🔹 Job Title: Senior Manager, Growth Marketing, Retention
🔹 Company: Strava
🔹 Location: San Francisco, California, United States
🔹 Job Type: Full-time
🔹 Category: 🚀 Growth Marketing
As a Senior Manager of Growth Marketing, Retention at Strava, you'll lead the strategy for keeping Strava's 150M+ global athletes engaged and active on the platform. You'll manage a high-performing team while crafting personalized retention campaigns, analyzing user data, and collaborating across departments to run high-impact experiments that drive user activation, engagement, and retention metrics.
ASSUMPTION: This is a leadership role focused primarily on retention marketing strategy rather than acquisition, with a core focus on keeping free users engaged and converting them to paid subscribers.
✅ Lead and develop the free product retention strategy with clear goals and roadmap
✅ Manage at least two direct reports, supporting their professional development
✅ Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Design, and Marketing teams
✅ Build personalized campaigns across email, push, and in-app touchpoints
✅ Design and execute A/B tests to optimize user engagement
✅ Analyze campaign performance and implement learnings
✅ Document best practices and create playbooks to empower other teams
✅ Segment and analyze user behavior to create targeted messaging
Education: Not specified
Experience:
Skills:
ASSUMPTION: While not explicitly stated, a bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field is likely expected for a senior manager position in this industry.
Salary Range: $177,600 - $188,400 base salary
Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package available (details linked in original posting)
Industry Comparison: This compensation is competitive for a senior marketing manager role at a growth-stage tech company in San Francisco, aligning with market rates for roles requiring 7+ years of experience and management responsibilities.
Industry Position: Strava is a leading fitness social network app with over 150 million athletes in 190+ countries, connecting active individuals and allowing them to track, share, and compare their activities.
Company Size: Growth-stage company with global reach
Company Stage: Mature scale-up backed by prominent investors including Sequoia Capital, TCV, Madrone Partners, and Jackson Square Ventures
ASSUMPTION: Based on the user numbers (150M+ athletes) and investor profile, Strava appears to be a well-established scale-up company past the early startup phase, likely with several hundred employees.
Career Level: Senior management position
Reporting Structure: Likely reports to a Director or VP of Growth Marketing
Team Size/Composition: Will manage at least two direct reports
Growth Opportunities: Potential advancement to Director-level positions; opportunity to shape retention strategy for a major consumer tech platform
ASSUMPTION: Given the leadership nature of this role and emphasis on growth marketing team structure, this position likely sits within a larger marketing organization with potential paths to Director of Retention or broader Growth leadership roles.
Office Type: Hybrid (50% in-office requirement, approximately 3 days per week)
Geographic Context: San Francisco is a premier tech hub with a high concentration of technology companies and a high cost of living
Work Schedule: Standard full-time schedule with flexibility (specific days in office likely determined by team needs)
Regional Considerations: San Francisco offers extensive networking opportunities within the tech industry; commuting considerations may be important given the in-office requirement
Typical Process: Initial screening call with recruiter, followed by hiring manager interview, panel interviews with cross-functional stakeholders (Product, Marketing, Design), and possibly a case study or presentation on retention strategy
Key Assessment Areas: Retention marketing expertise, people management skills, data analysis capabilities, campaign development experience, strategic thinking, and cultural fit
Application Tips: Highlight measurable retention improvements from previous roles, demonstrate experience with relevant tools, and showcase examples of personalized marketing campaigns that drove results
ATS Keywords: retention marketing, lifecycle marketing, CRM, Iterable, A/B testing, user engagement, people management, data-driven, growth marketing, personalization
ASSUMPTION: These insights are based on standard interview practices for senior marketing roles in tech companies. Strava may have specific processes not detailed in the job posting.
Mentioned tools: Iterable (marketing automation), Eppo (experimentation), Tableau (reporting)
Other likely tools: Google Analytics, SQL, CRM platforms, segmentation tools, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)
ASSUMPTION: Proficiency with common marketing analytics platforms and data visualization tools is likely required beyond those specifically mentioned.
Company Values: Growth mindset, bias for action, curiosity, data-driven approach, and people-first culture
Work Style: Fast-paced, experimental, collaborative across functions, balancing data analysis with creative marketing
Self-Assessment: Do you thrive in an environment that values rapid testing and iteration? Are you comfortable balancing the art (creative) and science (data) of marketing? Are you passionate about fitness or activities that align with Strava's user base?
ASSUMPTION: Based on the job description's emphasis on experimentation, curiosity, and growth mindset, Strava appears to value innovation and continuous improvement.
• Balancing the needs of a diverse global user base (150M+ athletes in 190+ countries) with personalized marketing
• Meeting retention targets in a potentially competitive fitness app market
• Managing both strategic planning and hands-on campaign execution
• Navigating the hybrid work environment (50% in-office requirement)
• Juggling people management responsibilities while driving business results
ASSUMPTION: These challenges are inferred from the scope of responsibilities and company context; individual experiences may vary.
This role differs from a standard Growth Marketing Manager position by having significantly more people management responsibility and strategic ownership. Unlike a CRM Manager who might focus exclusively on email/messaging, this role takes a broader view of the entire retention journey. Compared to a User Acquisition Manager, this position focuses on retaining existing users rather than acquiring new ones. The role is more specialized than a general Marketing Director but with similar leadership responsibilities within its domain.
ASSUMPTION: This comparison is based on standard industry role delineations and may vary depending on specific company structures.
• Developing a segmented onboarding journey to activate new free users based on their fitness interests
• Creating and implementing a win-back campaign for lapsed users with personalized re-engagement incentives
• Designing an A/B testing framework to optimize push notification timing and content across user segments
• Building a retention dashboard that helps identify at-risk users before they churn
• Developing a product feature education program to increase feature adoption and stickiness
ASSUMPTION: These projects are examples based on the retention responsibilities outlined in the job posting and common retention marketing initiatives.
1. "How do you measure success for the free product retention strategy, and what are the key metrics the team is currently focusing on?"
2. "What are the biggest challenges you've identified in retaining Strava's free users, and how is the team approaching them?"
3. "How does the retention team collaborate with the product team to influence feature development that improves user engagement?"
4. "Can you describe the composition and current priorities of the team I would be managing?"
5. "What does success look like for this role in the first 3, 6, and 12 months?"
6. "How does Strava's hybrid work model support collaborative work and team development?"
ASSUMPTION: These questions are suggested based on typical considerations for senior marketing roles and may need to be adapted based on interview context.
⚠️ This enhanced job description was AI-generated based on the original job listing. Information has been organized and supplemented with industry-standard insights where details were not provided. All assumptions are explicitly labeled. Applicants should verify all details directly with the employer before making decisions based on this content.
1. Research Strava's products and user experience: Download the app and experience it as a user to better understand the product you'll be marketing.
2. Update your resume with relevant keywords: Highlight experience with retention marketing, team management, and the specific tools mentioned (Iterable, Eppo, Tableau).
3. Prepare quantifiable achievements: Document specific retention metrics improvements from previous roles (e.g., "Improved 90-day retention by X% through personalized campaign strategy").
4. Review Strava's social media and marketing: Understand their tone, messaging approach, and current campaigns to speak knowledgeably during interviews.
5. Prepare a brief retention strategy outline: Have thoughts ready on how you might approach retention challenges for a fitness social network.
6. Network with current Strava employees: Connect on LinkedIn to learn more about the company culture and potential team dynamics.
7. Apply through the official Strava careers page: Ensure your application is tracked properly in their system.