Customer Lifecycle Marketing Manager

Job description

At Docker, we make app development easier so developers can focus on what matters. Our remote-first team spans the globe, united by a passion for innovation and great developer experiences. With over 20 million monthly users and 20 billion image pulls, Docker is the #1 tool for building, sharing, and running apps—trusted by startups and Fortune 100s alike. We’re growing fast and just getting started. Come join us for a whale of a ride!

We’re seeking a Customer Lifecycle Marketing Manager to accelerate self-service growth across every stage of the developer journey — from onboarding to expansion.

This role is a key driver of Docker’s product-led growth (PLG) strategy. You will design and execute high-impact, data-driven programs that improve activation rates, deepen product adoption, increase monetization, and strengthen customer retention across Docker Hub, Docker Desktop, Docker Scout, Model Runner, and beyond. You’ll work closely with Growth, Product, Engineering, Revenue, and Marketing Operations teams to create scalable lifecycle engines rooted in behavioral data and product telemetry.

The ideal candidate is a senior, hands-on lifecycle marketing expert with deep experience in technical SaaS and PLG environments, a strong understanding of developer audiences, and a relentless focus on experimentation and optimization.

Responsibilities:

Lifecycle Strategy & Execution

• Architect and execute full-funnel, multichannel lifecycle campaigns — onboarding, activation, feature adoption, expansion, and retention — grounded in data-driven personalization and product usage insights.

• Build integrated, automated lifecycle journeys across email, in-product messaging, community, owned and paid channels.

• Develop targeted programs to drive adoption of key platform features (e.g., Model Runner, Docker Scout, Hardened Images, Docker Extensions) and cross-product expansion motions.

• Partner with Product, PLG, and Docs teams to align lifecycle touchpoints with onboarding flows, feature releases, and experimentation roadmaps.

Data-Driven Optimization

• Own funnel metrics from activation to expansion — identifying key drop-offs, leading indicators, and opportunity areas.

• Implement rigorous A/B and multivariate testing across lifecycle programs to continuously optimize messaging, user flows, offers, and segmentation.

• Leverage behavioral data, intent signals, and cohort analysis to drive hyper-personalized, usage-based engagement strategies.

• Define customer health scoring models in collaboration with Product and Data teams to prioritize lifecycle plays and trigger interventions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product-Led Growth, Product Management, Engineering, Revenue, and Community teams to ensure lifecycle strategies are embedded into the user experience.

• Support monetization and pricing initiatives by designing lifecycle motions that drive freemium-to-paid conversion and expansion to premium features.

• Surface actionable customer insights to cross-functional teams based on lifecycle engagement and churn patterns.

Measurement & Reporting

• Define lifecycle marketing KPIs and build dashboards and reports using Heap, Looker, SFDC, Segment, and other tools.

• Deliver weekly and quarterly business reviews with clear performance insights, campaign impact summaries, and data-driven recommendations for ongoing optimization.

• Translate complex data into clear storytelling that drives decisions and investments across the Growth, PLG, and Executive teams.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in lifecycle marketing, growth marketing, or customer marketing, ideally in a developer-focused SaaS, PLG, or cloud-native environment.

• Proven track record of driving measurable growth in activation, adoption, expansion, and retention metrics through lifecycle marketing programs.

• Deep understanding of developer workflows (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, GitOps, CI/CD pipelines, cloud-native architectures) and technical buying behaviors.

• Hands-on expertise with marketing automation (Marketo, MailGun), data and analytics tools (Heap, Looker, Segment), and CRM systems (SFDC).

• Strong experimentation and optimization mindset — comfortable building and running A/B tests, growth experiments, and data-driven hypothesis frameworks.

• Experience designing and executing lifecycle strategies rooted in product telemetry, customer intent data, and usage patterns.

• Collaborative, self-starter mentality — skilled at influencing cross-functional teams in fast-paced, matrixed organizations.

• Familiarity with open-source communities, developer advocacy, and OSS-led growth motions is a plus.

First 30 Days

• Gain a deep understanding of Docker’s customer lifecycle, self-service funnel, product telemetry, and growth strategy across Docker Hub, Desktop, Scout, and Model Runner.

• Meet with stakeholders across Product, PLG, Docs, Engineering, and Revenue teams to align on lifecycle goals and data capabilities.

• Audit existing lifecycle campaigns and behavioral triggers to identify key drop-off points, opportunity areas, and quick wins.

• Define initial lifecycle KPIs, onboarding benchmarks, and health score hypotheses to guide strategy development.

First 60 Days

• Launch first set of high-impact lifecycle experiments tied to onboarding and early activation, using A/B testing frameworks and product usage data.

• Partner with Product and PLG teams to map lifecycle campaigns to upcoming releases and in-product moments.

• Begin developing segmentation logic and message personalization strategies based on behavioral and intent signals.

• Align lifecycle reporting with core growth KPIs and build the foundation for a performance dashboard using Heap, Segment, and SFDC.

First 90 Days

• Deliver a quarterly lifecycle marketing plan that ladders up to monetization, activation, and expansion goals.

• Launch multichannel lifecycle journeys across email, in-product messaging, and community touchpoints for top opportunity segments.

• Build a repeatable experimentation roadmap with clear hypotheses and test prioritization logic.

• Present first quarterly results and performance narrative to executive stakeholders, highlighting wins, learnings, and optimization levers.

One-Year Milestones

• Deliver measurable increases in activation, product adoption, monetization, and retention across key product surfaces.

• Build and scale a data-driven, automated lifecycle engine that supports growth across millions of developers.

• Become a strategic partner to PLG, Product, and Revenue teams — shaping feature adoption strategy, monetization plays, and pricing motions.

• Establish Docker as a benchmark for lifecycle innovation in the PLG space, setting the foundation for scaled lifecycle investment in FY26.

Why Join Docker?

• Impact: Shape the self-service experience for millions of developers building the next generation of cloud-native and AI-driven applications.

• Innovation: Operate at the intersection of PLG, lifecycle marketing, developer tooling, and AI/ML growth trends.

• Growth: Expand your lifecycle marketing skillset at the heart of a product-led, experimentation-driven growth engine.

• Community: Be part of one of the strongest, most passionate developer communities in tech.

We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 13, 2024.

Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here.

Perks (for Full-Time Employees Only)

• Freedom & flexibility; fit your work around your life

• Designated quarterly Whaleness Days

• Home office setup; we want you comfortable while you work

• 16 weeks of paid Parental leave

• Technology stipend equivalent to $100 net/month

• PTO plan that encourages you to take time to do the things you enjoy

• Quarterly, company-wide hackathons

• Training stipend for conferences, courses and classes

• Equity; we are a growing start-up and want all employees to have a share in the success of the company

• Docker Swag

• Medical benefits, retirement and holidays vary by country

Docker embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our company will be.

Due to the remote nature of this role, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

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