Growth Marketing Manager – AI Startup, $165k + Equity in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
Career Trajectory: This role is positioned as a high-ownership, strategic growth marketing seat at a well-funded AI startup (Series C+, $270M raised). It's ideal for analytically sharp professionals — ex-bankers, consultants, or quant backgrounds — looking to pivot into growth marketing. Cresta is explicitly open to non-traditional marketing hires, which is a meaningful green flag for career changers.
Compensation vs. Market: At $100k–$165k base plus equity, this is competitive for a mid-level growth marketing manager at a US SaaS/AI startup. Comparable roles at similar-stage companies typically range from $110k–$150k; the upper end here is generous and reflects the strategic weight of the role. Equity at a $270M-funded startup could be meaningful depending on valuation trajectory.
Skills You'll Build:
- Full-funnel paid media strategy (LinkedIn, Meta, Google) — highly transferable and in strong demand
- AI-augmented marketing workflows (Clay, enrichment tools) — a cutting-edge, future-proof skill set
- Pipeline ownership and cross-functional stakeholder communication — skills that accelerate paths to VP Marketing or CMO
Culture Signals: The "first principles" framing, lean-team emphasis, and expectation to bring new bets to the table point to a fast-moving, autonomous startup culture. This is a builder role, not an executor role — a strong fit for ambitious self-starters but potentially draining for those who prefer structured environments.
Green Flags: Pedigreed investors (a16z, Sequoia, Greylock), Stanford AI Lab roots, marquee enterprise clients, and a CEO with proven Google-scale credentials. Watch for: scope clarity — "own the number" at a lean team means wearing many hats simultaneously.
Cresta unlocks the true potential of the customer experience, turning every conversation into a competitive advantage. Cresta's unified AI platform combines conversational AI agents, real-time human agent augmentation, and comprehensive conversation intelligence to drive revenue and efficiency gains across every channel. The world's leading companies, including United Airlines, Cox Communications, and Marriott, use Cresta to power world-class customer experiences every day.
Born from the Stanford AI Lab, Cresta has raised more than $270 million from the world's leading investors, including a16z, Greylock, and Sequoia. Our CEO, Ping Wu, founded and led Google's Contact Center AI and Vertex AI platforms before joining Cresta to build the future of AI-driven customer experiences.
Over the next few years, AI is going to redefine how people all over the world interact with businesses every day. Come build that future at Cresta.
Role Overview
Cresta is looking for a Growth Marketing Manager who thrives on creativity, innovation, analytical rigor, and strategic thinking — not someone looking to run an existing playbook. This role lives in paid and digital (LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, Google Ads), but the job is to build and own a growth thesis, not to babysit ad accounts. We care more about your ability to reason from first principles and move fast than about whether you've spent years in a specific channel. If you come from a demanding, analytical field such as investment banking, consulting, or a technical or quantitative discipline, and you're hungry to build a career in growth marketing, we want to hear from you.
Responsibilities
- Own the pipeline and acquisition number for your channels and decide what to double down on and what to pull back.
- Build a growth thesis for our paid and digital mix from first principles, and bring new bets to the table rather than waiting to be told where to focus.
- Lead paid social across LinkedIn and Meta Ads and a focused paid search program alongside it.
- Partner with our brand designer on ad creative, pushing the quality bar and staying current on what's working.
- Monitor campaign pacing against budget and pipeline goals, flagging issues proactively and knowing when to kill something versus double down.
- Leverage AI tools and audience enrichment platforms (including Clay) to build precise targeting, automate workflows, and drive output at a lean-team scale.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with demand generation, content, creative, sales, and more.
Qualifications
- A track record of excellence in a demanding, analytical field such as investment banking, consulting, biz ops, a co-founder or early startup builder background, or a technical or quantitative discipline (econ, stats, math, or similar), with genuine interest in growth marketing. We evaluate on outcomes, not pedigree. (Strong traditional digital marketing backgrounds will also be considered.)
- Quantitative fluency; a math-first brain that reasons about performance from the data.
- Demonstrated creativity and original thinking: evidence you generate ideas rather than default to convention.
- Strategic mindset: able to connect day-to-day execution to broader business goals, with a sense of ownership over the number, not just the tasks.
- High motor with a hunger to learn. Actively experiments with AI tools and brings new ideas to the team.
- Excellent communication skills; able to synthesize performance data into clear, stakeholder-ready updates.
Nice to Have (not expected on day one)
None of the below is required. If you don't have it, that's not a red flag — we'll teach it.
- Exposure to any paid advertising platform (LinkedIn, Google, Meta, or otherwise).
- Familiarity with CRM or marketing automation tools such as Salesforce or HubSpot.
- Experience with data or audience tools such as Clay.
Perks & Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with plans to fit you and your family
- Flexible PTO to take the time you need, when you need it
- Paid parental leave for all new parents welcoming a new child
- Retirement savings plan to help you plan for the future
- Remote work setup budget to help you create a productive home office
- Monthly wellness and communication stipend to keep you connected and balanced
- In-office meal program and commuter benefits provided for onsite employees
Compensation at Cresta
Cresta's approach to compensation is simple: recognize impact, reward excellence, and invest in our people. We offer competitive, location-based pay that reflects the market and what each individual brings to the table.
Compensation for this position includes Base Salary + Equity.
Base Salary Range: $100k – $165k base.
Actual base salary will be determined based on candidate-specific factors including experience, skills, and location, as well as applicable local pay requirements. Your recruiter can provide additional details. Total compensation also includes a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family.
Our use of AI in recruiting: We may use AI tools in our recruiting process, which require human review and oversight. If you have questions about our use of AI or wish to opt out, please contact [email protected] (if you are opting out, please use the subject 'Opt-Out' in your email).
Recording & AI transcription: We do not authorize candidates to record or use AI transcription of any interview by phone, notetaker app, AI glasses, or other device. Candidates may request an exception or accommodation for review during the interview process as needed.
Recruiting impersonation scams: We have noticed a rise in recruiting impersonations across the industry, where scammers attempt to access candidates' personal and financial information through fake interviews and offers. All Cresta recruiting email communications will always come from the @cresta.ai domain. Any outreach claiming to be from Cresta via other sources should be ignored.
Frequently Asked Questions
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