Social Media Lead

The Merman; Santa Monica (CA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The Merman, a high-growth DTC brand, is seeking a Social Media Lead in Santa Monica with flexibility for remote days. You will own the content calendar and monthly campaigns, shooting and publishing content across major platforms, and actively engaging the community to build authentic brand connections.

You will work closely with the Creative Director and founder, balancing hi-fi shoots with candid moments, and occasionally appearing on camera.

Qualifications

• Experience managing organic social channels and campaigns.
• Strong portfolio of photography and video work.
• Ability to shoot, edit, and publish content with budget-conscious planning.

Responsibilities

• Manage calendar and publish across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and other platforms.
• Collaborate with founder and Creative Director on monthly/seasonal concepts and shot lists.
• Shoot and edit photography and video content, direct talent, and scout locations.
• Engage daily with audience through comments, DMs, and conversations to build brand community.
• Analyze performance, repurpose assets, and report weekly on next steps.

Skills

Social media management

Photography

Video editing

Storytelling

Trend analysis

Community engagement

Budget management

Talent scouting

On-camera presence

Project coordination

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

DSLR/Film gear

Job description

Location: Santa Monica, CA - with flexibility for remote and off-site production days

Reports To: Creative Director

Compensation: $70,000–$85,000 base, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate.

The Merman - Social Media Lead

Role Type: Full-time

Location: Santa Monica, CA - with flexibility for remote and off-site production days

Reports To: Creative Director

Compensation: $70,000–$85,000 base, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate.

Who We Are

The Merman is a high-growth DTC brand pioneering ocean-inspired haircare for men. Our founder Noah started formulating in his kitchen to bottle what the ocean did to his hair: effortless texture, salt-air scent, and confidence you can feel. We are backed by the investors behind Home Chef, Ruggable, Fabletics, Dr. Squatch, MoonBrew, and O Positiv.

Our team is small and growing fast. The work you do is visible, your ideas move quickly, and there is little distance between a concept and its execution.

The Role

The question behind your work should always be: “How can I create content that genuinely engages with men?” The content you create should get men (and the women in their lives) to respond, share, participate, and feel connected to The Merman, both online and in real life.

You will run our organic social channels and help bring monthly campaign concepts to life from the content calendar, shooting, producing, and publishing. This also includes regular community engagement and reporting.

We are looking for someone resourceful, artistic, and organized. The best content for this role feels authentic and artistic: real people, interesting locations, film, cinematic storytelling, and a balance of planned hi-fi campaign shoots and candid iphone moments that feel like friends hanging out.

Most days will be spent with the team in Santa Monica. Other days may take you to a beach, surf session, street interview, pop-up, or wherever the content needs to happen. You will usually hold the camera but should be comfortable occasionally stepping in front of it to represent The Merman.

What You’ll Own First

1. The content calendar. Schedule, publish, and cross-post across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, and secondary accounts. Run Trial Reels and keep a high volume of content organized.

2. Campaign execution. Work with the founder and Creative Director on monthly or seasonal concepts, then coordinate shot lists, models, locations, props, schedules, and deliverables.

3. Hands-on content production. Shoot and edit photography and video using film, digicams, and iPhone. Find affordable talent and interesting locations, direct models, and capture the vision.

4. Community and brand voice. Engage daily in comments, DMs, video replies, and relevant conversations across social media. Write quick, funny, on-brand responses, interact with culturally relevant accounts, and build organic relationships with creators, athletes, celebrities, and other potential brand connections. We want someone who can help create trends, not just follow them.

5. Testing and reporting. Repurpose and report on approved assets from Air, test new hooks and formats, flag organic winners for paid, and provide a short weekly read on performance and next steps.

What You’ll Bring

• A strong understanding of our male customer and masculinity, with the ability to create content men identify with, find useful, entertaining, inspiring, and want to be part of.
• Roughly one to two years running social channels or executing campaigns through a brand, agency, freelance work, or your own projects.
• A portfolio showing content and other artistic projects you personally planned, shot, edited, published, or managed.
• Strong organization across calendars, shoots, platforms, and large asset libraries.
• Hands-on experience with photography, short-form video, and quality editing.
• Native-level fluency in TikTok and Reels, with a sharp sense of humor and strong instincts for trends, hooks, comments, and shareable formats.
• Resourcefulness to find models, locations, props, and creative solutions within a lean budget.
• Confidence, directing talent, interacting with the public, and occasionally appearing on camera.
• Strong plus: familiarity with Southern California beach, fitness, surf, and outdoor culture. Surfing or another ocean sport is a strong plus.