Sr. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Manager

Your Role:
SolarWinds is seeking a strategic, data-driven Sr. SEM Manager to own global search engine marketing (SEM) for our Observability business unit—SolarWinds’ largest business unit. This is a senior, strategy-owning role: you will set the vision and roadmap for how paid search drives customer acquisition, lead generation, and pipeline growth across the SMB, mid-market, and enterprise segments, while also staying hands-on with campaign structure, bidding, and optimization across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising. You’ll partner closely with Global Performance Marketing Strategy, Product Marketing, Regional Leads, Analytics, Finance/RevOps, and Sales to ensure SEM investment translates into measurable pipeline and revenue impact.

Team Management Experience 

 3-5 years team management experience, will be managing a team of 3

Your Impact:Strategy & Budget Ownership:

• Own the global SEM strategy for Observability, setting the vision for how paid search drives customer acquisition, lead generation, and pipeline growth across SolarWinds ICPs.
• Develop and execute short- and long-term SEM growth plans, balancing efficiency (LTV:CAC) with scale.
• Manage annual and quarterly budget planning, pacing, and forecasting for paid search investment across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.
• Design and implement a comprehensive SEM strategy aligned with SolarWinds’ business goals, ensuring optimal budget utilization.

Campaign Management & Optimization:

• Oversee campaign structure, keyword strategy, bidding models, and creative optimization across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, including hands-on ad copy creation, bid management, and A/B testing.
• Develop campaigns targeting Top-, Middle-, and Bottom-of-Funnel (TOFU/MOFU/BOFU) audiences, structuring for high-intent keywords at MOFU/BOFU while leveraging SEO-driven terms for TOFU, with a focus on pipeline growth and customer acquisition.
• Implement testing frameworks (ad copy, landing pages, audiences, match types) to continuously improve CTR, CVR, and pipeline conversion.
• Drive adoption of value-based bidding (VBB) and audience-first approaches (RLSA, Customer Match, CRM-based targeting), including retargeting and audience segmentation using tools like 6sense and LinkedIn.
• Ensure strong campaign hygiene, naming conventions, and tracking governance (UTMs, conversion imports, offline events).
• Work closely with our Private Equity counterparts to ensure we are hitting weekly, monthly and quarterly goals.

Performance Analysis & Attribution:

• Track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CTR, CVR, CPL, and Cost Per Solutioning Dollar to ensure campaigns deliver strong returns.
• Use advanced analytics tools like Google Analytics 4, Adobe Analytics, and Tableau to provide actionable insights and regular reporting.
• Partner with Analytics and Data teams to ensure end-to-end visibility into ROI, pipeline contribution, and attribution across campaigns.
• Leverage Enhanced Conversions for Leads and first-party data to optimize bidding and performance tracking.
• Deep expertise in SA360 and CM360

Cross-Functional Strategy & Collaboration:

• Partner with Global Performance Marketing Strategy, Product Marketing, and Regional Leads to localize SEM campaigns for each market’s commercial priorities.
• Collaborate with Product Marketing and Content to align messaging, creative, and offers with product value propositions.
• Partner with Lifecycle and Growth Product teams to build cohesive acquisition-to-activation journeys.
• Work with Finance and RevOps on pacing, forecasting, and ROI analysis to guide data-driven budget allocation.
• Align with Sales and Regional Marketing to ensure SEM efforts support pipeline coverage and demand generation goals.

Innovation, Governance & Team Enablement:

• Develop playbooks and best practices across Global campaigns.
• Partner with platform reps at Google and Microsoft to stay ahead of algorithm updates, betas, and emerging trends.
• Drive operational excellence through consistent QA, documentation, and performance review cadences.
• Stay updated on search algorithm changes, trends, and emerging technologies to continually improve campaign efficiency and ROI.

Your Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in SEM or performance marketing, with proven success driving measurable growth and ROI, including management of multi-million-dollar budgets.
• Strong expertise managing large-scale, multi-region paid search programs (Google Ads + Microsoft Advertising).
• Experience optimizing for B2B SaaS pipelines with full-funnel visibility (from lead to closed-won).
• Hands-on familiarity with Marketo, Looker, SQL, Salesforce, and offline conversion tracking workflows.
• Demonstrated analytical strength—comfortable with bid modeling, forecasting, and performance attribution.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Skills:

• Advanced knowledge of keyword strategies, bid management, and remarketing techniques. Analytical mindset with proficiency in creating actionable insights from data.
• Knowledge of Enhanced Conversions for Leads and integration of first-party data for campaign improvements.
• Expertise in Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, SEMrush, and advanced analytics tools like Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics 4, SA360 and CM360.
• Strong understanding of funnel-based campaign structures and audience segmentation.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, Data Analytics, or a related field (MBA a plus). Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising certifications are preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience building global SEM frameworks that scale across markets.
• Knowledge of multi-touch attribution (MTA), MMM, or incrementality testing.
• Exposure to AI-driven ad copy generation or creative automation systems.
• Familiarity with SEO/SEM alignment strategies to maximize paid–organic synergy.
• Strong relationships with platform partners (Google, Microsoft) for co-marketing and innovation programs.
• Multi-lingual, particularly Mandarin or Cantonese.