Associate Director, Performance Marketing, SEM (San Francisco) Job at Airwallex

Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 150,000 businesses worldwide including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale. Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 1,800 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$6.2 billion and backed by worldleading investors including Visa, Airtree, Blackbird, Sequoia, DST Global, Greenoaks, Salesforce Ventures, Lone Pine, and Square Peg, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. We hire successful builders with founderlike energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. Here, youll tackle complex, highvisibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. The Marketing team at Airwallex drives brand awareness and customer engagement through innovative and strategic campaigns. We work to communicate the value of our financial solutions, attract new customers, and strengthen relationships with existing ones. By leveraging datadriven insights and creative strategies, we ensure Airwallex stands out in a competitive market. Our team is passionate about telling the Airwallex story and supporting the company's growth and success. As the Associate Director, Performance Marketing (SEM), youll lead the strategy, investment, and execution of search engine marketing across Google and Microsoft Ads. Youll manage a multimilliondollar budget, define our SEM growth roadmap, and partner closely with product marketing, regional marketing, and analytics to drive measurable business outcomes from lead generation to revenue contribution. Own the global SEM strategy, setting the vision for how paid search drives customer acquisition, lead generation, and pipeline growth across segments (SMB, midmarket, enterprise). Partner with Global Performance Marketing Strategy, Product Marketing, and Regional Leads to localize SEM campaigns for each markets commercial priorities. Manage annual and quarterly budget planning, pacing, and forecasting for paid search investments. Serve as the SEM thought leader, identifying innovation opportunities in automation, AI bidding, audience layering, and creative testing. Oversee campaign structure, keyword strategy, bidding models, and creative optimization across Google and Microsoft Ads. Implement testing frameworks (ad copy, landing pages, audiences, match types) to continuously improve CTR, CVR, and pipeline conversion. Partner with Analytics and Data teams to ensure endtoend visibility into ROI, pipeline contribution, and attribution across campaigns. Drive adoption of valuebased bidding (VBB) and audiencefirst approaches (RLSA, Customer Match, CRMbased targeting). Ensure strong campaign hygiene, naming conventions, and tracking governance (UTMs, conversion imports, offline events). Collaborate with Product Marketing and Content to align messaging, creative, and offers with product value propositions. Align with Sales and Regional Marketing to ensure SEM efforts support pipeline coverage and demand generation goals. Manage and mentor SEM managers or specialists, fostering a culture of experimentation, precision, and datadriven decisionmaking. Partner with agency and platform reps to stay ahead of algorithm updates, betas, and emerging trends. Drive operational excellence through consistent QA, documentation, and performance review cadences. Candidates should bring deep expertise in SEM platforms, analytics, and marketing data systems. 8+ years of experience in SEM or performance marketing, with proven success driving measurable growth and ROI. ~ Strong expertise managing largescale multiregion paid search programs (Google + Microsoft). ~ Experience optimizing for B2B SaaS or fintech pipelines with fullfunnel visibility (from lead to closedwon). ~ Handson familiarity with Marketo, Looker, SQL, Salesforce, and offline conversion tracking workflows. ~ Demonstrated analytical strength comfortable with bid modeling, forecasting, and performance attribution. ~ Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills. ~ Bachelors degree in Marketing, Economics, Data Analytics, or related field (MBA a plus). Experience building global SEM frameworks that scale across markets. Knowledge of multitouch attribution (MTA), MMM, or incrementality testing. Exposure to AIdriven ad copy generation or creative automation systems. Familiarity with SEO/SEM alignment strategies to maximize paidorganic synergy. Strong relationship with platform partners (Google, Microsoft) for comarketing and innovation programs. Multilingual and particularly Mandarin or Cantonese. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We dont regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. If you are approached by someone claiming to represent Airwallex, please verify with our team. #