The Impact You'll Make:Upside's referral program is one of its highest-performing growth engines - referred users convert to first transaction at double the rate of paid and organic channels, carry meaningfully higher LTV, and account for a significant share of overall revenue. We are searching for a dedicated commercial owner leading the program to its full potential.
As a Commercial Lead, Referrals, you will own the end-to-end performance of the referrals channel - from strategy and incentive design through lifecycle activation, conversion optimization, and measurement. You will work closely with the Referrals Product Lead (PM) to shape the product roadmap and serve as the commercial and go-to-market counterpart: setting targets, prioritizing the highest-impact moments, and building the always-on system that keeps the referral flywheel turning.
What You'll Do:- Grow referrals as a share of total acquired new users - set the annual target, track weekly, and intervene when off-pace.
- Drive referred-user conversion: referral signup → first transaction → M1-M3 retention. Own the full funnel, not just top-of-funnel volume.
- Build and operate a cohesive, behavior-triggered referral engine - replacing one-off campaigns with an always-on lifecycle system that activates users at high-intent moments (first cash out, 3rd reconcile, heavy-active milestone, etc.).
- Define and execute incentive strategy: test and optimize referral bonus constructs by segment, balancing conversion rates against cost-per-acquired-user.
- Partner with the Referrals PM to shape the product roadmap - you set commercial requirements; they build the mechanics. Align on experiment prioritization, feature launches, and measurement.
- Unlock the never-referrer segment (the majority of the active base): develop and iterate on strategies to get users from 0 → 1 referral, with a clear path to repeat advocacy.
- Define success metrics, own the dashboard, and report progress to consumer growth leadership and company executives.
Competencies You'll Need:- 7+ years in growth, commercial, or consumer product marketing roles, with a track record of owning acquisition, engagement, or retention KPIs end-to-end.
- Deep experience partnering with product and CRM teams to design and optimize behavior-triggered growth programs across email, push, and in-app messaging in a consumer product environment, ideally in membership, loyalty, or other repeat-engagement businesses.
- Strong analytical ability: comfortable in Looker or similar BI tools, fluent in conversion funnel analysis, and experienced designing and interpreting A/B experiments.
- Experience collaborating tightly with product managers - you know how to write commercial requirements, participate in sprint reviews, and influence roadmap decisions without owning eng resources directly.
- Demonstrated ability to work across functions (product, engineering, creative, finance, legal) to ship programs on time.
- Clear, direct communicator - you can write a crisp exec summary and present tradeoffs to senior leadership without a handler.
- Direct ownership of a referral or word-of-mouth growth program in a consumer app, with a strong understanding of referral mechanics, fraud considerations, and the incentive design tradeoffs that drive sustainable performance preferred.
- Familiarity with PLG principles or viral loop design is a plus, especially if applied in consumer products to increase user-driven acquisition.
- Experience in consumer fintech, cashback, loyalty, or similarly economics-driven consumer businesses is strongly preferred.
The fine print:Location: This hybrid role is based in our Austin, Chicago, DC, or NYC office. In-office attendance is required on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and may increase based on project-based needs and changes to Upside's in-office policy over time.
Compensation: The U.S. base salary range for this full-time position varies by work location:
- Tier 1: NYC $190,000 - $212,000
- Tier 2: Austin, Chicago, Washington, DC $170,000 - $192,000
In addition to base salary, this position is also eligible for equity and benefits.
The final starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
#LI-Hybrid
#LI-CO1
Benefits:- Medical, dental, and vision coverage starting on Day 1
- Equity (ISOs)
- 401(k) program
- Family planning programs + paid parental leave
- Physical fitness and wellness memberships
- Emotional and mental health support programs
- Unlimited PTO + 10 paid federal holidays + our annual, week-long Winter Break
- Flexible work environment
- Lunch reimbursement for in-office employees
- Employee Resource Groups
- Learning and Development stipend
- Transparent culture
- Amazing mission!
