Managing Director, Retail Media & Marketplaces

About Darkroom

We're building the future of advertising and are looking for the minds to help us do it.

Darkroom is a progressive omnichannel growth marketing agency focused on retail, e-commerce, and consumer businesses. We have been recognized as one of the fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. 5000 (2023), a top 1% digital advertiser by Varos (2023), and our founders were named Forbes 30 Under 30 recipients for Marketing and Advertising North America (2024).

This is a remote role, and is open to candidates based in the state(s) of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, or Florida, and must have the right to work within the United States.

Darkroom is a progressive omni-channel growth marketing agency focused on retail, e-commerce, and consumer businesses. We have been recognized as one of the fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. 5000 (2023), a top 1% digital advertiser by Varos (2024), and our founders were named Forbes 30 Under 30 recipients for Marketing and Advertising North America (2024).

We are very excited to begin our search for the first Managing Director of Marketplaces & Retail Media at Darkroom. This role will be responsible for building the most advanced e-commerce and retail media functions in the digital ecosystem, with oversight over Darkroom’s fast growing Marketplaces team and new Retail Media service offerings. Ideal candidates will be experts at team building, engineering agency services (including thinking through capacity models), integrating technology into service delivery, and working cross functionally to deliver next generation services. You will act like an owner, responsible for one of the largest P&Ls at the agency, and will be expected to stay up to date on the most advanced RMN, Amazon developments—bringing unique insights and strategy on how clients can better grow their businesses.

The Managing Director will work closely with our VP of Operations and our Senior Director of Marketplaces to create a unified, scalable offering that drives measurable growth for our clients across retail and marketplaces platforms. This includes managing and improving core KPIs like MRR growth, churn, and department margin profile. This role is a unique opportunity for a strategic and operational leader to build, scale, and optimize a best-in-class commerce media offering that drives measurable growth for our CPG clients across Amazon, Walmart, Target, Criteo, Instacart, and emerging local delivery services like GoPuff, Uber Eats, and DoorDash. Deep expertise in digital commerce, omnichannel strategy, retail shopper behavior, and client management, as well as the ability to develop frameworks that drive efficiency and performance across multiple retail and delivery platforms is essential.

Lastly, above all else, you will be responsible for setting culture, standards, and leading a high-performing team. At Darkroom, it is important that department leaders build hardcore team cultures that reinforce excellence and delivery. This position reports to the VP of Operations and will work closely with our Senior Director of Marketplaces to expand and evolve our service offerings.

What You'll Do

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Build and scale an integrated Marketplaces & Retail Media division, aligning service offerings across Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart, Criteo, CitrusAds, GoPuff, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and other retail media networks.

• Develop and implement scalable processes to drive efficiency, optimize workflows, and improve client outcomes across both marketplace and retail media channels.

• Establish best-in-class operational frameworks, ensuring seamless collaboration between teams managing retail media, marketplaces, and performance marketing.

• Work with our executive team to commercialize scopes that make sense for our clients, maximize margin, and perform, above all else.

Cross-Channel Integration & Retail Media Strategy

• Lead the development of a unified commerce strategy, ensuring clients have an integrated approach across retail media, e-commerce marketplaces, and brick and click services.

• Oversee the alignment of organic and paid strategies across platforms to maximize client performance and ROI.

• Drive innovation in retail media investments, leveraging insights and data to optimize advertising performance and in-store sales velocity.

• Work closely with our VP of Operations and Senior Director of Marketplaces to enhance Amazon capabilities and evaluate client and team health.

Client & Revenue Growth

• Serve as a trusted advisor to high-profile CPG clients, helping them navigate digital commerce, marketplace growth, paid retail media, and omnichannel growth.

• Develop and oversee scalable account management frameworks, including automated client KPI dashboards, ensuring consistent client engagement, reporting, and performance tracking across the team.

• Identify new revenue growth opportunities, including platform expansions, new service offerings, and strategic partnerships.

• Stay ahead of emerging trends in e-commerce marketplaces, retail media and digital shopper behavior, ensuring Darkroom remains at the forefront of the industry.

• Work with our Revenue team on key account pitches, upsell and cross-sell strategies to increase departmental MRR.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of brand managers, analysts, and media strategists, fostering a culture of innovation, excellence, and high performance.

• Drive team expansion and operational excellence, ensuring scalable growth while maintaining exceptional client service.

• Establish training and development programs to upskill team members and keep them ahead of industry trends.

Who You Are

• 10+ years of experience in CPG e-commerce, digital commerce, retail media, and marketplace strategy, with a track record of building and scaling teams.

• Strong operational leadership experience, including process development, workflow optimization, and cross-functional team integration.

• Deep expertise in Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, Target, Criteo, PromoteIQ and other retail media networks, as well as last-mile delivery services like GoPuff, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.

• Proven ability to develop and execute omnichannel strategies that drive revenue growth across marketplaces, retail media platforms, and digital shopper marketing.

• Exceptional client management skills, with experience leading engagements with top-tier brands.

• Data-driven decision-maker with a strong understanding of performance marketing, analytics, and optimization.

• Experience leading teams in a high-growth, fast-paced environment, with a passion for mentorship and team development.

What it's like to work at Darkroom 

We're building the future of advertising and are looking for the minds to help us do it. We only seek out the best—from our clients to our people. Our team is our most sacred asset, and we offer highly competitive salaries and the following perks:

• Unlimited Vacation Policy and Holidays: Rebooting is one of the most important parts of growth. At Darkroom, you have access to a flexible vacation policy and 10 holidays throughout the year to keep you recharged and sharp.

• Location, location, (or no) location: Remote-first culture with a strong community base. With Hubs in the Bay Area, New York, Philly, Lisbon, Sao Paulo, and Barcelona! 

• Health & Wellness: Company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision benefits with, so you can stay as healthy as can be.

• Finances, growth, and retirement: After one year with Darkroom, we deliver a robust 401k program with company match, equity incentives, and a profit-sharing opportunity so we can help you save as the company grows.

• Endless opportunities for growth: Our agency is founded on an interdisciplinary approach, giving Darkroomers insights into services far beyond your job description. Grow your skills and interests beyond your niche and stay at the forefront of the industry through total immersion in cross-functional collaboration.

• Parental Leave: flexible parental leave benefits to support new parents during this important transition, ensuring time to bond with their families while maintaining work-life balance.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Darkroom is an equal opportunity workplace—we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national orientation, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements