VP, Demand Generation & Marketing Operations

Category-defining tech. Career-defining work. The next era of software won’t operate at human scale. Applications will create applications. Systems will coordinate with systems. Data and decisions will move faster than teams can react to them. The infrastructure powering that world cannot be fragile, reactive, or limited by the assumptions of the past. Cockroach Labs exists to build what comes next — before the world requires it. We created CockroachDB to survive failures, scale without compromise, and adapt to changing conditions automatically. Now we’re helping define a future where complexity fades into the background and infrastructure simply works, no matter the scale. This is the kind of challenge that attracts people who want to shape industries, not just participate in them. The work is ambitious, the standards are high, and the impact is real. The Role Cockroach Labs is hiring a Vice President of Demand Generation & Marketing Operations to lead a unified function that combines pipeline creation, marketing operations, and agentic-led account programs under one team. This is a new role created as part of a broader marketing transformation. You will own everything from digital demand generation and campaign execution to the operational infrastructure, automation platform, and data pipelines that power the marketing engine. This leadership position demands a systems thinker who can tie together demand gen strategy, marketing technology, AI-powered workflows, and a growing account-play motion into a single operating model. A key aspect of this role involves working closely with peers in sales development, field marketing, corporate marketing, the data team, and RevOps to ensure the marketing operations and demand gen functions are aligned with broader revenue goals and company strategy. You will inherit a team of experienced builders and operators who are already deep into AI-powered workflows: a revenue agent in production pilot, Clay-based account acquisition running across vertical pods, automated SDR sequencing through Outreach and Nooks, and the foundation of a self-serve campaign platform built on our internal AI platform. The infrastructure exists. What we need is the senior leader who ties it together, sets the strategic direction, and scales it. This is not a traditional demand gen leadership role. We are rebuilding the marketing operating model around AI, and the right leader is energized by that opportunity. If your playbook is limited to paid media, MQL targets, and Marketo campaigns, this isn't the right fit. We're looking for someone who thinks in systems, builds with data, and understands that AI is collapsing the cost of marketing execution. This role requires three days a week on site in New York City. You Will Own pipeline creation across paid & organic. You own the number. Digital marketing strategy and execution across paid search, paid social, display, content syndication, and retargeting. Campaign strategy & planning (in tandem with Product Marketing), and performance optimization across all digital channels. Own the marketing technology stack end-to-end: and the enrichment and scoring layers that feed them. Drive tool rationalization and vendor management for all marketing-owned platforms. Own SDR operations: the revenue agent platform, prospecting automation, contact enrichment, event follow-up workflows, and Outreach/Nooks tooling. Your ops team builds the systems that the SDR organization runs their plays on. Own ICP modeling, account targeting, and the data infrastructure behind attribution and ROI reporting. Build the measurement framework that the team uses to make resource allocation decisions. Own the agentic-led account play motion. Cohort-based account selection, AI-assembled microsites, gifting triggers, event invitations, geo-targeted ads, and automated multi-channel execution. You provide strategic direction and operational infrastructure to scale this to X plays per week running semi-autonomously. With the web and design team build out the self-serve campaign execution infrastructure that lets the rest of the company run marketing plays with appropriate guardrails. This is the operational backbone of our marketing democratization thesis: anyone at Cockroach Labs with a good idea and a target audience should be able to launch a marketing play through the platform, with marketing providing oversight and quality governance, not labor. Build and manage a combined team of approximately 10 people across demand generation, marketing operations, and account programs. Recruit and develop high-performing marketing talent. Set the cadence: how the team plans, builds, ships, and measures. The Expectations In your first 30 days: Build conviction quickly. Get grounded in Cockroach Labs’ ICP, GTM motion, sales cycle, competitive position, pipeline dynamics, and buyer journey. Develop a first-principles view of where we can capture more market. Build the relationships that matter. Establish strong partnerships with Sales Development, Sales, Product Marketing, Product, Field Marketing, RevOps, Data, and Web. Understand where demand generation can create the most leverage. Create momentum, not just analysis. Identify the highest-impact opportunities across demand generation, website conversion, PLG, account-based programs, paid and organic distribution, and AI-powered workflows. Make smart calls and start improving the system quickly. Set a bias-for-action operating rhythm. Establish how the team plans, prioritizes, ships, and measures work, including campaign execution, performance reviews, experimentation, and cross-functional decision-making. Apply AI with purpose. Identify where AI can immediately improve speed, quality, personalization, and scale across campaigns, account plays, SDR workflows, audience targeting, and content distribution. In your first 60 days: Own the pipeline motion. Take ownership of demand generation targets and develop a clear view of what is driving pipeline, what is underperforming, and where the fastest growth opportunities exist. Launch high-impact programs. Ship campaigns and experiments across paid, organic, lifecycle, ABM, partner, content distribution, website conversion, and event follow-up channels. Move quickly from strategy to execution. Reinvigorate ICP capture. Partner with Product Marketing, Product, Web, and Sales to sharpen how we reach, convert, and expand our highest-value audiences. Advance PLG and website growth. Develop a point of view on how the website, product experience, and self-serve journeys can become stronger sources of qualified demand. Scale the agentic account play. Improve the existing AI-led account program by tightening cohort selection, messaging, sales feedback loops, conversion logic, and execution velocity. Make marketing operations an execution advantage. Ensure the tech stack, data flows, scoring, routing, enrichment, and campaign infrastructure help the team move faster and make better decisions. In your first 90 days and beyond: Turn the team into a high-velocity execution engine. Build an operating model where the team ships consistently, measures honestly, learns quickly, and improves every cycle. Scale AI-powered growth programs. Move agentic account plays from promising pilots to a repeatable, semi-autonomous engine that can run targeted programs at scale. Expand market capture through stronger distribution. Partner with Product Marketing, Product, Web, and Corporate Marketing to improve how Cockroach Labs reaches and converts its ICP across search, content, paid channels, product journeys, community, events, partners, and the website. Strengthen PLG and self-serve demand. Define how product-led and sales-led motions work together, turning developer interest, product engagement, and technical evaluation into qualified pipeline. Build trusted measurement without slowing execution. Develop the attribution, ICP modeling, funnel reporting, and ROI framework needed to guide better decisions, faster. You Have 12+ years of experience in demand generation, marketing operations, or growth marketing within B2B SaaS, with a deep understanding of enterprise sales cycles and technical buyer personas. At least 5 years in a senior leadership role owning both pipeline creation and marketing infrastructure, with a proven ability to manage, mentor, and scale high-performing teams in a dynamic environment. Direct experience managing a combined demand gen and marketing ops function, or a strong track record of unifying previously siloed teams under a single operating model. Deep fluency in the modern marketing tech stack: Marketo (or HubSpot), Salesforce, ABM platforms, enrichment tools (Clay, ZoomInfo, Clearbit), orchestration layers, and campaign analytics. You understand how these systems work under the hood, not just how to manage vendors. A builder's mindset. You have personally architected or overseen the build of automated workflows, agentic systems, or marketing automation at scale. Experience scaling B2B demand generation in a technical, developer-oriented market. Enterprise infrastructure, database, or cloud software experience is a strong plus. A strategic mindset complemented by a hands-on approach. You can set a two-year vision and also get into the weeds on a Marketo workflow or a Clay integration when the situation requires it. Needs to have managed a team of 8-10 before and ideally larger. This role starts with ~10 directs and indirects across two functions. Cockroach Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please email us at accessibility@cockroachlabs.com. Cockroach Labs has a hybrid work model, with Roachers that are local to one of our offices coming in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and working flexibly the rest of the week. While we’ve learned valuable lessons working remotely, nothing can replace the connection, creativity, and fun that occurs when Roachers get together and we are committed to fostering a workplace that encourages collaboration and allows us all to do our best work. Benefits Stock Options Medical Insurance Vision Insurance Dental Insurance Life and Disability Insurance Professional Development Funds Flexible Time Off Paid Holidays Paid Sick Days Paid Parental Leave Retirement Benefits Mental Wellbeing Benefits And more! The annual anticipated base salary range for U.S. candidates for this role is listed in USD below. Salary is one component of the Cockroach Labs’ Total Rewards package, which also includes, for each employee: stock options, medical insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, life and disability insurance, funds towards professional development resources, flexible paid time off, 11 paid holidays a year, 10 paid sick days a year, paid parental leave, a 401(k) plan, and wellbeing benefits. We set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Actual salaries may vary and fall outside of this range depending on factors such as a candidate’s qualifications, geographic location, skills, experience, and competencies. In addition, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. Salaries for candidates outside the U.S. will vary based on local compensation structures. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our Careers Page. Annual Anticipated Base Salary Range (U.S) $230,000—$300,000 USD