Lead Account Executive, Retention & Digital Products

Darkroom; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO + US holidays

Remote-First Culture

Health & Wellness: medical/dental/eye

401(k) with company match and profit‑s

Parental Leave

Growth opportunities

Uncapped commission

Job summary

Darkroom is seeking an Account Executive, Retention & Digital Products to own new business and expansion within a focused vertical. You will source, close, and expand deals in retention marketing and digital product services, building a durable pipeline through partnerships, events, and targeted outreach.

You will lead the full commercial process, collaborate with Managing Directors, and drive revenue growth while maintaining a strong client relationship across a portfolio of brands.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a full-cycle Account Executive or equivalent sales role with a proven closing track record.
• Agency, MarTech, or SaaS experience strongly preferred.
• Fluent English, polished communication, and ability to present to founders/CMOs.

Responsibilities

• Source and close new business in retention marketing and digital products.
• Own upsell and cross-sell motion across client base with leadership alignment.
• Build partner ecosystem and attend industry events to surface deals.
• Lead scoping, pricing, proposals, and closing for the commercial process.
• Maintain pipeline in HubSpot and Notion with accurate origination and status.

Skills

Full-cycle sales

Closing deals

Account management

Tools

HubSpot

Notion

Google Workspace

Slack

Job description

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

The Account Executive, Retention & Digital Products owns a new-business revenue number for a specific vertical: Retention Marketing (email, SMS, lifecycle) and Digital Products (GEO / AI-search, SEO, CRO, web builds, and web support). You are a commercial, closer-minded operator who builds a book through partnerships, industry events, and targeted outreach - and who also fields and closes the inbound that arrives in your vertical.

You are a hunter with a specialty. You will become the person the market associates with Darkroom's retention and digital practice: at the conferences, in the partner ecosystem, and in the rooms where these deals get done. You will also own the upsell and cross-sell motion for your departments - working the existing client base alongside our Managing Directors and Will Margaritis (SVP, Strategy) to identify and close expansion into your services.

This is a high-accountability role with clear revenue KPIs and uncapped commission that rewards self-sourced pipeline. If you want to own a vertical, build a durable network, and close tech-enabled marketing services you believe in, this is the role for you.

Location: NYC strongly preferred.

Your Vertical

You own new business and expansion across two department clusters:

• Retention Marketing - email, SMS, and lifecycle (Klaviyo and the broader retention stack).
• Digital Products - GEO / AI-search optimization, SEO, conversion-rate optimization, web builds, and ongoing web support.

You will build deep fluency in these services, the platforms behind them, and the buyer in each - so that when a brand says 'our email program is flat' or 'we're invisible in AI search,' you are already scoping the deal.

What You’ll Do

Primary - Source and close new business in your vertical

• Own a quarterly new-business number for retention and digital products.
• Build and work a partner ecosystem - Klaviyo, Shopify Plus, retention and CRO tech, AI-search and SEO platforms - as a durable referral engine along with a vertical focus defined during your first 30 days (subscription products, fashion, etc).
• Represent Darkroom at industry events and conferences in your vertical (K:BOS, BrightonSEO / MozCon, CXL Live, MAICON, emerging GEO/AEO events, Shoptalk, eTail), and build the local/in-market relationships that surface deals.
• Develop and pursue a named target 'whale' list of brands that fit your services.
• Field and close inbound that arrives in your vertical.
• Lead the full commercial process: scoping, pricing, proposal, and close.
• Work with our marketing team to understand inbound strategy across content creators, seo, and other deal sources.

Primary - Own The Upsell & Cross-sell Motion

• Run a standing weekly expansion meeting with the Managing Directors of your departments and Will Margaritis (SVP, Strategy), where you work the client base for upsell and cross-sell opportunities and drive the flagged deals to close.
• The MDs surface the opportunity from delivery insight; Will clears account health and capacity; you own the commercial motion and the close.
• Proactively identify expansion through client conversations, performance data, and account signals - you are the person the account team calls when an opportunity emerges.

Secondary - Vertical fluency and onboarding

• Maintain deep, current command of Darkroom's retention and digital service catalog and the platforms behind it.
• Be present on onboarding calls for new clients in your vertical to establish the expansion relationship from day one.
• Maintain clean pipeline documentation in HubSpot and Notion (Sourced By, Closed By, Origination, deal stages) - comp is calculated off these fields.

What You Will Not Do

• High-volume cold prospecting for net-new logos outside your vertical - that is the outbound BDR's function. You source through partnerships, events, and targeted relationships.
• Deliver QBRs.
• Execute campaign changes or optimizations - that is the account team's responsibility.

You Should Apply If This Sounds Like You

• 5+ years in a full-cycle Account Executive or equivalent sales role with a documented closing track record. Agency, MarTech, or SaaS experience strongly preferred.
• Closer DNA. You have carried a quota and closed new-business and expansion deals. You are energized by revenue outcomes, and you source your own pipeline rather than waiting for leads.
• Vertical credibility. You can speak fluently about retention/lifecycle marketing, SEO and the shift to AI-search / GEO, CRO, and web builds - enough to earn a technical buyer's trust.
• Network-builder. You know how to turn partners and conferences into a durable pipeline, not one-off business cards.
• Commercially instinctive. When you hear 'we're rebuilding our site next year,' you are already scoping the deal.
• Self-directed operator. Highly organized, proactive, fast-moving. You do not need to be managed into motion.
• Tool-proficient. HubSpot (or equivalent CRM), Notion, Google Workspace, Slack; comfortable reading performance data and dashboards.
• Polished communicator. Fluent English, strong video presence, comfortable presenting to founders and CMOs of growth-stage DTC brands.

How You’ll Be Measured

• Quarterly new-business quota attainment (new MRR + variable, per the Sales Quota & Commission Plan).
• Upsell and cross-sell revenue closed.
• Self-sourced pipeline generated (partnerships, events, outbound relationships).
• Inbound deals closed in your vertical.
• Pipeline hygiene in HubSpot.

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 the 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.
• Compensation Structure: Base salary plus uncapped commission on new-business, upsell, cross-sell, and inbound revenue, with accelerators that reward self-sourced pipeline (partnerships, events, and outbound relationships pay a higher origination bracket than inbound). Full mechanics shared during the interview process.

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.