Director of Engagement Management

Firsthand has built the first AI-powered Brand Agent platform, transforming the way marketers and publishers engage consumers through their own AI agents, anywhere online.

While most AI applications in marketing and advertising focus on back-office automation, the Firsthand Brand Agent Platform™ powers front-line consumer engagement. Operating across both owned properties and paid media, Firsthand's Brand Agents make a company’s expertise accessible in real time, adapting to consumers’ interests and guiding them towards the information they need to take action. Central to the platform is Lakebed™, the company’s AI-first data and knowledge rights management system that ensures brands retain full ownership and control of their expertise.

Firsthand is led by Jon Heller, Michael Rubenstein, and Wei Wei, whose previous ventures helped build the foundations of modern digital advertising. Backed by Radical Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Aperiam Ventures, and Crossbeam Venture Partners, Firsthand is shaping the future of AI-driven consumer engagement.

Firsthand is headquartered in NYC, with team members working together in-office three days a week.

We’re looking for a Director of Engagement Management to own and drive some of our most important customer relationships. This is a hybrid operator position that sits at the intersection of solutions, commercial strategy, and product execution.

In this role, you’ll act as the single accountable owner for complex, high-value engagements leading them end-to-end and ensuring we deliver measurable outcomes while unlocking long-term customer value. You’ll partner with top enterprise brands, own the full lifecycle of each engagement, and operate at the cutting edge of AI alongside a world-class team building the industry’s leading technology platforms.

This is a foundational role and a brand new function at Firsthand offering a rare opportunity to shape how engagement management is built from the ground up as we scale. You’ll define the operating model, set the standard for how we deliver, and put your stamp on a function that will be critical to the company’s long-term success.

• Lead high-impact enterprise engagements from discovery through delivery, renewal, and growth

• Act as the central point of accountability across internal teams and client stakeholders

• Coordinate handoffs across Sales, Solutions Consulting and Product to ensure seamless execution

• Proactively identify and mitigate delivery, client, and operational risks

• Partner with clients to deeply understand their business objectives, challenges, and success criteria

• Translate client needs into structured solutions, experiments, and implementation plans

• Define what success looks like and ensure delivery aligns to those outcomes

• Review outputs, provide actionable feedback, and step into execution when needed to unblock progress

• Guide implementation planning and configuration decisions in collaboration with client stakeholders

• Review results, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend iterative solution enhancements

• Provide ongoing technical oversight, expertise, and troubleshooting support throughout the engagement

• Proactively identify opportunities for expansion, upsell, and increased account value

• Partner with Sales to drive account renewals and identify expansion opportunities

• Support pre-sales efforts through demos, technical validation, and solution design

• Train clients on implementation, usage, and best practices

• Develop documentation and training materials for internal and external use

• Contribute to playbooks, frameworks, and best practices for engagement delivery

• Contribute to defining how engagement management and solution delivery operate at scale

• Develop processes, success metrics, and frameworks to improve execution

• Partner with leadership to evolve and scale this capability across the company

• Experience leading complex, end-to-end enterprise engagements, owning outcomes from strategy through execution

• Ability to design and implement solutions across digital advertising, data platforms, and AI-driven products

• Comfort operating across both strategy and execution, with a strong bias toward action

• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive alignment without direct authority

• Strong understanding of data, systems, and integrations, with a focus on scalable solutions

• Track record of identifying growth opportunities and linking delivery to revenue impact

• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, compelling client communication

• Deep experience in AdTech or MarTech environments

In 90 days: You’ve onboarded into key customer accounts and built strong relationships with internal stakeholders across Sales, Product, and Solutions. You’re actively leading engagements, bringing structure to delivery, and ensuring clear alignment on goals, timelines, and success metrics. Early wins are visible through improved coordination, reduced delivery friction, and strong customer confidence.

In 6 months: You are fully owning a portfolio of enterprise engagements end-to-end. Solutions are being scoped and delivered with consistency, and customers are seeing measurable impact tied to their business objectives. You’ve identified and driven expansion opportunities within accounts, and your engagements are progressing toward renewal with clear value demonstrated. Internally, you’ve contributed to repeatable playbooks and improved cross-functional execution.

In 12 months: You are a trusted partner to both customers and internal leadership, consistently delivering high-impact outcomes across your accounts. Your engagements are driving meaningful revenue through renewals and expansion, and you are seen as a key operator in scaling how Firsthand delivers and grows customer value. The frameworks and processes you’ve helped build are improving efficiency, predictability, and quality across the function.

If you are ready to embark on an exhilarating journey at the forefront of AI, seize this incredible opportunity and apply here. We eagerly anticipate hearing from you!

Note: Compensation and equity will be market-competitive for well-capitalized, early stage startups and will be discussed during the interview process.