Performance Marketing & Paid Acquisition Lead
Marketing & Communications
San Francisco, CA, USA
USD 150k-180k / year + Equity
Performance Marketing & Paid Acquisition Lead
Harper is an AI-native commercial insurance company in San Francisco. We're not bolting AI onto insurance — we're rebuilding the entire business as software, on a simple bet: turning expert human judgment into compute is one of the largest transitions left to make, and a trillion-dollar industry still run 90% by hand is the place to prove it. We've grown ~100x in the last year and we move at that speed — on-site, in person, long days, very high standards. Almost no one joins Harper for insurance; they join to build the company that replaces how it works.
The role
Harper's growth engine runs on speed, precision, and automation, and you own the digital channels that feed the sales floor — accountable for turning spend into revenue. You own Harper's paid growth machine end-to-end: channel strategy, experimentation, funnel optimization, and automation. The job is simple to state and hard to do — drive qualified demand efficiently and at scale across Google, Meta, and lead-bidding marketplaces, optimizing the full funnel from click to bind.
This is not a brand role — it's a numbers, systems, and scale role. You sit alongside sales and engineering, see how leads convert in real time, and continuously refine campaigns based on what actually closes, not what looks good in a dashboard. Winning in 6–12 months looks like a predictable, scalable paid-growth engine, automation handling large portions of campaign management, and performance playbooks powering rapid vertical expansion.
What you'll do
Own paid acquisition. Manage and scale campaigns across Google, Meta, and lead-bidding marketplaces, with vertical-specific strategies for construction, med spas, manufacturing, and new segments — controlling budget against CAC, conversion, and throughput.
Optimize the full funnel. Work landing pages, messaging, and conversion flows; track performance from click → quote → bind; and partner with sales to read lead quality and adjust targeting in real time.
Experiment relentlessly. Run A/B tests across ads, creative, audiences, and landing pages; scale what works, kill underperformers fast, and build playbooks for new vertical launches.
Automate everything. Work with engineering to automate bidding, pacing, attribution, and reporting; use AI tools to generate and test creative at scale; and build systems that let performance marketing run continuously and efficiently.
Who you are
You think in CAC, conversion rates, and throughput — and you enjoy owning revenue-impacting systems.
You're hands-on and comfortable operating without layers.
You love testing, iterating, and scaling what works — and killing what doesn't, fast.
You want tight feedback loops with sales and product.
You have 5+ years in performance marketing, paid acquisition, or growth, with hands-on Google Ads and Meta experience at meaningful budgets.
You're comfortable owning outcomes tied to pipeline and revenue, not impressions or clicks.
You're based in San Francisco or willing to relocate.
The reality — read this before you apply
This is a revenue seat, measured in CAC, qualified pipeline, and what actually binds — not impressions, clicks, or spend deployed. It's on-site in San Francisco, in person, long days, high standards. You own the paid machine end-to-end, which means when a channel's CAC creeps or lead quality drops, finding and fixing it is yours — often the same day. You'll calibrate spend against what sales can actually close and automate the rest, so the job is as much systems thinking and operational discipline as it is media buying.
This is explicitly not a brand or top-of-funnel-only role, and it isn't a place for slow cycles and fixed annual plans. Almost no one takes it for insurance — they take it because owning every paid channel for a company growing ~100x, with a direct line from your spend to closed revenue, is a rare seat. If accountability to revenue is the appeal, apply. If it's a deterrent, it won't get easier here.
Compensation & logistics
Salary: $150,000–$180,000, plus performance bonus and equity.
Location: On-site, San Francisco. Based here or willing to relocate.
Schedule: Monday–Friday, long days, in the building with the team.
Benefits
Uber commuter benefits
Meals provided — breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Snacks, drinks, and coffee stocked daily
Free gym membership
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Requirements
5+ years of experience in performance marketing, paid acquisition, or growth marketing roles
Hands-on experience managing Google Ads and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) campaigns with meaningful budgets
Experience running and optimizing lead-based acquisition funnels, ideally for B2B, SMB, or high-consideration products
Strong understanding of CAC, conversion rates, attribution, and funnel economics
Experience with analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics / GA4), conversion tracking, pixels, and UTM frameworks
Ability to run structured experiments across creatives, audiences, landing pages, and channels
Comfort owning performance outcomes tied to pipeline and revenue, not just impressions or clicks
Highly analytical mindset with strong spreadsheet skills and the ability to turn data into decisions
Willingness to work on-site in San Francisco and collaborate closely with sales and engineering
This is not a brand role
Nice to have
Experience with lead bidding marketplaces or third-party lead sources
Familiarity with tracking systems and closed-loop attribution
Experience supporting multi-vertical acquisition strategies
Exposure to automation, scripting, or AI tools for creative generation or campaign optimization
Prior startup or high-growth company experience
Process
People screen — fit and alignment
Lead screen — skills and judgment
Super day — how you operate in real time
To apply
Send your resume and one channel or campaign you scaled efficiently — the CAC and conversion before and after, and what you did to move them.