Senior SEM Specialist
About Brkthru
Brkthru was founded with a client-centric philosophy in an industry where service is often overlooked. Our mission is to be the preferred partner of local advertisers and agencies, creating and managing successful paid digital media campaigns for local, state, regional and national brands in nearly every B2C and B2B vertical and industry. Our campaigns reach customers on digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers and digital TV. We are guided by our core values and we center them in the hiring process and our workday to build teams that exemplify Positive Attitude, Caring, Contribution, Communication, and Trust.
Why Brkthru?
The Opportunity:
The Senior SEM Specialist owns the performance of complex, high-impact paid search and YouTube campaigns and sets the standard for how SEM is executed at Brkthru. Reporting to the Account Director, this role operates as a senior individual contributor with deep platform expertise and strong ownership over campaign outcomes, and the ability to coordinate execution across AI-powered workflows and extended delivery teams. This role is responsible for driving performance through strong strategy, disciplined execution, and clear decision-making. You are expected to stay ahead of your campaigns, identify risks early, and make adjustments that improve efficiency, performance, and margin. You will also play a key role in shaping how the team approaches search. This includes evaluating new features, forming clear points of view on platform changes, testing emerging AI capabilities, and helping translate what works into repeatable practices across the team.
Responsibilities
Own SEM campaign performance and portfolio outcomes. Accountable for the performance of complex, high-investment paid search and YouTube campaigns across the portfolio. Ensure campaigns pace correctly, maintain efficiency, and deliver on performance and margin goals. This may involve executing hands-on, directing AI agent tooling, or coordinating execution across extended team resources.
Maintain performance visibility and analytical discipline. Stay ahead of campaign performance through a consistent review cadence. Leverage AI-powered tooling and platform data to surface pacing risks, efficiency gaps, and margin opportunities early. Translate those signals into clear decisions and action.
Act as SEM subject matter expert and operator. Serve as the strategic and executional SEM lead for the portfolio. Translate business goals into search strategy, and make sharp judgment calls about when to execute directly, when to deploy AI agent tooling, and when to coordinate execution across extended team resources. Deep platform expertise is non-negotiable. This position needs to be hands-on capable at all times.
Lead and coordinate extended execution resources. Oversee the work of execution partners and extended team members contributing to the portfolio. Set clear standards for quality, turnaround, and adherence to Brkthru best practices. Serve as the connective layer ensuring all work meets client expectations before it reaches the account.
Own escalation and problem resolution for SEM. Serve as the primary escalation point for complex performance issues, tracking challenges, and platform changes. Resolve issues independently. That sometimes means jumping in yourself, redirecting an AI agent workflow, or course-correcting execution resources. Escalate only when there is meaningful business risk, with clear context and a recommended path forward.
Drive testing, innovation, and active adoption of AI tooling. Evaluate and actively use AI agents connected to Google Ads to manage campaigns, surface insights, and accelerate optimization. Stress-test these tools, identify what works, and help shape what the operator role looks like at Brkthru going forward.
Your POV will influence how the broader team evolves. Contribute to platform and practice development. Stay ahead of platform changes across search and YouTube. Form clear points of view on new features, automation strategies, and emerging capabilities. Help translate what's working into repeatable practices the wider team can adopt.
Requirements
Experience: 7+ years of experience in paid search, with ownership of campaign performance across multiple accounts
Experience using AI-powered tools to improve campaign management, analysis, or operational efficiency, with the ability to evaluate outputs and maintain accountability for results
Experience managing complex campaigns with accountability for pacing, efficiency, and performance outcomes
Experience working in a performance-driven, client-facing or agency environment
Experience coordinating work across extended execution resources or distributed teams while maintaining quality and performance standards
Skills
Strong proficiency in SEM platforms (e.g., Google Ads, YouTube, SA360), including bidding strategies, campaign structure, and optimization
Ability to coordinate work across AI-enabled workflows and extended execution resources while maintaining quality, accountability, and performance standards
Ability to manage campaign performance across pacing, efficiency, and margin, and take action to improve results
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate data into clear insights and decisions
Ability to identify risks early and resolve issues with minimal oversight
Clear and direct communication skills, with the ability to share insights and recommendations with both peers and leadership
Strong attention to detail and execution accuracy across campaign setup and optimization
Preferred Experience
Experience with automation strategies (e.g., smart bidding, PMAX, scripts, AI-driven optimization)
Experience evaluating or implementing AI-powered marketing tools, agents, or workflow automation
Experience evaluating new platform features or contributing to testing frameworks
Experience mentoring or supporting junior team members
Experience contributing to process improvements or best practice development
Travel/Onsite Requirements
In-person attendance is required for all company-wide offsite meetings (typically two annually), in alignment with company policy. Additional travel may be required for team or department-specific offsites to support collaboration, knowledge sharing, and performance alignment. All travel will be covered in accordance with company expense guidelines.
Brkthru EEO Statement
We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related conditions), national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, age, family status, marital status, veteran or military status, the presence of a medical condition or physical or mental disability, height, weight, misdemeanor arrest record, genetic information, citizenship, hair (including texture or protective hairstyle), or any other characteristic protected by applicable law, and encourage all applicants to apply.