Director of Marketing

Director of Marketing

Location: Santa Barbara, CA or Remote (US) —35%  travel for events, customers, and team onsites

Come build with us. In this role, you will build and run the marketing engine behind CrossnoKaye’s 2026–2028 Brand & Demand strategy — establishing category authority in Software-Defined Automation (SDA), scaling a measurable demand engine, and helping double the business.

We’re hiring: A senior marketing leader who knows heavy industry and industrial software, has launched bleeding-edge technology, and can run brand, demand gen, analyst relations, and a flagship event program — hand in hand with sales and product.

This role reports to: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

What you’ll be doing:

• Own execution of the Brand & Demand strategy: a long-cycle brand engine that builds Software-Defined Automation (SDA) category authority, and a short-cycle demand engine that converts intent against our named-account list.
• Build our analyst footprint from the ground up: brief and cultivate relationships with the likes of ARC Advisory, LNS, IDC, ABI, etc. to earn analyst-validated positioning in food processing and heavy industry.
• Stand up dedicated demand generation with Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as the spine (1:1 / 1:few / 1:many) across the Top 200 North American food processors — paid LinkedIn ABM, trade-pub native, SEO/AEO/web anchored on the SDA pillar, and an ROI calculator backed by customer proof.
• Grow marketing-sourced pipeline from <15% to ~30% of the funnel, with clear attribution, dashboards, and a shared definition of pipeline with sales.
• Own the three-tier events strategy: scale the Innovation Summit (75 → 150 → 200 attendees) into the category-defining SDA event, expand the trade show program into food processing (IPPE, Pack Expo, Process Expo, ARC Industry Forum), and run high-conversion road shows and executive dinners.
• Partner with product and sales to install a disciplined product marketing and launch framework (Pragmatic-style) for ATLAS — from positioning and pricing inputs through launch and sales enablement.
• Arm the field: sales plays, buying signals, contact data, references, customer marketing, and a customer advisory board that keeps sales and marketing on one motion.
• Build and lead the marketing team as we scale from a two-person function — hiring, agencies, and budget ownership with a growth-stage mindset.

What we’re looking for:

• 12+ years of B2B technology marketing with 5+ years leading teams, including time in industrial software or automation — ideally at (or competing with) a major controls company such as Rockwell, Siemens, Emerson, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, or Johnson Controls.
• Fluency in heavy industry — food processing, chemicals, petrochemicals, energy, metals, cement — and the buying committees that run it (VP Ops, Director of Controls & Automation, CFO, CIO/CDO).
• A track record of launching bleeding-edge technology into conservative markets
• Well versed in Software-Defined Automation (SDA) and / or, Software-Defined Controls (SDC) advanced process control (APC) and / or industrial AI.
• Proven success building brand and running demand generation in an Industrial software context — you have owned a marketing-sourced pipeline number and hit it.
• Hands-on analyst relations experience (ARC, LNS, IDC, Gartner, or similar) turning briefings into coverage and category validation.
• Experience running flagship owned events and multi-show trade programs that produce pipeline, not just presence.
• A cross-functional operator who works shoulder to shoulder with sales and product to launch new products and build a solid, measurable sales funnel.

Nice to Have:

• Category-creation experience — you have named, evangelized, and defended a category before.
• An engineering or controls/automation background (or a degree that lets you keep pace with one).
• Fluency with the modern ABM and marketing stack (HubSpot/Salesforce, 6sense/Demandbase, LinkedIn ABM).
• Experience scaling marketing at a growth-stage company from ~$25M toward $100M revenue.

What Success Looks Like:

• 3 months — Full audit of positioning, funnel, and events complete; the 2026 Innovation Summit is on track and you own its success; first analyst briefings (ARC, LNS) scheduled; the named-account list and ABM tiers are operational.
• 6 months — SDA manifesto refined / published and the first “State of SDA” report fielded; ABM programs live against the Top 200 food processors; the launch framework is running with product on a shared cadence; the 2027 events calendar is locked.
• 9 months — Analyst coverage secured and referenced by sales; marketing-sourced pipeline measurably climbing toward the ~30% target; at least one major product launch executed end-to-end; the core marketing team is hired and performing.

Compensation: 

The estimated base salary range for this role is $200,000-$215,000. In addition to base pay, full-time team members are eligible for a company-wide bonus and equity options - giving you the opportunity to grow alongside the company and share in the long-term success we’re building together. Estimated total cash compensation may range from approximately $226,000-$243,000.

Final compensation is determined by several factors including prior experience, skills, and alignment with the role. The range above is intended to provide a helpful benchmark, though it may be updated as needed.

Why Join CrossnoKaye?

• Impactful Mission: Be part of a team driving sustainable transformation in a resource-heavy industry.
• Cutting-Edge Technology: Work with advanced IoT solutions and industry-leading experts.
• Career Growth: As we scale, you’ll have opportunities for personal and professional advancement.
• Inclusive Culture: We love innovation, embrace curiosity, and value well-being and professional development.

Benefits & Perks:

• Competitive salary with equity opportunities
• Health, dental, vision insurance
• 401(k) plan and parental leave
• Untracked PTO and sick days
• Cell phone reimbursements and other perks

At CrossnoKaye, we're building the first-ever operating system for heavy industries, revolutionizing how they operate and bringing them into the digital age. Our platform, ATLAS, unifies operational data, deploys AI-driven intelligence through AURA, and delivers Advanced Process Control at portfolio scale. We’re already driving measurable gains in throughput, energy efficiency, and uptime across the industries we serve. Our goal? Making industrial operations smarter and safer, with a measurable impact on climate change along the way.