CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL

Director of Marketing & Ecommerce
San Diego, CA (Hybrid) | $125–150K Base + Quarterly Bonus + Equity

About the Company

Our client is a venture-backed wearable technology company based in Metro San Diego that is creating an entirely new product category: wearable movement therapy. The company manufactures patented compression garments in-house that use integrated dial-based fit systems to activate muscles, retrain movement mechanics, and offload stress from vulnerable joints — a fundamentally different approach from traditional braces and sleeves, which restrict movement and cause muscle atrophy.

Founded by a serial entrepreneur with medical device experience who previously built and sold a software company, the brand commercially launched in late 2024 after four years of R&D. Products are HSA/FSA eligible, retail at $299–$349, and serve active adults aged 40–65 who refuse to let joint pain slow them down. The company has strong product-market fit (3.6% return rate), patented IP, a medical advisory board, and growing traction in endurance sports and racquet sports communities.

About the Role

This is a player-coach role reporting directly to the CEO. You will be the first dedicated marketing hire and will own the full DTC marketing function: creative strategy, conversion rate optimization, email marketing, paid media direction, organic social, content production, and event marketing support. The company has a paid media agency in place, an in-house video editor, and a newly hired COO — but you will be the person responsible for turning traffic into revenue.

The core challenge is conversion. The site receives approximately 30,000 monthly sessions but converts at well under 1%. The previous marketing leader achieved significantly better metrics before departing in late 2024 due to a personal emergency, and performance declined immediately. Your mandate is to rebuild the marketing engine: fix conversion, build email from zero, produce scroll-stopping creative for , and turn the company’s event presence into a digital content flywheel.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end DTC marketing strategy and execution, including site conversion optimization, email/SMS marketing, paid media creative direction, organic social content, and event marketing support.

Diagnose and fix the conversion rate crisis: install analytics and qualitative tooling (heatmaps, session recordings), map the purchase funnel, identify the biggest leaks, and execute rapid improvements to the site experience.

Build the email marketing program from scratch in Klaviyo: welcome flows, abandoned cart/browse/checkout flows, post-purchase education sequences, buyer reactivation, and campaign sends tied to tentpole events.

Direct creative production for advertising: develop genuinely diverse ad concepts (different people, settings, stories, emotions, formats) that educate non-aware consumers on a new product category within the first three seconds of the scroll.

Attend 4–6 sporting events per year to capture authentic content (customer reactions, athlete testimonials, product demos) that feeds the paid and organic content pipeline year-round.

Coordinate with the paid media agency on campaign strategy, audience targeting, creative testing, and budget allocation across , , and emerging channels.

Plan and execute tentpole marketing campaigns around major sporting events, including pre-event teaser phases, event-week activations, and post-event retargeting and email follow-through.

Manage and direct the in-house video editor; reduce reliance on external static designers by producing more creative assets internally.

Develop product page optimization: guided selling experiences (quizzes), video-driven product education, review generation strategy, and above-the-fold social proof and trust signals.

Report on marketing performance weekly and monthly, with clear attribution of revenue to channels and campaigns.

Requirements

5–10 years of DTC ecommerce marketing experience, with at least 2–3 years at a startup or early-stage brand where you owned the full marketing function (not just one channel).

Demonstrated success improving ecommerce conversion rates on Shopify, with hands-on experience in CRO tools, A/B testing, and funnel analytics.

Deep Klaviyo expertise: you have built email/SMS programs from zero or near-zero and scaled them to meaningful revenue contribution.

Strong creative instincts and direct-response copywriting ability. You can write ad copy, email sequences, and landing page content yourself — not just brief others to do it.

Experience directing photo and video production for social media advertising, with an understanding of what performs on Facebook and Instagram in the current algorithmic environment.

Comfort with technical or health-adjacent products that require consumer education before purchase. Experience marketing products that are NOT impulse buys is essential.

Willingness to travel to 4–6 sporting events per year (primarily weekends) to support activations and capture content.

Metro San Diego area preferred (hybrid schedule); some remote flexibility for the right candidate.

Startup temperament: You thrive in ambiguity, build your own systems, and don’t need to be managed. You are comfortable working from coffee shops, co-working spaces, or your home office — not a corporate campus.

Compensation: $125–150K base salary + $25–40K in quarterly performance bonuses + equity participation. Full comprehensive medical and detail coverage.

To Apply: Submit your resume BELOW, or email Harry.Joiner@EcommerceRecruiter.com. If possible, please include a brief note describing the most relevant DTC brand you’ve worked with and what you built there.

This is a retained search managed by EcommerceJobs.com on behalf of a confidential client.