisition investment across the US business. This role is responsible for managing a media portfolio in excess of $50M annually, driving profitable growth across Google Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Display, YouTube, Meta, Affiliate and emerging digital acquisition channels. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who combines strategic thinking with deep technical expertise. While you'll be responsible for setting the vision for our performance media function, you'll also remain closely connected to the day-to-day performance of the business—reviewing results, identifying opportunities, guiding optimization decisions and partnering with the team to solve complex performance challenges. This is not a role for someone whose experience has primarily been managing agencies or developing media strategy from a distance. We are looking for a practitioner who has personally built, managed and scaled sophisticated paid media programs, either within a high-performing in-house team or at a leading performance marketing agency. Your credibility as a leader will come from your ability to coach, challenge and guide the team through deep subject matter expertise. Success in this role requires strong cross-functional leadership. You'll work closely with Brand Marketing, Creative, Ecommerce, Analytics and our Global Media teams to ensure upper-funnel brand investment and lower-funnel performance marketing operate as one connected growth engine. You'll help shape broader media strategy, influence investment decisions across the funnel, and ensure our performance insights inform how we build demand—not just how we capture it.

Requirements

The ideal candidate has spent their career buying media—not simply managing the people who buy it.
You have extensive hands-on experience managing large-scale performance marketing programs and have personally owned media investments at meaningful scale, ideally managing annual budgets of $50M or more.
You have built and optimized campaigns yourself, understand how auction dynamics influence commercial outcomes, and have led teams through expertise rather than oversight alone.
You are equally comfortable discussing commercial strategy with senior leadership as you are reviewing campaign structures with channel managers.
You understand how to balance short-term performance with long-term brand growth and can influence stakeholders across Brand Marketing, Ecommerce and Global Media to make better investment decisions.
You should have informed opinions—not just awareness—on topics such as: Google Search campaign architecture and Smart Bidding, Shopping strategy, Merchant Center optimization and product feed management, Performance Max structure, segmentation and measurement, Broad Match, Demand Gen and YouTube's role across the customer journey, Meta Advantage+ and AI-driven campaign automation, Attribution, incrementality and measurement in a privacy-first world, Server-side tracking, Enhanced Conversions and first-party data activation, Affiliate strategy and Creator Commerce as scalable acquisition channels, How AI platforms, including OpenAI, are reshaping search, discovery, advertising and commerce
Most importantly, you're intellectually curious. You stay ahead of platform evolution, challenge conventional thinking, embrace experimentation, and help the organization capitalize on emerging opportunities before they become industry standard.

Nice To Haves

This role is not intended for candidates whose experience has primarily focused on media planning, brand strategy or agency management without direct platform ownership.
We're looking for someone who has personally managed paid media at scale, understands the technical details that drive performance, and wants to remain closely connected to the execution of the business while leading a high-performing team.

Responsibilities

Own the strategy, execution and commercial performance of our US paid media investment, balancing revenue growth, customer acquisition, profitability and long-term brand health across a portfolio exceeding $50M in annual spend.
Lead the daily operating rhythm of the performance media team, partnering closely with channel managers on campaign architecture, bidding strategies, audience development, Shopping feed optimization, creative testing, attribution, budget allocation and experimentation.
Develop a culture of continuous testing and learning, using incrementality, measurement and commercial outcomes—not platform recommendations alone—to guide investment decisions.
Partner closely with Brand Marketing and the Global Media organization to develop integrated full-funnel media strategies that strengthen brand demand while maximizing demand capture across performance channels.
Build strong partnerships across Ecommerce, Analytics, CRM and Creative to improve measurement, landing page performance, customer acquisition and creative effectiveness.
Serve as the organization's subject matter expert on the rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape, translating new platform capabilities into scalable competitive advantages.