Strategic Marketing Lead, Accounting Firms
Pilot.com · Austin, TX
- On site
- Full-time
- $172,500 / year
- Austin, TX
Job highlights
- Write and execute enterprise B2B marketing strategy.
- Drive pipeline for AI operating system Meridian.
- Lead by example as a senior individual contributor.
- Collaborate with sales, product, and content teams.
- Leverage AI tools for marketing execution.
About the role
Strategic Marketing Lead, Accounting Firms
Most marketing leaders inherit a playbook. This one gets to write and run it.
The motion is enterprise B2B—longer cycles, multiple stakeholders, relationships that close deals. Your primary segment is mid-market accounting firms adopting Meridian, the AI operating system Pilot developed for accounting firms.
Meridian is a sub-brand of Pilot, built specifically for firms that want to run their clients' books on agentic AI to fundamentally change their firms’ unit economics and service delivery model. Different product, different go-to-market, different buyer. The never-compete promise that anchors the brand is what makes this segment investable. Your job is to take that trust to market and turn it into pipeline at scale.
This role is built for a senior marketer who wants to operate as a high-leverage individual contributor. You're not looking to scale through a dedicated team immediately. You're looking to build the programs, write the messaging, and own the pipeline yourself, with shared specialists to make you faster. You'll also partner closely with our Franchisor motion, run by a dedicated IC, and our Partner Marketing & Events function. If the right coaching relationships develop with the ICs adjacent to this role, you'll grow into managing them. If they don't, you stay focused on your own work and we're all fine with that.
You'll report to the VP of Marketing and work with a shared team of senior specialists across lifecycle marketing, marketing operations, product marketing, content, and partner marketing. You'll have the support to build full-funnel programs without building a large team from scratch.
The marketing team has grown 3x in the last year and comprises of a group of senior channel experts: growth marketing, lifecycle, product marketing, partner marketing, content, and ops. They operate with high ownership and drive a significant share of Pilot's revenue. The team is collaborative, moves quickly, and takes its craft seriously.
We operate by values worth stating plainly: own your work, care more than expected, build things well, and fight for every opportunity. We invest in our people and take wins seriously.
What You'll Own
- Segment strategy and execution. You'll define how Pilot wins mid-market accounting firms and you'll be the one running the plays. Strategy is the half that points the work. The other half is in your hands.
- Pipeline. You're accountable for what your segment produces. In close partnership with sales, you'll align on account prioritization and build programs that move the right prospects from first impression to signed contract.
- Messaging. You'll shape how Pilot speaks to mid-market accounting firms, externally and in the materials our sales team uses every day.
What Success Looks Like in Year 1
- A clear, defensible go-to-market strategy for Meridian, with repeatable demand and partner programs in market
- Meridian moving from launch awareness to sustained pipeline, with growing and measurable contribution to the segment number
- Positioning that holds up under scrutiny from skeptical firm owners, internal sales, and competitive pressure
- Working relationships with the Franchise IC and the Partner Marketing & Events Lead that are either operating well as collaboration or have moved into a reporting structure based on real coaching fit
- Direction set for year 2, including team shape
About You
You’ve marketed to complex B2B buyers before—multi-stakeholder, longer sales cycles, relationships that matter. You understand the difference between selling to a partner and selling through one, and you’re comfortable building programs that support both. You're senior, but you're hands-on. The work is the point.
More specifically:
- 10+ years of B2B marketing experience, including time in enterprise or multi-stakeholder sales environments
- Strong foundation in demand generation and account-based marketing, including pipeline ownership and conversion metrics
- You should be able to hold a strategic narrative as your own and shape how a category gets understood.
- Experience partnering closely with sales leadership on account prioritization and pipeline goals.
- AI-fluent in your own workflow. You're already using LLMs and AI tools to compress research, draft, iterate, and run plays at scale. You have a view on what AI is good at, what it isn't, and your work shows it.
- Comfortable operating as a senior IC. You build, you run, you write, you don't hand off the interesting work to a team.
- Open to managing one or two senior ICs if the coaching fit develops. Equally comfortable staying purely IC if it doesn't. Either path is real here.
- Writes and communicates clearly
About Pilot
Pilot launched in 2017 to bring the back office into the modern era. Pilot provides small businesses with dedicated finance experts - which Pilot hires as full-time, U.S.-based employees - who learn the ins-and-outs of their business. Pilot integrates directly with the billing, banking, expense, and payroll systems customers already use. With a special blend of custom software and expert bookkeepers, Pilot delivers accurate, consistent bookkeeping and financial management and tax services that give entrepreneurs the freedom to focus on their business.
Pilot has over 3,000 customers and has raised over $170 million in financing from Sequoia, Index Ventures, Stripe, Bezos Expeditions, and Whale Rock. Our investors also include a long list of world-class entrepreneurs, including Patrick and John Collison, Drew Houston, and Diane Greene. Our most recent funding round doubled our valuation to $1.2 billion – Meet Fintech’s Newest Unicorn.
Why Pilot?
- We invest in our employees’ development and happiness because our employees are the keys to our success and ensuring happy customers
- The opportunity to join a seasoned founding team that has led companies through two prior successful startups and acquisitions (by Oracle and Dropbox).
- Flexible vacation/time-off policy
- All federal holidays are observed
- Competitive benefits package including additional wellness benefits
- Parental leave for birthing or non-birthing parents – 100% pay for 12 weeks
- 401(k) plan
The base pay range target for the role seniority described in this job description is $135K,000 - $210,000 in Austin, TX. Final offer amounts depend on multiple factors such as candidate experience and expertise, geographic location, total compensation, and market data. In addition to cash pay, full-time regular positions are eligible for equity, 401(k), health benefits, and other benefits; some of these benefits may be available for part-time or temporary positions.
Pilot commits to provide a work environment free of discrimination and harassment, as well as equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. You may view all of Pilot’s recruiting notices here, including our EEO policy, information about requesting a reasonable accommodation in the job application process, recruitment agency policy, recruitment scam notice, and important E-Verify information. You may view our job candidate privacy policy here.
Key skills/competency
- Strategic Marketing
- B2B Marketing
- Enterprise Sales
- Demand Generation
- Account-Based Marketing
- Pipeline Management
- Messaging Strategy
- AI-Fluent Marketing
- Individual Contributor
- Marketing Leadership
Skills & topics
- Strategic Marketing
- B2B Marketing
- Demand Generation
- Account-Based Marketing
- Pipeline Management
- Enterprise Sales
- Marketing Strategy
- AI Marketing
- Marketing Lead
- Senior Marketing Manager
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 10+ years of B2B marketing, demand generation, and ABM experience, emphasizing pipeline ownership and AI fluency.
- Showcase strategic narrative skills: Detail how you've shaped category understanding and partnered with sales on pipeline goals.
- Emphasize hands-on execution: Provide examples of building and running marketing programs as a senior individual contributor.
- Demonstrate AI proficiency: Mention specific AI tools used for research, drafting, and scaling marketing plays.
- Research Pilot's values: Align your application with their core values: own your work, care more than expected, build things well, fight for opportunity.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the primary focus of the Strategic Marketing Lead role at Pilot?
- The Strategic Marketing Lead role at Pilot focuses on developing and executing the go-to-market strategy for Meridian, Pilot's AI operating system for accounting firms. This involves driving demand generation, managing pipeline, and crafting messaging for mid-market accounting firms.
- What experience is most important for a Strategic Marketing Lead candidate at Pilot?
- The most important experience for this role includes over 10 years of B2B marketing, specifically in enterprise or multi-stakeholder sales environments. Proficiency in demand generation, account-based marketing (ABM), pipeline ownership, and AI fluency are also critical.
- How does Pilot support its marketing team members?
- Pilot invests in employee development and happiness, offering a collaborative environment with senior specialists in areas like lifecycle marketing, ops, product, content, and partner marketing. They provide support to build full-funnel programs and have a strong emphasis on values and growth.
- What is the expected work arrangement for the Strategic Marketing Lead at Pilot?
- The role is described as a high-leverage individual contributor, suggesting a hands-on approach. While there's potential to manage others if coaching fits develop, the primary focus is on individual execution. The job description implies flexibility and a focus on results.
- What are the key success metrics for the first year in this Strategic Marketing Lead role?
- Success in the first year involves establishing a defensible go-to-market strategy for Meridian, generating sustained pipeline, creating positioning that withstands scrutiny, building strong collaborative relationships, and setting direction for the second year.
- How does Pilot leverage AI in its marketing efforts?
- Pilot seeks candidates who are AI-fluent in their workflow, using LLMs and AI tools to compress research, draft content, iterate, and scale marketing plays. The role requires an understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations in marketing.
- What is the career growth potential for a Strategic Marketing Lead at Pilot?
- The role is designed for a senior individual contributor. There is an opportunity to grow into managing one or two senior ICs if coaching relationships develop. Regardless, the focus is on impactful individual contribution and potential leadership within the marketing function.