Director of Marketing

 

About the Role

We are looking for a Director of Marketing to be our first and foundational marketing hire. In this role, you will build and execute our marketing strategy from the ground up in close partnership with our COO and technical leadership. This is a hands-on opportunity to shape Vast.ai’s brand voice, market positioning, and growth trajectory in the exciting AI infrastructure space. You’ll wear many hats – strategist, content creator, community builder, and analyst – as you drive user acquisition and engagement. If you’re a high-agency marketer who loves technology and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment, this role is made for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Full-Stack Marketing: Take ownership of all marketing functions (strategy, branding, campaigns, content, etc.) and execute them in close collaboration with the COO and team. As the first marketing hire, you’ll set the marketing roadmap and be the go-to person for all things marketing.
• Social Media Management: Plan, create, and manage social media content across platforms. Schedule regular posts, engage with our technical community, and grow our presence in a genuine, engineering-friendly tone.
• Content Creation & Blog Writing: Write blog posts, articles, and case studies that highlight AI use cases and showcase how customers are leveraging Vast.ai. Translate complex technical concepts (GPU rentals, AI model training/inference, Docker, etc.) into compelling stories and educational content for an engineering audience.
• Industry Trends Tracking: Continuously monitor and report on GPU and AI industry trends. Keep the team informed about key developments (e.g. new GPU hardware, ML frameworks, competitor moves) and use these insights to adjust marketing strategies and create timely content.
• Market Positioning: Help shape and refine Vast.ai’s market positioning and messaging. Ensure that our value proposition (e.g. low-cost GPU cloud, technical excellence, support) is clearly communicated across all channels and differentiates us in the AI infrastructure market.
• Leverage AI Tools: Use new AI-powered marketing tools to work smarter and faster. This could mean using generative AI for content creation, social media scheduling, data analysis, or other automation to amplify our marketing efforts efficiently. Embrace creative experimentation with these tools to gain an edge.
• Project Management: Juggle multiple projects in a fast-moving environment. From launching a new campaign to updating the website copy or coordinating an event sponsorship, you’ll prioritize and execute tasks to meet deadlines. Maintain an organized content calendar and marketing dashboard to track progress and results.

You Have:

• 3–5 Years of Marketing Experience: Proven experience in a marketing role (startup environment strongly preferred). You’ve worn multiple hats or been part of a small marketing team, and you understand how to grow a brand with limited resources.
• High-Agency, Self-Directed Attitude: You take initiative and drive projects to completion with minimal guidance. When faced with obstacles, you find creative solutions and keep pushing forward.
• Technical Savvy: Comfortable with technical concepts and terminology. Ideally, you have familiarity with GPUs, Linux, Docker containers, and AI/ML workflows. You don’t need to be an engineer, but you should be eager to learn and speak the language of our users.
• Strong Technical Writing Skills: Excellent writer who can produce clear, concise, and engaging content on technical topics. You can adjust tone and depth for an engineering audience, ensuring our content is both accurate and accessible.
• AI Tool Proficiency: Enthusiasm for leveraging AI tools in marketing. Whether it’s using GPT-based writing assistants for drafting content or analytics tools for growth hacking, you are adept at using modern tools to enhance your productivity and creativity.
• Organized & Multi-Tasker: Stellar organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities at once. You excel at project management, pay attention to details, and can keep campaigns on track in a dynamic startup setting.
• Self-Starter & Team Player: A proactive mindset with the confidence to lead solo initiatives, and the humility to collaborate and take feedback. You’ll be working closely with a highly motivated team that values communication and teamwork.

Qualifications:

• User Acquisition: Increase the number of new users signing up for Vast.ai’s platform (growth of our customer base month-over-month).
• Qualified Lead Generation: Deliver a steady pipeline of qualified leads for our GPU rental services (e.g. AI startups, research labs, developers in need of compute).
• Traffic & Engagement: Grow website traffic and blog readership through effective content and SEO. Boost engagement metrics on social media (followers, shares, comments from relevant audiences).
• Thought Leadership: Position Vast.ai as a thought leader in the AI infrastructure/cloud compute space. This could be measured by blog influence, invitations for speaking opportunities, media mentions, or collaborations initiated because of our content presence.
• Campaign ROI: Run marketing campaigns (email, social, community, etc.) that achieve clear ROI in terms of conversions or lead quality. Track and report on campaign performance data to inform future efforts.
• Brand Metrics: Improve brand awareness and perception over time – e.g., through surveys or feedback we hear from the community regarding Vast.ai’s reputation as the go-to low-cost GPU cloud provider.