Director, Search Engine Marketing & AI Discovery

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on include labor markets and in some instancesmay include education work experience and addition to your pay Target cares about and invests in you as a team member so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs which may include medical vision dental life insurance and more to help you and your family take care of your whole benefits for eligible team members include 401(k) employee discount short term disability long term disability paid sick leave paid national holidays and paid competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at Us

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture.Learn more about Target here.

Target Marketing is well known for inspiring and surprising guests and we pride ourselves on connecting them to the products and experiences they expect and love from Target. Westudyour guests to discover new insights and then craft every interaction to build brand equity and enterprise sales. We are marketing experts who insist on a clear and cohesive understanding of our businessobjectives guest segments and behaviors strategies and tactics overcoming obstacles and measuring for continuous improvement. Leveraging our collective assets and fostering a healthysupportiveand open team culture we deliver a holistically gratifying experience that guests can only get at Target.

A role within Targets Media & Integrated Commerce team sits at the center of growth driving profitable sales by increasing guest traffic trips and engagement across channels. The team brings Targets multichannel vision to life by connecting media merchandising and digital experiences to create seamless guest journeys. Youll lead and activate strategies that deliver both brand and performance outcomes while staying ahead of emerging platforms and AI-driven innovation. Beyond campaigns this work shapes how Target shows up across a rapidly evolving discovery and commerce ecosystem. Just as important youll help foster a culture rooted in guest and business obsession connection and continuous learning championing transparency developing talent and driving shared accountability to deliver results at scale.

As a Director Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & AI Discovery you will lead our multi-hundred-million-dollar paid search and AI-driven media portfolio and define how guests discover and engage with Target in an increasingly AI-mediated landscape. You will evolve our approach from traditional keyword- and product-based marketing to a holistic paid discovery ecosystem spanning search engines and emerging conversational and agent-driven platforms.

In this role you will architect how Target competes and wins across paid algorithmic generative and agentic marketplaces ensuring our brand is discoverable prioritized and performance-efficient for both human shoppers and machine-driven decisioning. You will lead a high-performing team and partner cross-functionally to position Target at the forefront of modern media and commerce.

Enterprise Paid Discovery Strategy
Define and execute an integrated paid search and AI discovery strategy that maximizes demand capture across engines marketplaces and AI-native surfaces. Balance short-term performance with long-term advantage in emerging auction- and recommendation-based ecosystems.

Portfolio & Investment Leadership
Oversee a multi-hundred-million-dollar media portfolio across paid search shopping and emerging AI-driven formats. Optimize investment allocation to drive trips guests revenue and incrementality while scaling new opportunities in generative and assistant-led environments.

AI-Driven Media & Auction Dynamics
Lead the evolution from keyword-based buying to signal-based AI-optimized media systems where bidding targeting and creative are increasingly automated and influenced by machine learning. Establish strategies to remain competitive as agents and assistants intermediate demand and reshape auction dynamics.

Agentic & Conversational Commerce
Shape how Target participates in agent-mediated shopping journeys ensuring paid placements product visibility and brand influence are effectively represented in conversational and assistant-driven experiences.

Platform Signal & Data Integration
Partner with Product Engineering Measurement and Data Science to strengthen the data signals feeds and measurement frameworks that power modern paid media ensuring Target is optimized for paid coverage and recommendation across AI systems.

Test-and-Learn Velocity & Media Innovation
Drive a high-velocity experimentation agenda across bidding strategies audience signals creative formats and emerging AI-native ad products. Establish rapid test cycles to capture early advantage in evolving media surfaces and formats.

Cross-Channel & Retail Media Integration
Act as a strategic connector across Marketing Digital Merchandising and Roundel to ensure a cohesive approach to paid search and AI-driven discovery and enterprise media effectiveness.

Team Leadership & Capability Building
Lead and develop a high-performing team evolving capabilities from traditional SEM execution to AI-enabled media strategy automation oversight and portfolio optimization. Provide indirect leadership across Targets global media activation and operations teams and influence evolving capabilities toward AI-enabled media strategy.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About You

• 10 years in digital or performance marketing with 5 years leading large-scale SEM or search programs within retail or high-volume B2C environments.

• Deep expertise in paid search shopping and auction-based media with a strong point of view on how AI is reshaping media buying targeting and demand capture.

• Hands-on understanding of search algorithms feed-based optimization and bid management platforms (e.g. Kenshoo Marin Google Ads SA360) with growing familiarity in AI/ML applications and automation frameworks.

• Proven track record of modernizing legacy marketing capabilities into scalable future-facing systems particularly across automation data integration and AI-enabled decisioning.

• Strong ownership of large budgets forecasting and performance measurement with the ability to connect media investment to enterprise KPIs and long-term value creation.

• Ability to distill complex evolving topics (AI search data ecosystems) into clear actionable strategies for senior leadership.

• Bachelors degree in Marketing Business or related field preferred.

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Targets needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team members core rolewill need to beperformedboth onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtuallydepending upon what your role team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location unless otherwise prescribed by Target. Clickhereif you are curious to learn more about Minnesota.

Benefits Eligibility

In compliance with state and federal laws Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please reach out to Non-accommodation-related requests such as application follow-ups or technical issues will not be addressed through this channel.