Head of UA / UA Coach (Advisor)

Appodeal; Barcelona; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Appodeal, a US-based mobile monetization company with Barcelona presence, seeks a Senior UA Leader to drive growth across in-house squads and an advisor format. You’ll own the UA playbook, build automation, and align creative testing with profitability targets.

Ideal candidates have 7+ years in mobile UA, hands-on experience with major networks, and a track record of scalable performance. Relocation to Barcelona is required for in-house work four days a week.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in mobile user acquisition or growth marketing, including leadership roles.
• Hands-on experience running and optimizing campaigns across AppLovin, Meta, Google, DSPs and CPI networks.
• You've scaled mobile games through performance marketing and kept them profitable.
• Strong creative-driven UA: you've built a creative testing framework and know how to read its results.
• Strong analytical mindset: you turn data from shared analytics and LTV models into growth decisions and are comfortable without in-house analysts.
• AI-native: agents or automation you built that took over UA work (bidding, reporting, creative production).
• For the in-house format: ready to relocate to Barcelona and work from our office 4 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Set and keep the UA playbook every squad works to: channel mix, bidding and budget rules, ROAS discipline and when to kill a campaign.
• Own the creative testing framework, measurement and incrementality, and how we test new networks and DSPs.
• Make UA expertise easy to reach: regular office hours with squad DRIs and UA specialists, campaign and creative reviews, written playbooks and worked examples, and introductions in the market where they help.
• Speak up when a standard isn't followed.
• Run and optimize UA for 1-3 games yourself as the reference for how UA is done here.
• Turn data from shared LTV and profit models into growth decisions, without a dedicated analyst.
• Build agents and automation that take over UA work: bidding, reporting and creative production.

Skills

Mobile UA

Leadership

Performance marketing

Analytical mindset

AI automation

Strategic execution

Relocation to Barcelona

Job description

Why Appodeal?

Appodeal is a dynamic US-based product company with a truly global presence. We have offices in Warsaw, Barcelona and Parkland (FL), along with remote team members located around the world. Our company thrives on diversity, collaboration, and innovation, making us a leader in the mobile app monetization space.

At Appodeal, we're more than just a company—we're a team united by a common mission: Help people discover and grow their talents through products that enable successful mobile app businesses!

We take pride in our cutting-edge product and our internationally dispersed team of talented professionals.

Here's what we value, and what we hope you do too:

• Continuous Learning and Growth: We are passionate about learning, growing personally, and building rewarding careers.
• Making an Impact: We are committed to building a history-defining company that leaves a lasting impact on the mobile app industry.
• Solving Exciting Challenges: We tackle complex problems every day, supported by a team of world-class professionals and mentors.
• Enjoying the Journey: We believe in having fun while working toward our goals.

About the role

Our gaming business builds and scales a portfolio of casual, ad-monetized evergreen games (cards, words, puzzles, board games) from Barcelona. We're rebuilding it as an AI-native team: instead of departments and management layers, we work in small squads, and each squad runs like a small studio that owns 1-3 games end to end: product, UA and monetization together. The reporting, coordination and analysis that used to need middle managers are handled by shared data and LTV models, AI agents and automation.

The model follows "From Hierarchy to Intelligence" by Jack Dorsey (Block) and Roelof Botha (Sequoia Capital), and uses a few simple roles:

• Builder (IC): everyone builds.
• DRI (Directly Responsible Individual): owns one result end to end, has real authority over the squad's effort and picks the team. It's a role, not a rank.
• Player-coach: sets the standard of a discipline for all squads and makes their expertise easy to reach. A coach is accountable for the standard and for being available, not for other people's numbers or growth.
• Advisor: brings outside expertise without owning a result.

There's no UA department in this model: UA specialists sit inside the squads and work with their squad's DRI. What we need is senior UA judgment available to every squad and one clear UA standard across the portfolio. Eleven of our games run active UA, and UA is the biggest lever on our profit and growth today.

We'll fill this seat in one of two ways:

In-house (Head of UA): builder and UA Coach. Full-time in Barcelona, 4 days a week in the office. You run UA hands-on for 1-3 games inside one squad and set the UA standard for all squads.

Advisor (UA Coach): not employment. You set and keep the UA standard and make UA expertise easy to reach for every squad. Scope and hours are agreed together.

Responsibilities:

As UA Coach (both formats):

• Set and keep the UA playbook every squad works to: channel mix, bidding and budget rules, ROAS discipline and when to kill a campaign.
• Own the creative testing framework, measurement and incrementality, and how we test new networks and DSPs.
• Make UA expertise easy to reach: regular office hours with squad DRIs and UA specialists, campaign and creative reviews, written playbooks and worked examples, and introductions in the market where they help.
• Speak up when a standard isn't followed.

In-house, hands-on in one squad:

• Run and optimize UA for 1-3 games yourself, as the reference for how UA is done here.
• Turn data from our shared LTV and profit models into growth decisions, without a dedicated analyst.
• Build agents and automation that take over UA work: bidding, reporting and creative production.

What this role is not:

Not a head of a UA department: there's no team to manage. UA specialists report to their squad's DRI.

Not accountable for squad or portfolio numbers: each squad's DRI owns their result. You're accountable for the UA standard and for being available.

Requirements:

• 7+ years in mobile user acquisition or growth marketing, including leadership roles, in ad-monetized casual evergreen games.
• Hands-on experience running and optimizing campaigns across AppLovin, Meta, Google, DSPs and CPI networks.
• You've scaled mobile games through performance marketing and kept them profitable.
• Strong creative-driven UA: you've built a creative testing framework and know how to read its results.
• Strong analytical mindset: you turn data from shared analytics and LTV models into growth decisions and are comfortable without in-house analysts.
• AI-native: agents or automation you built that took over UA work (bidding, reporting, creative production), not only tools built by others.
• You work both at the strategic level and in day-to-day execution, and can explain a standard so that people outside UA can apply it.
• For the in-house format: ready to relocate to Barcelona and work from our office 4 days a week.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience scaling games to the top-grossing charts.

Why Join Us?

UA is the biggest lever on our growth, and you'll set how we use it across the whole portfolio.

You choose the format that suits you: full-time in Barcelona or as an advisor.

You'll help shape how an AI-native games team works, with small squads that move fast and act on what you bring.

With an outstanding product and a mission that excites and inspires, Appodeal offers a unique opportunity to make an impact while being part of an amazing team.

Join us and help shape the future of mobile app success!