Director, Lifecycle Marketing
WFA Digital Insight
Kindred’s search for a Director of Lifecycle Marketing is unusual because it’s the first dedicated role shaping the entire member‑communication engine. The position sits at the intersection of product, growth and brand storytelling, giving the hire a rare blend of creative and technical ownership. Building an omni‑channel system—from email and SMS to in‑app messaging—means the candidate will design the end‑to‑end experience for both hosts and travelers, directly influencing retention and repeat usage. Reporting to the Head of Growth, the role also serves as a player‑coach, expected to launch the foundation before scaling a team. Candidates should be comfortable with data‑driven decision making, cross‑functional partnership, and the fast‑paced environment of a high‑growth startup.
Job Description
Kindred is a members-only home swapping platform that unlocks the ability to live a travel-rich lifestyle through the power of community. By exchanging primary residences with trusted peers, renters and owners alike can match with Kindred spirits and explore new destinations without breaking the bank. Kindred is revolutionizing the “third option” of travel accommodation, compared to short-term rentals and hotels. Since launching in 2022, Kindred has grown to a global community of 300,000 members across 150+ cities and puts home swapping on the map as a radically more affordable, responsible, and connected way to travel. To support that momentum, Kindred has raised over $150M in capital from some of the most credible investors in Silicon Valley, including Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, and founders of companies like Opendoor, Figma, ClassPass, and more. Kindred’s co-founders are proven leaders from the early team at Opendoor ($15B+ exit), who have each built and scaled products that today generate $1B+ annual revenue combined. We’re looking for the world’s top builders, executors, and believers to help us make travel more meaningful. You can learn more about us in Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescawalton/2026/02/03/home-swap-startup-kindred-raises-125-million-in-fresh-funding-as-travelers-seek-creative-ways-to-save-money/ and The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/realestate/is-your-apartment-nice-enough-for-this-home-swapping-app.html. THE ROLE We're hiring a Director of Lifecycle Marketing to define and scale our member communications strategy. In this role, you'll build a best-in-class, global omni-channel lifecycle engine, optimizing the member experience while developing the strategy, systems, and playbooks that drive engagement across our hosting and traveling flywheel. You'll partner cross-functionally to connect a strong digital product experience with the storytelling and emotional connection of a lifestyle brand, creating personalized customer journeys that deepen engagement and drive long-term loyalty. This is a player-coach role: you'll be hands-on to build Kindred’s lifecycle marketing foundation before scaling impact through a team you hire and develop. As such, success in this role requires equal parts thought leadership and execution. You'll constantly prioritize opportunities, identify the highest-leverage member problems to solve, and build the systems and experiences that drive meaningful business impact. This role is ideal for someone who combines creativity with strong technical, analytical, and operational skills and thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment. You will be Kindred’s first Lifecycle marketing hire, where you will establish and lead Kindred’s lifecycle marketing function and report into the Head of Growth. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own hosting and travel activation communications experience: Own the strategic roadmap, execution, and optimization of customer communications across email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, and emerging lifecycle channels. Optimize existing programs, as well as leverage insights to iterate and launch new strategies to activate Kindred members across various audience segments.
- Establish Lifecycle function. Establish cross-functional processes for campaign execution, measurement, and reporting. Partner with Data Engineering and Analytics to develop actionable lifecycle performance insights and evolve the data infrastructure that powers personalization, automation, and decision-making.
- Hone our GTM muscles. Develop messaging playbooks in partnership with PMM for new product launches and marketing campaigns, continuously improving with each iteration.
- Be a thought leader on existing members. Serve as the voice of the member by translating lifecycle performance into actionable insights.
- Build a world-class lifecycle engine. Continually evolve the strategic direction of Kindred's lifecycle marketing discipline by bringing the latest advances in AI, personalization, experimentation, and marketing technology into our member experience.
- Proven track record in building high volume lifecycle programs that drive measurable business outcomes.
- You've worked closely with PM’s, Brand, Data, and Engineering teams and have strong project management and communication skills.
- Analytical mindset, with proven ability to gain insights from high-volume, complex, and omni-channel existing programs, and turn them into actionable results. Strong point of view on lifecycle data infrastructure and pipelines.
- Mobile-first experience preferred.
- Hands-on experience in building campaigns and workflows, and working knowledge of optimal build-out of canvases, customer segments, and automations.
- Equally comfortable rolling up sleeves to execute campaigns on an ongoing basis as you are building a strategy - Scrappy and self-directed: you don't wait for perfect data or a perfect brief.
- Must have experience with Braze, CDP integrations, AI personalization and localization tooling. OUR
Benefits
At Kindred, we know that good things happen when we look out for one another. We offer a thoughtful, human-first benefits package designed to support health, wellbeing, and connection. Our openings may span more than one career level. The base salary offered depends on factors such as experience, transferable skills, business needs, impact, and market data.- Competitive cash compensation and equity - Comprehensive health benefits - Flexible time off, plus 12 paid holidays per year - 21 credits per year to stay in Kindred homes - $4,000 annual travel stipend to help offset travel-related costs - Remote-first and remote-flexible work environment, with opportunities to work from anywhere and gather in person, including at Kindred HQ in San Francisco - Regular team and company offsites to connect, collaborate, and build together - A vibrant, inclusive, and highly skilled team that ferociously protects team chemistry - A culture of high standards, feedback, and continual growth We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees.
How to Stand Out
- Highlight any lifecycle or retention campaigns you’ve built, especially those that span email, SMS, and in‑app messaging.
- Include specific metrics (open rates, conversion lift, retention uplift) in your resume to demonstrate impact.
- Prepare a short case study showing how you used data to segment audiences and personalize messaging.
- Showcase familiarity with automation platforms like Braze or Iterable; a quick demo project can set you apart.
- During interviews, emphasize your ability to balance hands‑on execution with team leadership.
- Ask about the current data infrastructure and what tools the team uses; it shows strategic curiosity.
- When discussing compensation, research typical equity ranges for senior lifecycle roles at remote startups to negotiate confidently.
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