Director, Product Marketing

Handshake; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in a fast-growing company

401(k) match

Parental leave and fertility benefits

Mental health support

Learning stipend

Wellness stipend

Flexible PTO

Team outings and referral bonuses

Job summary

Handshake is seeking a Director, Product Marketing to own how the market sees Handshake on the employer side. You will set the narrative and category strategy, lead a team of product marketers, and partner with Product, Sales, and Marketing to drive launches and revenue.

This role is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and reports to the VP of Marketing. You will build thought leadership, grow executive awareness, and align with EDU and Handshake AI initiatives to maintain a unified Handshake

Qualifications

• 8+ years in B2B product marketing, including leading a team.
• Experience creating or evolving a category and repositioning a company or product.
• Experience marketing a marketplace or employment-related product.
• Experience building executive-level content and thought leadership.
• Strong cross-functional partnership with Product, Sales, and executive leadership on launches.
• Exceptional strategic storytelling and writing, with a high bar for craft.
• Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work from our SF office.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the employer narrative and positioning for Handshake.
• Create and evolve the category story for the employer buyer.
• Build thought leadership and content channels targeting CHROs and talent leaders.
• Lead, coach, and grow a team of 3–4 product marketers.
• Partner with Product, Sales, and Marketing to translate roadmaps into launches.

Skills

B2B product marketing

Team leadership

Category creation

Executive storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
• Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutions
• Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

The Role

As Director, Product Marketing, you will own how the market sees Handshake on the employer side: not as a college job board, but as the career network employers rely on to find and hire talent in the AI economy. You will set the narrative and category strategy that puts Handshake in front of CHROs and talent leaders, and lead a team of product marketers who bring it to life across every launch and channel. You will report to the VP, Marketing and inherit a team of 3-4 product marketers, partnering closely with the EDU-side product marketing lead, Product, Sales, and the executive team.

• Define and own the employer narrative and positioning that shows how the market sees Handshake, so that employers and CHROs see us as a strategic hiring partner rather than a college job board
• Create and evolve the category story for the employer buyer, elevating our message beyond product features to win mindshare in a crowded HR tech landscape
• Build thought leadership and content channels that put Handshake leaders in front of CHROs and senior talent decision-makers, growing executive awareness and pipeline influence
• Lead, coach, and grow a team of 3-4 product marketers, setting a high bar for craft and strategic thinking across employer-side launches
• Partner with Product, Sales, and Marketing leadership to translate roadmap and customer insight into launches and messaging that drive adoption and revenue
• Align with product marketing on the EDU side and adjacent teams, including Handshake AI and our learning offerings, to keep one unified Handshake story across audiences

You Have

• 8+ years in B2B product marketing, including leading a team of product marketers
• A track record of creating or evolving a category, with the vision to reposition a company or product in the market
• Experience elevating a narrative beyond the product, rather than selling primarily on features and specs
• Experience marketing a marketplace or employment-related product, where the value comes from connecting both sides
• Experience building executive-level content and thought leadership that reaches senior buyers such as CHROs
• Strong cross-functional partnership with Product, Sales, and executive leadership on launches and go-to-market
• Exceptional strategic storytelling and writing, with a high bar for craft in your own work and your team's
• Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work from our SF office

Bonus points:

• HR tech or recruiting technology background, or existing relationships with talent and HR leaders
• Experience marketing to both a supply side and a demand side of a two-sided network

We Offer

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported — and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend

Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development

Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.