Associate Director, SEO

Company: MindgruveMacarta
Location: San Diego
Posted on: March 27, 2026

Job Description:

We are a global digital agency comprised of strategists, creatives, media experts, data scientists, and engineers driven by one common purpose — accelerate business growth through marketing and digital transformation. Named a top 3% Google Premier Partner and recognized by Inc. 5000 and Adweek’s 75 Fastest Growing Companies, we’re constantly looking for “A” players to join our team. The rapid growth is attributed to our strongest asset — our people. Our teams are highly collaborative and work closely with each client to set clear goals and objectives so that we can deliver exceptional results. Mindgruve is a place where every opinion is valued. Not only will you be empowered to contribute ideas, but you will also play a key role in the execution and driving success for brands across a variety of industries. Sound fun? Perfect — you’ll fit right in. Mindgruve is seeking an Associate Director, SEO to help scale the quality, consistency, and impact of SEO & GEO strategy across the agency. This is a strategy-first leadership role . The Associate Director’s primary role is not to manage execution or own day-to-day production, although this will be a component. Instead, this role ensures that SEO strategy is cohesive, defensible, and outcome-driven as the team and client portfolio grow. You’ll work closely with the Director, SEO to operationalize SEO and GEO (AI-driven search) thinking into repeatable frameworks, while acting as the day-to-day strategic leader for senior SEO team members, and leading select high-value enterprise accounts. What Youll Do Here: SEO Strategy Origination & Quality Own the maintenance and review of SEO roadmaps across core accounts Collaborate with the Director of SEO on enterprise-level roadmap and strategy creation Ensure strategies are: Hypothesis-driven Prioritized around business outcomes Clear in sequencing and tradeoffs Prevent arbitrary task-based roadmaps from reaching clients Strategic Oversight & Enablement Serve as the first-line reviewer for SEO strategy before escalation Support senior SEO team members in diagnosing complex issues, planning and operationalizing solutions Maintain visibility across select SEO client accounts, without becoming the primary task execution or delivery resource Own day-to-day SEO strategy decisions across assigned accounts Escalate high-risk strategic pivots or directional changes to the Director of SEO Contribute to evolving SEO vision, while final strategic direction remains with the Director GEO / AI Search Integration Assist in evolving and operationalizing GEO into SEO strategy (content, authority, entities, editorial guidance) Translate emerging search changes into practical, client-ready strategy Assist in translating GEO research and strategy into findings, deliverables and tactics that are actionable by internal and external PR, Content, and Social teams Frameworks, Templates & IP Help translate the Director of SEO’s POV into: Strategy templates Roadmap frameworks SEO & GEO standards Support the Director with consistent adoption of new and improving processes across the team through strong ability to articulate why, what and how Partake in identifying low-impact and inefficient processes and co-designing solution Limited People Leadership Directly manage select senior SEO team members for strategy quality and prioritization Provide mentorship and strategic coaching We Need a Person With: 6-8 years of SEO experience (agency strongly preferred) Experience managing direct reports or individual contractors Demonstrated ability to design and manage cohesive SEO strategies, not just execute tasks Strong technical SEO foundation (able to evaluate, prioritize, articulate, and guide resolutions - including for complex technical scenarios) Strong content SEO foundations (has managed content-centric SEO campaigns) Experience managing off-site authority building (linkbuilding, authority building - internally or externally) Experience leading or reviewing SEO strategy across multiple accounts Comfort operating in ambiguity and creating structure Has worked adjacent to paid-media teams on accounts Experience with GEO / AI-driven search strategy is a plus Experience partnering with PR or content teams is a plus Exposure to enterprise or complex mid-market clients is a plus Compensation: Salary: $100,000 - $120,000 (Pay range is based on a market reference point and potential job offers may vary based on the skills, education, experience and geographic location of the individual candidate. The compensation range reflects base rate only.) Compensation will be commensurate with experience. Additionally, for eligible full-time employees, we offer a competitive benefits package including medical insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance; a flexible spending account; voluntary life and accident plans; and a 401(k) retirement plan with matching. We have six office locations in the US: San Diego, California, Los Angeles, California, Covington, Kentucky, Denver, Colorado, Nashville, Tennessee and Charleston, South Carolina. Were seeking local candidates (or those open to relocation) who are able to work collaboratively with us in one of our offices; however, based on business needs and unique job functions, some roles may be eligible for remote work. (Bonus points if you’re bilingual in Spanish and/or Portuguese.) Mindgruve is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Keywords: MindgruveMacarta, La Habra , Associate Director, SEO, PR / Public Relations , San Diego, California