Head of Observability Marketing

Head of Observability Marketing

ABOUT SOLARWINDS & OUR OBSERVABILITY BUSINESS

SolarWinds has a long history of delivering powerful, affordable IT operations software to hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide, with a highly recurring revenue model and a growing enterprise footprint.

Building on that foundation, SolarWinds Observability is our next-generation, cloud-native and hybrid observability platform, designed to help organizations of all sizes see, understand, and act on the performance of their applications, infrastructure, networks, and databases across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Observability is a core growth pillar and our go-to-market strategy to extend value for existing customers and reach new ones—no matter where they are on their hybrid IT or cloud transformation journey. We are evolving from a point-product, trial-led motion to a solution- and platform-led, consultative model with increased emphasis on account-based and role-based marketing for both new business and customer expansion.

This role will sit at the center of that transformation for the Observability business.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a Vice President of Marketing, Observability to own the marketing strategy, execution, and outcomes for the SolarWinds Observability business. You will lead a team of 5 direct reports all Director level and approximately 22 marketers overall across:

• New Business / Demand Generation
• Expansion & Customer Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Digital Marketing (SEO, SEM, paid social, display)
• Outbound Marketing (sales plays, ABX programs)

This is a high-visibility, high-impact leadership role with direct accountability for pipeline, new ARR, expansion revenue, and customer engagement for SolarWinds’ largest and most strategic product lines. You will be responsible for both strategy and execution—from defining where we play and how we win, to orchestrating integrated programs that move target accounts from awareness to advocacy.

You will work cross-functionally with Product Management, Product Marketing, Sales, Customer Success along with Field & Partner Marketing to build and execute a cohesive go-to-market plan that showcases our differentiated value in observability, including our leadership in database and hybrid cloud observability and our unified SolarWinds Platform story.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Drive Marketing & Business Outcomes

• Own full-funnel performance for the Observability business: awareness, demand creation, demand capture, SQOs, pipeline, new ARR, expansion/upsell, and cross sell.
• Increase high-value opportunities and closed-won revenue through integrated campaigns across digital, programs, partners, and sales-led motions.
• Lead demand generation strategies for both new customer acquisition and customer expansion (cross-sell, upsell, conversion from legacy products) across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise segments.
• Shape the sales playbook and outbound motions (including ABX) in partnership with Sales and SDR/BDR leadership—aligning plays to segments, personas, and buying committees.
• Use data and experimentation to build predictable, scalable growth engines that can be forecasted, measured, and optimized over time.

Design and Execute Go-to-Market Strategy

• Own the GTM strategy for SolarWinds Observability—who we target, what we say, where we show up, and how we win versus competitors.
• Use customer and market insights to identify and prioritize target segments, use cases, and verticals, then translate them into focused campaigns and sales plays.

Lead & Integrate the Marketing Engine

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of managers and ICs across new business, customer marketing, content, digital, and outbound—setting clear goals, coaching for growth, and elevating the team’s impact.
• Align and integrate digital channels (SEO, SEM, paid social, display, website) with programs, partner marketing, and sales to deliver consistent narratives and measurable outcomes.
• Drive a modern ABM/ABX approach for priority accounts, working closely with Sales, SDR/BDR, Partner, and Alliances teams to build coordinated 1:few and 1:1 programs.
• Partner with Content and Brand to ensure we have compelling, on-message content mapped to the full buyer and customer journey—from thought leadership to technical validation to customer stories.

Define and Optimize the Marketing Funnel

• Define and refine the Observability funnel—from lead and intent signals through qualified opportunities and bookings.
• Create and manage dashboards and scorecards that show performance by segment, route-to-market, and program—enabling data-driven decisions on investment and optimization.
• Continuously improve conversion rates and cost per opportunity across channels, testing and iterating on creative, offers, and journeys.
• Partner with RevOps and Sales Ops to ensure clean attribution, pipeline hygiene, and forecast accuracy for Observability marketing-sourced and influenced revenue.

ABOUT YOU

You care deeply about modern B2B marketing and your passion for doing it well inspires others to raise their game. You:

• Understand SaaS, self-hosted/on-prem, and recurring revenue models and have a track record of accelerating growth across multiple markets and segments.
• Are comfortable owning big numbers—pipeline, ARR, and NRR—and know how to connect marketing activities to business outcomes.
• Are a curious experimenter and structured thinker who can zoom out to define strategy and zoom in to optimize a specific campaign or funnel conversion point using analytics and data decision making.
• Thrive in a matrixed, fast-changing environment, collaborating across Product, Sales, CS, and Partners to get things done.
• Have a growth mindset and invest in your team’s development as much as you invest in the business.

RESPONSIBILITIES (SUMMARY)

• Own marketing strategy and outcomes for the Observability business.
• Lead and grow a multi-disciplinary marketing team (5 direct reports / ~22 total).
• Drive demand and expansion through digital, outbound, and partner channels.
• Define and optimize the end-to-end marketing funnel and measurement.
• Partner cross-functionally to shape product strategy, GTM, and sales plays.
• Represent Observability marketing in senior-level and cross-functional forums—bringing a clear point of view on where to invest and how to grow.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• 10+ years leading marketing organizations or major product lines, with meaningful time spent in B2B software with $500M to $1B+ in revenue.
• Proven ability to manage and influence cross-functional teams through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building.
• Exacting writer and communicator across a variety of mediums (presentations, briefs, emails, external-facing content).
• Demonstrated success across new sale, cross-sell, and upsell funnels, ideally in a recurring revenue business.
• Deep understanding of value drivers in subscription and recurring revenue models (ARR, NRR, LTV/CAC, payback).
• Strong analytical and process-oriented mindset; comfortable using data to drive decisions and forecast outcomes.
• Demonstrated desire for continuous learning and improvement—for yourself, your team, and your programs.
• Enthusiastic, creative leader who can set a compelling vision, rally stakeholders, and inspire high performance.
• Relevant Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

If you’re excited by the opportunity to build and lead the marketing engine for a high-growth, high-visibility Observability business on top of a proven global platform, we’d love to talk.