Category-defining tech. Career-defining work.

Lots of tech companies disrupt. But many fail when they try to scale. Were different. CockroachDB makes it easier for companies to build and scale apps. This is how and why were helping some of the most innovative companies on the planet. We tackle problems head-on and focus on solutions that create lasting impact.

Because when our customers win we all win.

The Role

Cockroach Labs is looking for a Head of Product Marketing to build and lead the PMM function during a pivotal period of growth. CockroachDB is the leading distributed SQL database trusted by OpenAI CoreWeave Netflix Roblox and DoorDash for workloads that cant go down. Weve achieved significant cost-to-serve reductions (50% TCO improvement for key workloads) and are on a path to become the cheapest database at scale while remaining the most resilient.

This is a building role not a maintaining role. Youll inherit a small capable team and be responsible for installing the operating model hiring to scale and delivering measurable impact on awareness deal velocity and win rates. Youll report to the VP of Product and operate as part of a unified Product PMM Education organization within R&D.

You Will

• Rewrite the CockroachDB narrative in customer language. Today our story is told in database terms. Youll translate it into the language of architects and CIOs: Your database will never go down. It works everywhere your customers are. And it costs less than what youre running today. Youll develop test and enforce this messaging across every channel ensuring it resonates across personas such as developers platform engineers architects and enterprise buyers and throughout the full lifecycle from evaluation through adoption to expansion.
• Win the cost narrative. CockroachDB has achieved 50% TCO reductions with more radical simplifications coming. Youll build TCO models cost-comparison tools and campaigns that give Sales a new competitive weapon against Aurora and Oracle.
• Own the AI Infrastructure Database position. OpenAI CoreWeave and other leading AI companies run on CockroachDB for mission-critical operational state. Youll develop and own the narrative that CockroachDB is the operational backbone for AI companies a genuinely differentiated story no competitor can tell.
• Make Sales unstoppable. Build concise actionable competitive enablement for Aurora Oracle and Spanner. Create vertical-specific deal accelerators. Deliver translation training that teaches AEs to sell in business language. Build POC success guides and migration risk-reduction frameworks that accelerate deal cycles.
• Activate the customer base as an awareness engine. Turn marquee logos into speaking opportunities case studies with quantified outcomes press quotes and video testimonials. One CTO on stage saying we chose CockroachDB because our old database couldnt survive a region failure is worth more than a year of blog posts.
• Drive decisions with data. Set and track success metrics such as win rates vs. competitors pipeline influenced by PMM initiatives product adoption content engagement. Use win/loss analysis competitive intelligence and attribution data to guide prioritization and measure impact. Iterate when results fall short.
• Build effective operations. Install operating rhythms launch playbooks enablement cadences and measurement systems. Define roles set priorities and create a culture of execution.
• Operate as part of a unified R&D organization. Youll report to the VP of Product and work as a genuine partner to Product Management and Education. PMM attends product planning knows the roadmap 2 quarters out and authors a so what for every feature that ships. Youll embed PMM early and continuously in the product development lifecycle and scale it as a company-wide capability not a siloed function.
• Build analyst relations over time.Analyst coverage (Gartner Forrester) is not a day-one priority but it matters for enterprise credibility. Once the PMM foundation is in place youll build this capability to secure favorable positioning in industry evaluations.

The Expectations

By 3060 days:

• Completed onboarding and immersed in CockroachDBs technology competitive landscape and current PMM assets
• Experienced the product firsthand (created clusters ran workloads)
• Launched listening tour with Sales Product Engineering and key customers
• Audited existing positioning content and sales enablement materials to identify gaps and quick wins

By 90 days:

• Completed listening tour and synthesized findings
• Published v1 competitive playbooks for Aurora Oracle and Spanner
• Delivered first translation training session to Sales team
• Established PMM operating rhythm with Product (weekly syncs launch process roadmap integration)
• Established PMM team priorities and OKRs

By 6 months:

• Launched first TCO comparison tool or cost-savings campaign
• Published 23 customer case studies with quantified outcomes (at least one with real cost savings)
• Secured 2 customer speakers for industry events in ICP verticals
• Installed standardized launch playbook used for all product releases

By 12 months:

• Measurable improvement in win rate against primary competitors (tracked via CRM and win/loss analysis)
• Measurable improvement in inbound pipeline quality and how did you hear about us attribution
• Sales satisfaction score 90% rating PMM support as valuable
• AI infrastructure positioning established with at least 2 public customer proof points
• PMM established as a trusted high-impact function across the company

You Have

Must Have

• PMM team builder. Youve scaled PMM operations from at a $50M$500M ARR enterprise infrastructure or developer tools company. You built the operating model not just inherited one.
• Enterprise infrastructure experience. Youve marketed technical products to developers architects CTOs and CIOs. Youre comfortable in the room with deeply technical buyers and can hold your own without being an engineer yourself.
• Sales enablement track record. Youve built enablement programs that Sales actually used and that measurably improved win rates or deal velocity. You understand what AEs need in the field not just what looks good in a slide deck.
• Technical-to-business translation ability. You can take a complex technical capability and express it in language that a CIO acts on. You instinctively rewrite geo-partitioned leaseholder rebalancing as your app is fast everywhere your customers are.
• Analytical rigor. You use data win/loss analysis product analytics pipeline attribution to inform strategy and measure impact. Youre not just a storyteller; you prove whats working and kill what isnt.
• Execution discipline. You ship. You prioritize ruthlessly. You know that with a small team doing 3 things well beats doing 10 things poorly. You hold yourself and your team to commitments.
• Cross-functional operating model experience. Youve operated PMM as a tightly integrated function within Product or R&D. You know how to embed PMMs in product development cycles and build joint deliverables with Education and Sales teams.

Strong Differentiators

• Economic modeling comfort. You can build or direct the creation of TCO comparison tools and cost-savings analyses. Youre not intimidated by spreadsheets pricing models or ROI calculations.
• Cloud displacement experience. Youve marketed against cloud-native default databases (Aurora DynamoDB Spanner) and know how to overcome good enough already on AWS inertia.
• Category creation experience. Youve defined or redefined a product category at a prior company not just positioned within an existing one.
• AI infrastructure market understanding. You understand what AI companies need from their infrastructure stack.
• Competitive intelligence system builder. Youve built (not just contributed to) a structured competitive intel program with win/loss cadences battlecards and sales feedback loops that measurably moved win rates.

Not Required

• Database industry experience. A strong operator can learn the distributed SQL market in 90 days. Wed rather have someone who knows how to build a PMM machine than someone who knows the database market but hasnt built a team.
• Developer relations or community marketing experience.Our GTM is sales-led into enterprises. Developer community is not the current growth engine.

The Team

Reporting to Igor Stanko VP of Product you will lead the Product Marketing team and serve as a key member of the R&D leadership group. You will work in close partnership with the CMO CRO and Product leadership to ensure tight alignment between product innovation and market execution.

Cockroach Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process please email us at .

Cockroach Labs has a hybrid work model with Roachers that are local to one of our offices coming in on Mondays Tuesdays and Thursdays and working flexibly the rest of the week. While weve learned valuable lessons working remotely nothing can replace the connection creativity and fun that occurs when Roachers get together and we are committed to fostering a workplace that encourages collaboration and allows us all to do our best work.

Benefits

• Stock Options
• Medical Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Professional Development Funds
• Flexible Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Sick Days
• Paid Parental Leave
• Retirement Benefits
• Mental Wellbeing Benefits
• And more!