Director Lead Generation & Marketing (Remote / Jacksonville, FL)

Apellix (Working Drones, Inc.) | Apellix is in Jacksonville, FL. Job remote or in-person with required travel.

About Apellix

Apellix builds semi-autonomous drones that do dangerous work at height so people don't have to — power washing, spray painting and protective coatings, and NDT inspection of tanks, ships, bridges, and industrial infrastructure. We're a U.S. manufacturer with NDAA-compliant systems, U.S. Army certification, an AkzoNobel "Paint the Future" global award, and deployments in 21 countries. Our customers include coatings contractors, facility managers, utilities, shipbuilders, and government agencies.

We're at an inflection point: lead volume is up and it’s time to accelerate even further. Marketing has been run directly by executive leadership until now. This role exists because the engine is working — and it needs a full-time owner to scale it.

The Role

You will own demand generation end to end: strategy, execution, and results. This is a builder role. You'll inherit functioning channels, real data, established trade press relationships, and a clean analytics foundation — and you'll be the one person accountable for growing qualified lead volume from there.

You report to the Chief of Staff and work closely with the CEO and sales leadership. There is no marketing team beneath you today; there could be ~one year from now as you prove out the roadmap and make the case for headcount.

What You'll Own

Paid acquisition. Manage and optimize Google Ads, scale Meta/Instagram native lead form campaigns, scale Microsoft Ads, and evaluate LinkedIn Lead Gen for enterprise buyers. You'll own budget allocation, CPL targets, and creative testing.

Analytics and tracking. Own GA4, conversion tracking, UTM discipline, and attribution across channels. Build the reporting that connects marketing spend to pipeline and closed revenue in our CRM (Hubspot). Fix what's broken, instrument what's missing, and give leadership a dashboard they trust, where each sale can be tracked to where the lead came from.

AI optimization. Increase Apellix’ presence in AI search engines. Whether through PR, setting up additional channels to increase our online presence, running the Apellix blog with content for AI to pull from, or OpenAI ads. It is vital that we work on generating additional AI optimization to position Apellix as the best power washing drone in the world.

Content and trade press. Write and place articles in the industrial trade publications where our buyers live (coatings, facility management, construction, solar, drone/UAV, energy). We have active relationships with 15+ publications — you'll keep that flywheel spinning and expand it. Optimize all content for AI search citability (GEO), an emerging channel already converting for us at paid-search rates.

Social and organic. Own Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube strategy and posting cadence. People love seeing the drone in action. We’ve gone viral without paying money for ads. You’ll be in the fortunate position of posting videos that people actually enjoy watching and engaging with. You'll be responsible for engaging with our customers online and posting content.

Events and campaigns. Drive registration, promotion, and follow-up for live demonstration events, trade shows, and partner co-marketing. Apellix currently does quarterly events.

Email and nurture. Build lead nurture sequences, manage our customer and prospect email programs, and improve lead-to-opportunity conversion in partnership with sales. Work closely with our Sales Director here.

What Success Looks Like

• Qualified lead volume grows measurably quarter over quarter against an agreed baseline
• Cost per lead declines as channel mix and creative improve
• Every dollar of ad spend is trackable to pipeline; leadership reporting is automated and trusted
• Sales reps says lead quality went up, not just volume

What We're Looking For

• 6+ years in B2B and/or B2C marketing with at least 3 years owning demand generation and a pipeline number — you can tell us what your lead and CPL targets were and whether you hit them
• Hands-on, current expertise in Google Ads and Meta Ads — you personally build and optimize campaigns, not just manage agencies
• Strong GA4 and conversion-tracking skills; comfortable diagnosing and fixing broken attribution
• Excellent writer — you'll be publishing in trade press
• Experience marketing high-ticket B2B/B2C products (industrial equipment, hardware, SaaS with long sales cycles, or similar)
• Self-directed builder mentality — you've operated without a team and without heavy agency support, or you're eager to
• Bonus: experience with industrial/construction/energy audiences, video content production, marketing to government or defense buyers, or AI search optimization

What We Offer

• Salary, commensurate with experience, plus performance bonus tied to lead and pipeline goals
• PTO and federal holidays
• 100% paid healthcare, which comes with free counseling and Telehealth
• Direct access to leadership and genuine ownership of your function — your work is visible in company results within weeks, not quarters
• The chance to build the marketing department, not just run one
• 401(k)