AppLovin makes technologies that help businesses of every size connect to their ideal customers. The company provides end-to-end advertising solutions for businesses to reach, monetize and grow their global audiences. For more information about AppLovin, visit: www.applovin.com.
To deliver on this mission, our global team is composed of team members with life experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives that mirror our developers and customers around the world. At AppLovin, we are intentional about the team and culture we are building, seeking candidates who are outstanding in their own right and also demonstrate their support of others.
Gist is a new social media platform for people who want substance — practical, thoughtful content that spans philosophy debates, city-specific recommendations, seasonal gift guides, and wellness tips. Across categories like travel, food, career, and family, we describe it as "a handbook for the curious."
Gist is built by AppLovin Corporation — a company that hit $5.3B in revenue last year and sits alongside Google and Meta as one of the world's leading ad tech platforms. Fortune recognizes AppLovin as one of the Best Workplaces in the Bay Area, and the company has been a Certified Great Place to Work for the last four years (2021–2024).
The Role
We're hiring a founding Performance Marketing Manager to own all of paid growth for Gist — every channel, every dollar, every partnership. You'll set the performance marketing strategy, build the measurement foundation, and run the testing loops across Meta, TikTok, Google, and programmatic that give us real control over CAC from day one. No team to delegate to, no playbook to inherit. You are the expert in the room, and everything paid runs through you.
What You'll Own
Every paid channel. You are the channel manager across the full performance marketing mix: Meta, TikTok, Google, programmatic, ad networks, and any emerging channel worth testing. You decide where we spend, how much, and why — and you live with the results.
Off-platform partnerships. Beyond self-serve ad platforms, you will identify, negotiate, and manage relationships with external partners — media companies, OEM and on-device distribution partners, ad networks, affiliate and performance platforms, publisher direct buys, and other non-standard acquisition channels. You own these relationships end-to-end: partner evaluation, deal structure, execution, and ongoing performance management.
Budget and efficiency. Own the monthly performance marketing budget with full accountability to CAC, CPI, LTV, and ROAS. Allocate across channels and partners dynamically based on performance, scale what works, cut what doesn't, and report spend decisions clearly to leadership.
Measurement and analytics. Work on tracking setup to extract meaningful signal — diagnosing performance shifts, identifying what's working and what isn't, and translating data into clear actions. You are comfortable going deep into the numbers independently, spotting anomalies before they become problems, and working cross-functionally with product, data, and engineering teams to investigate and resolve issues collaboratively.
Creative and channel testing. Run structured tests across audiences, creatives, bidding strategies, ad formats, and partner inventory. Treat every campaign and partnership as a hypothesis. Document what you learn and build a compounding playbook over time.
The full funnel. You are accountable not just for installs but for quality users. Partner with product and growth teams to understand post-install behaviour, feed those insights back into performance marketing strategy and creative direction, and optimise toward activation and retention, not just volume.
New distribution thinking. A new social platform lives or dies by how it finds its first million users. Beyond standard channels, you will proactively explore non-obvious distribution: influencer/KOL paid amplification, content seeding partnerships, cross-platform distribution deals, incentivised install ecosystems, and anything else early data suggests is worth testing.
What We're Looking For
● 3-7 years of brand-side performance marketing experience, with direct ownership of budgets and outcomes for a consumer app, marketplace, or digital product
● Proven experience driving growth from cold start — you have launched performance marketing for a new product or market from zero, not just optimised an existing system, and you know what it takes to find the first users before there is any data to work with
● Hands-on fluency across Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, and Google Ads; programmatic and ad network experience a strong plus
● Demonstrated experience managing off-platform or non-self-serve partnerships — ad networks, OEM or device partnerships, media direct buys, affiliate or performance platforms, or similar; you have negotiated deals and managed these relationships independently
● Mobile attribution tooling experience with Adjust or equivalent; able to set up and own measurement infrastructure end-to-end, not just read reports someone else configured
● Thinks in the right metrics: CAC, CPI, LTV, ROAS, Day 7/30 payback, and funnel conversion rates — and can diagnose when numbers move and why
● Strong negotiation and partner management skills; comfortable building and managing external vendor and partner relationships independently
● Senior individual contributor mindset — you thrive working independently, go deep on execution without needing a team beneath you, and bring enough seniority to set strategy and defend decisions to leadership without hand-holding
Nice to Have
● Experience running performance marketing specifically for a social, entertainment, or consumer app
● Exposure to influencer or KOL-driven paid amplification as an acquisition channel
● Familiarity with incrementality testing, geo-splits, or media mix modelling
● SQL or BI tool fluency (Looker, Tableau, Metabase) for self-serve analysis
What We Offer
● Top-of-market compensation
● Full ownership of a critical function from day one, inside a company with the infrastructure, ad tech depth, and platform relationships to back you up
● A lean, high-trust environment where decisions move fast and your impact is direct and visible
AppLovin provides a competitive total compensation package with a pay for performance rewards approach. Total compensation at AppLovin is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Depending on the position offered, equity, and other forms of incentive compensation (as applicable) may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to dental, vision, and other benefits.
Other Types of Pay: Equity eligible
Health Insurance: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability
Retirement Benefits: 401(k) Retirement Plan
Paid Time Off: Unlimited Discretionary Time Off
Paid Holidays: 10 paid holidays per year
Paid Sick Leave: 80 hours per year
Method of Application: Apply online
Application Window: The application window is expected to close within 30 days of the posting date.
All questions or concerns about this posting should be directed to [email protected].
Skills Required
- 3-7 years brand-side performance marketing experience with direct ownership of budgets and outcomes for a consumer app, marketplace, or digital product
- Proven experience launching performance marketing from cold start for a new product or market
- Hands-on fluency across Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, and Google Ads
- Programmatic and ad network experience
- Demonstrated experience managing off-platform/non-self-serve partnerships and negotiating deal structures
- Mobile attribution tooling experience (Adjust or equivalent) and ability to set up measurement infrastructure end-to-end
- Strong understanding of CAC, CPI, LTV, ROAS, payback and funnel conversion metrics and diagnostic ability
- Strong negotiation and partner management skills
- Senior individual contributor mindset; able to set strategy and defend decisions to leadership while executing independently
- Experience running performance marketing for social, entertainment, or consumer apps
- Exposure to influencer or KOL paid amplification as an acquisition channel
- Familiarity with incrementality testing, geo-splits, or media mix modelling
- SQL or BI tool fluency (Looker, Tableau, Metabase) for self-serve analysis
What We Do
AppLovin is focused on enabling companies around the world to bring their ideas, products and content to more people - at massive global scale. When more of the right content connects with the right audience, growth is accelerated and industries expand. AppLovin creates this connection through its market leading technologies.
Why Work With Us
At our core, we are innovators focused on driving businesses forward with the most advanced technology that connects companies to their customers. We encourage our employees to take risks while constantly learning and optimizing through data-driven decisions. Join our team if you love taking initiative, ownership and driving success.
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