Director, SEO & AEO

ServiceNow; California (MO); On-site; USD 166,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

401(k) Plan with company match

ESPP

Matching donations

Flexible time away plan

Family leave programs

Job summary

ServiceNow is seeking a Director of SEO and AI-Optimized Search (AEO) to lead a world-class SEO function within the Digital Experience organization. This role owns the strategy, builds a scalable infrastructure, and guides a team to optimize across ServiceNow.com using data-driven insights and AI-enabled discovery.

You will arbitrate stakeholder requests, align with leadership, and drive organizational discipline around search.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional SEO/search marketing experience, with at least 3+ years in a leadership or management role.
• Proven track record building and scaling SEO functions, establishing organizational discipline around search strategy, and driving measurable business impact.
• Deep understanding of SEO fundamentals (technical SEO, content optimization, E-E-A-T, link strategy, SERP dynamics) and emerging AEO/LLM optimization challenges.
• Experience designing and deploying SEO workflows, automation, and integrations with marketing technology (CMS, martech platforms, data tools).
• Strong leadership and communication skills. Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, articulate complex search strategy in business terms, and drive organizational alignment.
• Analytical mindset with ability to interpret search data, build performance frameworks, and translate insights into strategic recommendations.
• Comfort with ambiguity and systems thinking. You thrive in building organizational capability and infrastructure, not just executing tactical projects.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the SEO and AEO strategy and roadmap aligned to ServiceNow's priorities across product pages, buying group content, community, and developer resources.
• Arbitrate content requests with data-driven signals; ensure leadership alignment on messaging and discovery strategy.
• Establish performance targets for organic visibility, rankings, AEO performance, and content discoverability; lead quarterly reviews.
• Stay abreast of SEO, AEO, LLM optimization trends and evolve strategy accordingly.
• Build and oversee technical/infrastructure that embeds SEO validation into content production workflows; integrate with SERP data tools and AirOps.
• Design SEO validation gates in page-production workflows to optimize content during creation.
• Enable marketing teams to self-serve content creation at scale with built-in SEO guardrails.

Skills

SEO leadership

LLM optimization

Strategy & roadmap

Cross-functional leadership

Data-driven decision making

Analytical mindset

Systems thinking

Tools

Google Search Console

SEMrush

Adobe Experience Manager

AirOps

Job description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

ServiceNow's Digital Experience organization is seeking a strategic and decisive Director of SEO and AI-Optimized Search (AEO) to build and lead a world-class search optimization function. In this role, you will own the SEO and AEO strategy, lead a talented team, and establish the organizational discipline and infrastructure that makes search optimization a competitive advantage—not an afterthought. You will arbitrate between stakeholder demand and data-driven signals, drive strategic alignment with leadership across the organization, and build the systems and automation that scale search optimization across all of ServiceNow.com.

The ideal candidate brings proven SEO and AEO leadership experience, deep understanding of search marketing and LLM optimization, and the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics. You must be comfortable designing for automation and systems thinking—you're building infrastructure for the future, not advisory committees for the present. You thrive in ambiguity, move fast, and have a track record of establishing organizational capability and operational rigor.

Responsibilities SEO & AEO Strategy, Roadmap & Alignment

• Define and execute the SEO and AEO strategy and roadmap aligned to ServiceNow's business priorities and content discovery opportunities across all web surfaces (product pages, buying group content, community, developer resources, etc.).
• Arbitrate between stakeholder content requests and search data to establish disciplined content priorities. Drive alignment with leadership on messaging hierarchy, discovery strategy, and content investment decisions.
• Establish clear performance targets for organic visibility, rankings, AEO performance, and content discoverability. Own quarterly business reviews on SEO/AEO outcomes and progress against strategic goals.
• Stay abreast of industry trends in SEO, AEO, LLM optimization, and emerging search/discovery mechanisms. Evolve strategy as the search landscape changes.

Infrastructure, Automation & Orchestration

• Build and oversee the technical and operational infrastructure that embeds SEO/AEO validation into the content production workflow. Own integrations with SERP data tools, Google Search Console, competitive intelligence platforms, and AirOps to ensure SEO signals flow into page creation and optimization in real time.
• Design SEO validation gates in the page-production workflow so content is optimized during creation, not after deployment. Establish the logic that feeds performance signals and recommendations into content orchestration.
• Lead the enablement of marketing teams (Product Marketing, Integrated Marketing, etc.) to self-serve content creation at scale using AirOps and other tools, with built-in SEO guardrails.

Team Leadership, Development & Execution

• Lead and develop a high-performing SEO/AEO team comprising specialists in performance analytics, technical automation/integrations, content operations, and LLM optimization. Set clear goals, provide coaching, and build organizational capability in search and discovery.
• Own quarterly planning, performance management, and career development for all direct reports. Build a culture of data-driven decision making and continuous optimization.
• Partner with Studio (UX, copywriting, design), Publishing, Localization, and Web Experience Management to ensure SEO strategy is operationalized across the full page-production lifecycle.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Communication

• Serve as the organizational authority on search discovery and optimization strategy. Build and maintain executive relationships across Product Management, Product Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Field Marketing, and Corporate Communications.
• Communicate SEO/AEO strategy, performance insights, and recommendations to leadership. Represent the search function in marketing planning, campaign kickoffs, and stakeholder reviews.
• Drive adoption of SEO best practices and discipline across the organization. Push back on content decisions that are inconsistent with search strategy and justify those calls with data.

• 8+ years of professional SEO/search marketing experience, with at least 3+ years in a leadership or management role.
• Proven track record building and scaling SEO functions, establishing organizational discipline around search strategy, and driving measurable business impact through organic visibility and traffic.
• Deep understanding of SEO fundamentals (technical SEO, content optimization, E-E-A-T, link strategy, SERP dynamics) and emerging AEO/LLM optimization challenges.
• Experience designing and deploying SEO workflows, automation, and integrations with marketing technology (CMS, martech platforms, data tools).
• Strong leadership and communication skills. Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, articulate complex search strategy in business terms, and drive organizational alignment.
• Analytical mindset with ability to interpret search data, build performance frameworks, and translate insights into strategic recommendations.
• Comfort with ambiguity and systems thinking. You thrive in building organizational capability and infrastructure, not just executing tactical projects.

Technology and Domain Expertise:

• Expert-level proficiency with SEO tools and platforms (Google Search Console, SEMrush, or equivalent). Familiarity with SERP tracking and competitive intelligence tools.
• Experience with web content management systems (Adobe Experience Manager / AEM strongly preferred) and publishing workflows.
• Working knowledge of web analytics (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) and ability to define and track SEO/organic performance metrics.
• Understanding of web development basics, site speed optimization, structured data/schema, and technical SEO best practices.
• Awareness of AI/LLM capabilities and emerging opportunities in AEO and generative search optimization.

Preferred Experience:

• B2B enterprise or SaaS marketing experience strongly preferred.
• Leadership experience in global, multi-market organizations where you've managed localization and regional SEO strategy.
• Background scaling teams through automation, process design, and systems thinking rather than headcount alone.
• Experience with AI/ML applications in marketing and understanding of how LLMs and generative search are reshaping discovery.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $165,600 - $227,700, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

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