Paid Media & Programmatic Specialist

The Opportunity

Talons is building something bigger than a product. We are creating a movement around self-expression, confidence, identity, and personal style.

We’re looking for an entrepreneurial paid media operator who wants to join at an early stage and help build our customer acquisition engine from the ground up. This role is initially equity-focused and ideal for someone excited by the opportunity to create outsized impact, own performance marketing end-to-end, and grow into a senior leadership role as the company scales.

This is not a traditional corporate media-buying role. You’ll be equal parts strategist, analyst, audience architect, and hands-on executor.

You’ll work directly with the founder to define how we acquire customers at scale & building the paid media infrastructure, audience strategy, and optimization systems that future marketing teams will inherit.

Structure & Commitment

This role is intentionally designed as a founding team member opportunity rather than a traditional full-time position.

Initially, we anticipate a commitment of approximately 10-15 hours per week, focused on building the paid media foundation, establishing channel and audience strategy, and driving early acquisition efficiency.

Compensation will be primarily equity-based, reflecting the early-stage nature of the business and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the company’s long-term success. For the right person, there is flexibility to discuss a modest cash compensation component alongside equity.

As the company grows and secures additional funding, we expect both the scope and time commitment of the role to expand. The ideal candidate is excited by the opportunity to grow alongside the business and potentially evolve into a larger leadership position with increasing responsibility, influence, and compensation over time.

This role is best suited for someone who:

• Is aligned to the brand’s mission-driven focus of redefining masculinity through expression and self-care and brings that conviction to every campaign they build.
• Wants meaningful ownership without the commitment of a full-time operating role today.
• Enjoys building acquisition infrastructure from the ground floor.
• Is motivated by long-term value creation and equity upside.
• Has the hands-on experience to move fast, test aggressively, and optimize relentlessly in a lean environment.
• Sees the potential to become a key member of the leadership team as the company scales.
• Can build and execute paid media strategies across programmatic, paid social, search, and other high-impact channels, with a willingness to experiment and adapt as the business evolves.

What Success Looks Like

Over the next 12-24; months, you will help transform Talons from an emerging brand into a recognized category leader by building the acquisition engine that gets us there.

Build a Scalable Paid Acquisition Engine

Design and optimize customer acquisition campaigns that drive sustainable, efficient growth across paid social, programmatic, search, and emerging channels.

Success looks like:

• Hitting and improving CAC targets while scaling media spend
• Achieving strong ROAS benchmarks across all active channels
• Building repeatable audience frameworks that drive prospecting and retargeting efficiency
• Establishing attribution infrastructure that gives us a clear view of what’s working and why
• Creating reporting dashboards and decision-making frameworks rooted in performance data

Own Programmatic Strategy and Execution

Lead programmatic campaign setup, audience segmentation, and optimization across DSPs with full accountability to performance outcomes.

Success looks like:

• Standing up and managing campaigns across DSPs (e.g. The Trade Desk, DV360, or Amazon DSP)
• Building first-party audience segments using CRM data, site behavior, and purchase signals
• Developing lookalike and suppression audiences that improve spend efficiency over time
• Monitoring delivery, frequency, viewability, and pacing to maximize every dollar
• Implementing and QA-ing pixels, UTMs, and attribution models across all channels

Drive Creative Performance

Bridge the gap between data and creative using performance signals to brief better assets and continuously improve what runs.

Success looks like:

• Running structured A/B tests on creative, copy, audience, and landing pages
• Translating performance data into clear creative briefs for the design team
• Identifying winning formats quickly and scaling what works
• Ensuring every ad feels authentically Talons bold, intentional, and on-brand

Manage Budget with Precision

Own the paid media budget with full accountability to ROI making smart decisions about where to deploy, hold, or cut spend.

Success looks like:

• Daily budget pacing across channels with minimal waste
• Proactive bid strategy adjustments based on performance signals
• Clear recommendations on channel mix and spend allocation as the business scales
• Identifying new channels worth testing based on where our audience lives

Establish the Foundation for Scale

Design the paid media systems, processes, and operating rhythms that will support future growth.

Success looks like:

• Building scalable paid media infrastructure that a growing team can inherit
• Creating repeatable campaign planning and launch processes
• Developing KPI frameworks that connect media spend to business outcomes
• Identifying future hiring needs on the performance side as the team grows

Key Areas of Focus

• Paid social strategy and execution (Meta, TikTok, Instagram)
• Programmatic campaign management (DSP strategy, audience targeting, bid optimization)
• Audience segmentation and first-party data strategy
• Retargeting and prospecting funnel development
• Search advertising (Google, Bing)
• Attribution modeling and pixel/tracking infrastructure
• Budget management and ROAS/CAC optimization
• A/B testing and creative performance analysis
• Reporting, analytics, and performance dashboards
• Agency and vendor management (if applicable)
• Landing page and conversion rate optimization

Who Thrives in This Role

You may be a strong fit if:

• You’ve built and managed paid media programs at a startup, DTC brand, or high-growth business
• You are equally comfortable setting strategy and executing campaigns hands-on
• You can move from reviewing CAC trends to adjusting a bid strategy to briefing a creative test in the same day
• You think in audiences, funnels, and attribution, not just impressions and clicks
• You enjoy building systems and measurement infrastructure where none currently exist
• You are resourceful and comfortable operating with ambiguity and lean budgets
• You have strong commercial instincts and understand how paid media drives business outcomes
• You are energized by ownership, accountability, and clear performance targets
• You want to help build something meaningful from a very early stage
• Live the brand: Talons is building something culturally significant; a designer nail brand redefining masculinity and men’s emotional wellbeing. The right candidate doesn’t just run ads, they understand the mission, connect with the audience, and bring that conviction to every campaign they build.

What We Care About More Than Titles

We’re less concerned about whether you’ve been a Manager, Director, or Head of Performance Marketing.

We’re looking for someone who can:

• Figure things out
• Create momentum
• Make smart budget decisions with limited resources
• Build trust
• Execute consistently and iterate quickly
• Turn performance data into clear creative and strategic direction
• Learn fast and adapt as the brand and channels evolve
• Help turn an ambitious vision into reality

Most importantly, we’re looking for someone who sees the opportunity to help build a category-defining brand and wants to grow alongside it.

As Talons grows, this role has the potential to evolve into a senior performance leadership position with significantly expanded responsibility and scope.