At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.
Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.
Position Summary:
The Senior Manager, Paid Search (SEM) is responsible for leading the global paid search strategy and execution to drive pipeline, revenue, and customer acquisition. This role operates as a strategic owner of the paid search channel, translating business goals into actionable programs that deliver measurable impact across the customer journey.
This position plays a critical role in F5’s holistic search program, partnering closely with SEO to create a unified, intent-driven approach to search that maximizes visibility, efficiency, and performance across both paid and organic channels. The individual will lead cross-functional alignment, manage agency partners, and ensure operational excellence while driving continuous optimization and innovation.
Success in this role requires strong ownership, strategic thinking, data-driven decision-making, and the ability to communicate clearly and proactively with stakeholders.
Primary Responsibilities:
Define and lead the global paid search strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, GTM priorities, and revenue goals
Own end-to-end paid search performance, including pipeline contribution, conversion metrics, cost efficiency, opportunity identification, stakeholder alignment, and optimization
Develop and manage campaign strategies across keywords, audiences, bidding models, and budget allocation
Oversee campaign execution, ensuring accuracy, quality, and adherence to best practices across platforms and regions
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Monitor and analyze campaign performance, identifying trends and driving ongoing optimization based on data and insights
Establish and manage forecasting, budget pacing, and performance expectations to maximize business impact
Lead the development and execution of a structured testing roadmap across ad creative, landing pages, targeting, and bidding strategies
Drive continuous improvement through performance testing and optimization
Partner closely with SEO teams to deliver a unified holistic search strategy, aligning keyword strategy, content priorities, and performance measurement across channels
Collaborate with Product Marketing, Content, Web, and Analytics teams to align messaging, landing pages, and conversion strategies to user intent
Manage agency partners and ensure accountability for campaign execution, reporting, and performance outcomes
Establish and maintain operational processes, including campaign governance, documentation, and workflow standards
Provide regular reporting and insights to stakeholders, including weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance updates
Clearly communicate strategy, performance, risks, and opportunities to cross-functional partners and leadership
Drive prioritization of initiatives based on business impact, ensuring focus on high-value opportunities
Identify operational or strategic gaps and independently drive solutions to improve performance and scalability
The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Deep expertise in paid search strategy, campaign management, and optimization within platforms such as Google Ads
Strong understanding of modern paid search capabilities, including automation, audience targeting, and value-based bidding approaches
Ability to translate business goals into data-driven marketing strategies and execution plans
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret performance data and drive actionable insights
Experience working with analytics tools such as Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Tableau, or similar platforms
Proven ability to operate with a high degree of ownership and accountability, driving initiatives forward independently
Strong prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly and effectively
Ability to communicate proactively with stakeholders, providing transparency into performance and progress
Strong collaboration and relationship-building skills, with experience working across cross-functional teams including SEO, Product Marketing, and Web teams
Understanding of full-funnel marketing strategies and multi-channel attribution
High attention to detail and commitment to operational excellence, including campaign QA and governance
Key Success Factors:
Demonstrates clear ownership of the paid search strategy and roadmap
Maintains strong visibility into performance with proactive stakeholder communication
Effectively prioritizes high-impact initiatives that drive pipeline and efficiency
Drives alignment between paid and organic search to improve overall search performance
Qualifications:
8+ years of experience in paid search, SEM, or performance marketing (B2B preferred)
Proven track record of owning and scaling paid search programs that drive measurable business impact
Experience managing global or multi-region campaigns and budgets
Strong experience with analytics and reporting tools (Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Tableau, etc.)
Experience integrating paid media with CRM and marketing automation systems for closed-loop measurement (Marketo, Salesforce, etc.)
Experience managing agencies and cross-functional teams
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Analytics, or related field (or equivalent experience)
Physical Demands and Work Environment:
Duties are performed in a normal office environment while sitting at a desk or computer table.
Duties require the ability to utilize a computer, communicate over the telephone, and read printed material.
Duties will regularly require being on calls and periodically and working outside normal working hours (evenings and early mornings) to accommodate the global nature of our business.
Duties may require the ability to travel via automobile or airplane, approximately 10% of the time spent traveling.
F5 Networks, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and strongly supports diversity in the workplace.
The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.
The annual base pay for this position is: $128,500.00 - $192,700.00
F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.
You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice.
Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).
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