Associate Director, Retention

Apply; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Remote-First

Health Coverage

401(k) match

Job summary

Darkroom is seeking a highly analytical, commercially-minded Director to build a retention program for a high-growth consumer technology company. You will lead a team of lifecycle marketing experts to drive subscriber growth and revenue, partnering with cross-functional colleagues to dig into activation, loyalty, and long-term customer value.

You will own the top-line retention revenue, build the forecast, defend it, and guide the team to hit it.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in digital, growth, or lifecycle marketing with SaaS or subscription experience.
• Owned revenue or subscriber targets with forecast modeling.
• Experience scaling lifecycle programs during rapid list growth.
• Built funnels: lead capture, welcome flows, activation, loyalty.
• Fluent in subscription economics and churn management.

Responsibilities

• Lead retention program from ground up and set strategy.
• Own forecast and close gaps against plan.
• Set segmentation and lifecycle roadmap for flows and tests.
• Oversee activation, loyalty, and win-back programs.
• Mentor direct reports and collaborate cross-functionally.

Skills

Lifecycle marketing

Forecasting

Team leadership

Cohort analysis

Email marketing

Tools

Braze

SFMC

Iterable

Customer.io

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

We are looking for a highly analytical, commercially-minded Director who is motivated by the challenge of building a retention program for a high-growth consumer technology company. You will lead a team of lifecycle marketing experts to drive subscriber growth and revenue, and partner with cross-functional colleagues to go deeper on customer behavior — with a specific focus on activation, loyalty, and long-term customer value.

You are building this program from the ground up rather than optimizing one that already exists. The list starts near 20,000 and scales rapidly behind a significant acquisition investment. Sending volume ramps to 40–60 emails a month, and increasingly granular segmentation is what drives that output. Automation is the engine: lead capture, welcome series, and the first-conversion funnel come first, then subscription activation, loyalty, and repeat purchase. The program runs on enterprise tooling - Braze, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Iterable, Customer.io, or comparable.

You own the top-line retention revenue number for your client. You build the forecast, defend it, and lead the team that hits it.

We are open to candidates in NYC, NJ, Florida and Texas.

You should apply if this sounds like you

You are a growth marketer first and a lifecycle marketer second. You think in cohorts, conversion rates, and payback periods. You are energized by a program that does not exist yet and a list that is about to grow 10x.

• 7+ years of experience in digital, growth, or lifecycle marketing, including time spent on subscription or SaaS products.
• You have owned a revenue or subscriber target and built the forecast behind it — you can model list growth, conversion, activation, and churn and explain what moves each one.
• You have scaled a lifecycle program through a period of rapid list growth, and you know what breaks when volume goes from a handful of sends to 40–60 per month.
• You have built the funnel that matters here: lead capture, welcome series, first conversion, and subscription activation. You know the difference between a welcome flow that greets people and one that converts them.
• You are fluent in subscription economics — trial-to-paid, activation, free-to-paid, upgrade and downgrade paths, involuntary churn, and win-back.
• You have developed loyalty, referral, or rewards programming that measurably improved repeat purchase and LTV. Driving loyalty and repeat purchase is a core outcome of this role, not a side project.
• You have worked in an enterprise-grade ESP such as Braze, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Iterable, or Customer.io, and you understand what these platforms make possible: complex segmentation, event-driven journeys, in-app and push alongside email, and integration with a real product data stream.
• You love making data-driven decisions and excel at turning analysis into lifecycle strategy that drives revenue. You are comfortable building the reporting yourself when you need to.
• You are used to a fast-paced environment and can project manage multiple workstreams for yourself, your team, and your client.
• You have had at least one direct report before, or exceptional leadership skills working with cross-functional teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills, plus the ability to articulate complex and sometimes technical ideas to a wide variety of people at any level.
• You dedicate time to staying on the cutting edge of consumer technology, subscription, and lifecycle marketing.

A day in the life

• Serve as the senior point of contact for your client, meeting weekly to review performance and shape current and future initiatives.
• Own the retention revenue forecast — build it, update it, and bring the recommendations that close any gap to plan.
• Set the segmentation and lifecycle strategy that drives the program's output, and prioritize the roadmap of flows, campaigns, and tests behind it.
• Own subscription activation and retention: the trial and onboarding journeys, the conversion moments, and the loyalty, repeat purchase, and win-back programming that extends customer lifetime.
• Conduct weekly 1:1s with your direct reports, manage workload and capacity, and train the team to help them grow into experts.
• Develop the strategic campaign calendar and partner with your specialists to deliver it at volume.
• Review all client briefs and creative for approval before they reach the client.
• Set the client's KPI framework and work with the team to turn results into insights and actionable recommendations.
• Coordinate cross-departmentally with the Performance Marketing and Strategy teams so that acquisition investment and lifecycle programming reinforce each other.

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 frontier of the industry.
• Compensation: The base salary range for this role is $100,000-$120,000 per year. This range represents the anticipated minimum and maximum for this position and applies to candidates based in New York, including New York City, in compliance with the New York State Pay Transparency Law and the New York City Salary Transparency Law. Actual compensation within this range will be determined based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

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.