Performance Marketing Lead

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together. Reporting to the Director of Inbound Marketing, the Performance Marketing Lead will own Appian’s global paid media ecosystem and conversion performance strategy. This role will set the vision for how paid search, paid social, and programmatic channels drive high-quality pipeline, while managing an external paid media agency for day-to-day execution and holding them accountable to performance and delivery. The Lead will partner closely with Global Campaign Managers, web and content stakeholders, and regional field and sales leadership to ensure paid programs are integrated into broader B2B campaigns. They will drive rigorous testing and CRO, lead channel experimentation, and translate performance data into actionable insights that improve targeting, creative, and pipeline outcomes globally. In this role, you will: Lead the global strategy for paid search, paid social (LinkedIn, Meta, etc.), and display/programmatic to drive pipeline and ROI. Manage the external paid media agency as the primary point of contact, ensuring quality execution and accountability to targets. Own budget strategy and optimization approach, including investment planning and bid strategy direction with the agency. Drive CRO and experimentation: partner with web and content teams to optimize the post-click experience, improve conversion rates, and reduce funnel friction. Establish a consistent A/B testing program across creative, copy, audiences, and landing experiences to improve engagement and performance. Partner with Global Campaign Managers to align performance programs to campaign themes, offers, and business objectives. Build a regular cadence with regional field marketing and sales leadership to share performance insights, regional opportunities, and recommended optimizations. Share learnings from message and creative testing with Product Marketing and Brand to influence future positioning, creative themes, and audience strategy. About you: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field. 7+ years of performance marketing/digital advertising experience with deep B2B tech exposure. Strong strategic command of the B2B buyer journey and performance channels (Google Ads, LinkedIn, programmatic). Proven experience managing external agencies and driving measurable outcomes through accountability and clear KPIs. Experience operating in global, matrixed organizations, with the ability to tailor strategy across regions including EMEA and APJ. Clear, compelling communicator who can translate data into decisions and influence senior stakeholders. Strong testing mindset and comfort using analytics/insights to drive continuous optimization. The base salary for this role is between $100,000–$200,000 per year and represents a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant work experience, qualifications, internal peer equity, and market and business conditions that exist when extending an offer. A discretionary bonus may be awarded in recognition of individual and company performance. In addition, Appian provides generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources. Certain positions may be eligib