Bay Area Marketing Lead

We’re a global team of over 400 people, working together to push the boundaries of open-source technology and multi-cloud solutions. Our vision is to help developers, builders, and creators bring their ideas to life with speed and simplicity, by providing a cloud data platform that makes open-source databases, search, streaming, and application infrastructure easily accessible to everyone.

Aiven is building a physical presence in the San Francisco Bay Area to win the companies now forming their AI infrastructure stacks. The Bay Area Marketing Lead is the on-the-ground owner of that plan: the single accountable driver of community, brand and event strategy in the territory, working  alongside the Strategic Account Executive.

You'll own both the strategy and the execution across several concurrent workstreams deciding how Aiven builds relationships, shows up and stands out in a crowded Bay Area market.

What you'll do

• Own and run Aiven's Bay Area community meetup program (monthly, scaling to twice monthly): decide the format and cadence, source practitioner and external speakers, and recruit non-competing co-host partners. Speakers should be majority external practitioners, not just Aiven staff.
• Tag-team with the local sales team to build and maintain the Bay Area speaker, partner and ecosystem network. You're jointly responsible for who Aiven knows in the territory.
• Set the strategy for how Aiven builds brand presence in the Bay Area. Decide who we need to know (influencers, partners, press/analysts, other relevant local companies), where we need to show up, and what will actually get attention in a market already saturated with competitor noise. This includes owning billboard/OOH and guerrilla marketing (e.g. murals, street activations and similar).
• Build relationships with the Bay Area's VC, accelerator and founder community and feed those relationships into the meetup and partner network above.
• Support flagship conference presence. Manage sponsorship logistics and identify speaking-slot opportunities for Aiven's team, partnering with PR/comms to land them.
• Work with Aiven's PR and comms teams to amplify our voice in the region.
• Track and report on program health: RSVP-to-attendance rate, pipeline sourced or influenced with target accounts and local press mentions/coverage.

What we're looking for

• Based in and experience working in a similar marketing role in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is an in-person role by design.
• Enough technical fluency in AI, cloud or data infrastructure to hold a credible conversation, vet talks and earn respect from engineers. This is someone with technical chops who can find and win over the right people in a new market.
• Senior-level autonomy: you'll be the sole on-the-ground owner of multiple concurrent workstreams and expected to set direction as much as execute against it.
• Dogged and resourceful: an out-of-the-box thinker who's genuinely proactive, doesn't wait to be told what to do and doesn't let blockers stop them. When the obvious path is closed they find another way forward.
• Nice to have: Existing relationships in the Bay Area AI-native/startup, VC or open-source data community.
• Global Benefits: Our global benefits are designed to help you thrive and grow, personally and professionally:
• Participate in Aiven’s equity plan.
• Balance work and life with our hybrid work policy.
• Choose the equipment you need to set yourself up for success.
• Use your Professional Development Plan budget for learning opportunities.
• Receive holistic wellbeing support through our global Employee Assistance Program.
• Inquire about our Global Time Off Commitment (Parental and Sick Leave, as well as Personal Time)
• Enjoy country-specific benefits for our global cast.
• How to Recognize and Avoid Employment Scams: There has been a rise in fake job postings used by scammers to get personal information. At Aiven, all of our emails relating to recruitment come from an @aiven.io, @greenhouse.io or @eu.greenhouse.io domain and all of our interviews are conducted by video call or in person.  Our interviews will never occur via text or chat. If you’re unsure of the legitimacy of a job opportunity/offer pertaining to Aiven, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at recruitment@aiven.io.
• Equal Opportunities: Aiven provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, marital and family status or without regard to any other similar personal attributes. Aiven complies with applicable local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, training and any other terms and conditions related to employment.
• At Aiven we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities or special needs in our working environment and job application procedures. We make all reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or who otherwise need support to thrive in the workplace. We are committed to continuously improving workplace accessibility. There is an option to request a discussion in the application process but if you have any questions before applying please write to us at recruitment@aiven.io.