Performance marketing lead

Role: Performance Marketing Lead

Type: Full-time, Paid

Location: Hyderabad, in-office.

Mission: Build and own the acquisition engine → 1,000 paying customers in 5 months

We’re not hiring someone to run ads.

We’re hiring someone to build and own our acquisition engine - and take us to 1,000 paying e-commerce merchants (Shopify and Woo commerce) in 5 months.

This performance of this role is measured in paying customers, not impressions, clicks, or leads.

If you think in terms of ROAS, CAC payback, incrementality, and MER - and can turn spend into revenue - keep reading.

About us:

StepsAI is revolutionizing customer experience with its cutting-edge AI-powered agents, designed to provide instant, human-like responses to customer queries. Our platform enables businesses to reduce support costs, boost conversions, and gain valuable insights into customer needs. With seamless integrations across platforms such as websites, WhatsApp, Instagram, Shopify, WooCommerce, Slack, and internal knowledge bases, StepsAI Agents act as 24/7 teammates to ensure your operations run smoothly.

Our mission is simple: transform every customer conversation into actionable insights and revenue growth.

We help merchants convert more of their traffic into paying customers like a great in-store salesperson:

• understanding the visitor
• recommending the right product
• answering objections
• closing

Every dollar an e-commerce store earns because of us is a dollar we can defend.

We’re early, fast-moving, and building something that scales.

The mission you are walking into:

We have:

• a product that works
• a massive market (millions of e-commerce stores - Shopify/Woo commerce etc)

• We need someone to build the acquisition engine that gets us to 1,000 paying customers - fast, profitably, and repeatedly.
• You won’t “support marketing.”
• You will own the number.
• If we hit it, you build the playbook to 10,000.

A note on budget (read carefully):

• We are an early-stage startup with deliberately tight budgets.
• You won’t get a ₹40L/month budget on day one.
• You’ll get enough to prove a thesis on small spend.
• The moment you show ROAS → we scale aggressively with you.

Every rupee must earn its place.

If your mindset is:

• “I need big budget to show results” → not a fit
• “Give me ₹50K–₹1L and I’ll show signal fast” → we should talk

What you will own:

You won’t just “run ads.” You’ll own the entire acquisition engine end-to-end:

Paid acquisition

• Google Ads (Search, Performance Max, YouTube)
• Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
• LinkedIn Ads (where relevant)
• Emerging channels (Reddit, X, TikTok - if the math works)

SEO & organic growth

• Keyword + search intent strategy
• Technical + on-page SEO
• Content-led acquisition
• Programmatic SEO for Shopify use cases

Funnel & conversion

• Landing page strategy + CRO
• Ad → page → signup → payment flow
• Messaging consistency across funnel
• Drop-off diagnosis and fixes

Targeting & strategy

• Define ICP and priority segments
• Choose industries (fashion, beauty, supplements, etc.)
• Audience strategy (intent vs lookalikes vs retargeting)
• Channel allocation and budget decisions

Experimentation

• Ads (copy, creatives, hooks)
• Landing pages
• Offers and positioning
• Pricing page optimization

Every week = learning + improvement

Measurement & analytics

• CAC, ROAS, CPL, LTV, payback period
• Attribution (not just last click thinking)
• Funnel conversion tracking
• Dashboards + reporting

Collaboration

• Work with founders on strategy
• Work with design on creatives
• Work with product on messaging
• Work with sales on feedback loops

What a week looks like

• Start the week with numbers. End the week with better ones.
• Identify 1–2 biggest levers to improve
• Ship fast: new creatives, new audiences, new landing pages
• Talk to real customers to understand why they bought
• Kill what doesn’t work, scale what does
• Write a clear weekly memo: what we spent, what we got, what we learned, and what’s next

We value speed over perfection.

What success looks like (first 30 days)

• Clear ICP + channel strategy defined
• First campaigns live across 1 to 2 core channels
• Early CAC + conversion benchmarks established
• At least one strong signal of traction
• Clear plan on what to scale next

Who we’re looking for

You are someone who:

• Lives in numbers - you understand CAC, ROAS, payback deeply
• Can sell - ads = pitch, landing page = demo, conversion = close
• Owns outcomes - no excuses, only results
• Is technical - GA4, GTM, pixels, events, attribution
• Understands funnels - not just campaigns
• Tests relentlessly - ship 20 ideas, scale 2
• Has bias for action - you don’t wait, you execute
• Thinks big - 1,000 customers excites you
• Collaborates well - no ego, high ownership

Must-have experience

• 1–3 years in performance marketing / growth / paid acquisition (We believe in talent and self-confidence over years of experience)
• Hands-on experience with Google Ads + Meta Ads
• Experience managing real budgets (especially small → efficient scaling)
• Strong understanding of: GA4, GTM, conversion tracking, attribution
• Experience with at least one: SEO, CRO, lifecycle / CRM marketing
• Comfortable targeting global audiences (US, UK, EU, etc.)

Bonus

• B2B SaaS or Shopify / DTC experience
• Early-stage startup experience
• Built a channel from zero
• Strong copywriting skills
• Uses AI tools to move faster
• Has driven measurable revenue impact

Why this role is different

• You own revenue, not campaigns
• You build a real acquisition engine, not run tasks
• You start lean → scale fast
• You work directly with founders
• You see immediate impact

What you get

• Real ownership of growth
• Scaling budgets when performance proves out
• Direct founder access
• Fast decision-making
• Competitive salary (Hyderabad)

If you take us to 1,000 customers, you take home a number you’ll remember.

How to apply

Skip the generic cover letter.

Send us:

1. The numbers

One campaign/channel you scaled:

• starting point
• what you did
• result

(Bonus: small budget → strong efficiency)

2. Your hypothesis (200 words)

If you joined StepsAI with a ₹1L/month budget:

• which channels would you start with?
• why?
• what’s the first test you’d run?

3.Portfolio

Resume or LinkedIn + actual work examples

Send to:

Subject line: “I want to own the 1,000.”

We read every email. We respond within 72 hours.

Final note

StepsAI is an equal opportunity employer.

We hire for:

• talent
• judgment
• drive

Nothing else.

If you’re excited to build and own a real acquisition engine - we should talk.