SEO Lead

TopHat HR; Toronto; On-site; CAD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Tophat HR is hiring an experienced SEO Lead for a SaaS client to own global organic growth across traditional search and AI-powered ecosystems.

You will drive end-to-end SEO, including technical and content strategies, and lead a cross-functional team across multiple markets. This role emphasizes AI-driven optimization and measurable impact on leads and revenue.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of professional SEO experience.
• Proven experience leading SEO end-to-end.
• Experience managing and developing an SEO team.
• Demonstrated experience executing international SEO strategies.
• Hands-on experience with AEO, GEO, LLM SEO, or AI search optimization.
• Hands-on experience using modern AI tools for SEO and automation.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead SEO strategy end-to-end, including technical, on-page, content, and programmatic SEO.
• Develop and execute SEO strategies across multiple countries and markets.
• Lead AEO, GEO, and LLM SEO strategy.
• Improve brand visibility across Google and AI platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews).
• Identify opportunities to increase organic traffic, rankings, conversions, pipeline, and revenue.
• Lead technical SEO initiatives (crawling, indexing, site architecture, structured data, internal linking, Core Web Vitals).
• Develop and scale programmatic SEO and content strategies.
• Use AI and automation to enhance SEO research, analysis, content ops, internal linking, reporting, and monitoring.
• Manage, mentor, and set KPIs for the SEO team.
• Collaborate with Content, Engineering, Product Marketing, Design, and Demand Generation.
• Own SEO reporting, forecasting, experimentation, and performance.

Skills

SEO strategy

Technical SEO

On-page SEO

Content SEO

Off-page SEO

Programmatic SEO

International SEO

AEO

GEO

LLM SEO

AI search optimization

AI tools (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex,)

AI tools (Gemini)

SEO tooling (GSC, GA4, Ahrefs, SEMrush

Screaming Frog

Automation & scripting for SEO

Leadership & mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Google Search Console

GA4

Ahrefs

SEMrush

Screaming Frog

Job description

Tophat HR is a boutique consulting firm- We are an expert in tailored and comprehensive human resources consulting & management services.

About the Role:

We're hiring on behalf of one of our growing SaaS clients for an experienced SEO Lead to own their global organic growth strategy across traditional search engines and the rapidly evolving AI search ecosystem.

Job Responsibilities:

• Own and lead SEO strategy end-to-end, including technical SEO, on-page SEO, content SEO, off-page SEO, programmatic SEO, and international SEO.
• Develop and execute SEO strategies across multiple countries and markets.
• Lead our AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and LLM SEO strategy.
• Improve brand visibility across Google and AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and AI Overviews.
• Identify and execute opportunities to increase organic traffic, rankings, conversions, pipeline, and revenue.
• Lead technical SEO initiatives including crawling, indexing, site architecture, structured data, internal linking, and Core Web Vitals.
• Develop and scale programmatic SEO and content strategies.
• Use AI and automation to improve SEO research, analysis, content operations, internal linking, reporting, and monitoring.
• Manage, mentor, and set KPIs for the SEO team.
• Collaborate with Content, Engineering, Product Marketing, Design, and Demand Generation.
• Own SEO reporting, forecasting, experimentation, and performance.

Skills Required:

• Advanced knowledge of technical, on-page, off-page, and programmatic SEO.
• Strong knowledge of international SEO, including localization, hreflang, international site architecture, and market-specific keyword research.
• Strong understanding of AEO, GEO, LLM SEO, and AI search optimization.
• Proficiency with AI tools such as Claude Code, Open AI Codex, and Gemini.
• Experience using tools such as Google Search Console, GA4, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, or similar platforms.
• Ability to use AI, automation, scripts, and data to operate SEO at scale.
• Strong analytical, strategic, leadership, and communication skills.
• Ability to connect SEO performance to leads, pipeline, and revenue.

Experience Required:

• Minimum 5+ years of professional SEO experience.
• Proven experience leading SEO end-to-end.
• Previous experience managing and developing an SEO team.
• Demonstrated experience executing international SEO strategies.
• Hands-on experience with AEO, GEO, LLM SEO, or AI search optimization.
• Hands-on experience using modern AI tools for SEO and automation.
• Experience scaling organic growth for a high-growth company.
• B2B SaaS, technology, or API experience is strongly preferred.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We will work with applicants to provide accommodations at any stage of the hiring process