Director, Product Marketing

Handshake
San Francisco, CA
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience repositioning B2B products in crowded markets and leading employer-side product marketing teams.

Best fit for

  • Candidates who have led employer-side product marketing teams and driven narrative strategy
    โ€” โ€œlead a team of 3-4 product marketers, setting a high bar for craft and strategic thinking across employer-side launchesโ€
  • Candidates with experience in HR tech or recruiting technology and employer engagement
    โ€” โ€œHR tech or recruiting technology background, or existing relationships with talent and HR leadersโ€

Things to consider

  • Must be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and work from the SF office
    โ€” โ€œBased in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work from our SF officeโ€

How to stand out

  • Emphasize your experience in creating market categories and repositioning products
    โ€” โ€œcreate or evolve a category, with the vision to reposition a company or product in the marketโ€
  • Highlight your ability to lead and develop a small team of product marketers
    โ€” โ€œlead, coach, and grow a team of 3-4 product marketersโ€
  • Showcase your strategic storytelling and content creation for executive audiences
    โ€” โ€œExperience building executive-level content and thought leadership that reaches senior buyers such as CHROsโ€
  • Demonstrate your ability to align cross-functional teams on a unified product narrative
    โ€” โ€œAlign with product marketing on the EDU side and adjacent teams, including Handshake AI and our learning offerings, to keep one unified Handshake story across audiencesโ€
Pace ยท SteadyCollaboration ยท HighAutonomy ยท MediumDecision Impact ยท Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • defined employer narrative and positioning for Handshake
  • created category story for employer buyer
  • built executive-level content and thought leadership
Typical background
8+ years in B2B product marketingexperience marketing a marketplace or employment-related product

Skills & requirements

Required

B2B Product MarketingTeam LeadershipCategory StrategyThought LeadershipCross-functional Partnership

Preferred

HR Tech BackgroundRecruiting Technology Experience

Stack & domain

Product MarketingB2B MarketingThought LeadershipContent MarketingStrategic StorytellingLeadershipCoachingTeam ManagementHR TechRecruiting TechnologyMarket Positioning

About the role

Original posting from Handshake via Ashby

ABOUT HANDSHAKE

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.

Why join Handshake now:

  • Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
  • Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutions
  • Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
  • Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

THE ROLE

As Director, Product Marketing, you will own how the market sees Handshake on the employer side: not as a college job board, but as the career network employers rely on to find and hire talent in the AI economy. You will set the narrative and category strategy that puts Handshake in front of CHROs and talent leaders, and lead a team of product marketers who bring it to life across every launch and channel. You will report to the VP, Marketing and inherit a team of 3-4 product marketers, partnering closely with the EDU-side product marketing lead, Product, Sales, and the executive team.

  • Define and own the employer narrative and positioning that shows how the market sees Handshake, so that employers and CHROs see us as a strategic hiring partner rather than a college job board
  • Create and evolve the category story for the employer buyer, elevating our message beyond product features to win mindshare in a crowded HR tech landscape
  • Build thought leadership and content channels that put Handshake leaders in front of CHROs and senior talent decision-makers, growing executive awareness and pipeline influence
  • Lead, coach, and grow a team of 3-4 product marketers, setting a high bar for craft and strategic thinking across employer-side launches
  • Partner with Product, Sales, and Marketing leadership to translate roadmap and customer insight into launches and messaging that drive adoption and revenue
  • Align with product marketing on the EDU side and adjacent teams, including Handshake AI and our learning offerings, to keep one unified Handshake story across audiences

YOU HAVE

  • 8+ years in B2B product marketing, including leading a team of product marketers
  • A track record of creating or evolving a category, with the vision to reposition a company or product in the market
  • Experience elevating a narrative beyond the product, rather than selling primarily on features and specs
  • Experience marketing a marketplace or employment-related product, where the value comes from connecting both sides
  • Experience building executive-level content and thought leadership that reaches senior buyers such as CHROs
  • Strong cross-functional partnership with Product, Sales, and executive leadership on launches and go-to-market
  • Exceptional strategic storytelling and writing, with a high bar for craft in your own work and your team's
  • Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work from our SF office

Bonus points:

  • HR tech or recruiting technology background, or existing relationships with talent and HR leaders
  • Experience marketing to both a supply side and a demand side of a two-sided network

WE OFFER

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported โ€” and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

๐ŸŽฏ Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

๐Ÿ’ฐ Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

๐Ÿผ Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

๐Ÿ’ Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend

๐Ÿ“š Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development

๐Ÿ’ป Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

๐Ÿ Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

๐Ÿค Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers http://joinhandshake.com/careers.

Source: Handshake careers (Ashby)

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