Associate Content Marketing Manager Jobs in California

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Most entry-level marketing jobs teach you how to sit in meetings. This one teaches you how attention and marketing actually works.

We’re hiring four Growth Associates - Content for Contengine AI, one for each vertical: software/apps, local businesses, creators/info products, and physical products/DTC.

You’ll start with a one-month training and trial period where you learn how to research, create, edit, post, and improve short-form content inside one vertical. If you prove you can drive output, reach, conversions, and learning speed, the path is to move into the full-time Growth Associate - Content role and eventually become Head of Growth for that vertical.

About Contengine AI

Contengine AI helps businesses grow organically with short-form content. The product learns a brand, finds winning angles, creates content that feels native to the feed, and helps turn viewers into followers and customers. We are building around a simple belief: distribution should not belong only to companies that can afford expensive ads, agencies, or full internal content teams. A new brand should have a real shot at getting its first 1,000 users, first 1,000 sales, or first 10,000 followers through organic content that actually works.

This role is not about sitting behind a screen and pretending to do marketing. It is about learning how content, attention, and growth actually work by doing the work every day.

Why you should apply

• You’ll learn modern growth by doing it. Most entry-level marketing roles keep you far away from the work that actually moves numbers. This role puts you directly inside research, hooks, content, posting, feedback, and performance.
• You’ll get a faster learning curve than a normal first job. You’ll make real content, see real numbers, get direct feedback, and improve every week.
• You’ll build a skillset that matters right now. Short-form video, content marketing, social media growth, hooks, offers, creator management, and conversion are not side skills anymore. They are how a lot of companies will grow.
• You’ll have a real promotion path. If you prove you can drive output, content quality, reach, conversions, and learning speed, the path is Growth Associate - Content → Head of Growth for a vertical.
• You’ll eventually learn to lead creators, not just make content yourself. The first phase is about learning the full machine. The next phase is turning what works into a repeatable system and managing creators under your vertical.
• You won’t be stuck doing fake marketing work. This is not a role built around meetings, reports, and pretending to be busy. The work will be visible in the content shipped and the numbers it produces.

What you’ll do

• Research: Study what is working in your vertical every day: creators, hooks, TikToks, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, comments, offers, ads, organic posts, and anything else that explains why people stop scrolling.
• Study: Break down why certain videos get reach and why others convert. You’ll learn how to spot good hooks, strong angles, clear pain points, and content styles that feel native to the market.
• Create: Turn research into short-form video ideas, content marketing angles, hooks, scripts, talking points, and simple visual plans.
• Record: Make videos yourself during the training phase. You need to understand the full process before you can eventually lead other creators.
• Edit: Edit and package your own videos at first so you understand pacing, captions, cuts, visuals, and what makes a short-form video feel finished.
• Post: Manage the accounts you’re building for your vertical and keep the output consistent.
• Track: Watch the numbers: reach, retention, engagement, clicks, conversions, follower growth, and anything else that tells us whether the content is actually working.
• Iterate: Use performance data and feedback to make the next batch better. This role rewards people who improve fast.
• Systemize: Turn what you learn into repeatable playbooks, examples, and training material for future creators.
• Lead: If you perform, the role moves toward managing creators under your vertical and eventually running growth for that vertical.

This is a high-output role. During training, you’ll research, record, edit, and ship a lot of short-form content yourself, often multiple videos per day. As you prove judgment, you’ll take on more responsibility for the accounts and the creators in your vertical.

Who we want

This is an entry-level role for someone who wants to break into content and growth fast.

You might be early in your career and trying to break into content marketing, social media, or startup growth. The exact path matters less than the traits: sharp, social, competitive, coachable, high-agency, and willing to do a lot of reps.

You might be a fit if you are:

• Social: You’re good at talking to people and you come across naturally on camera.
• Competitive: You’ve pushed yourself hard in something before: sports, school, sales, content, a job, a project, a club, events, or something you built yourself.
• Coachable: You can take direct feedback, apply it fast, and come back better the next day.
• High-agency: You figure things out without needing someone to manage every step.
• Content-aware: You already notice why certain TikToks, Reels, Shorts, or creator videos get attention and why others die.
• Fast-moving: You’re willing to do a lot of reps, move quickly, and improve based on what the numbers show.
• Clear: You can explain an idea simply without sounding stiff or scripted.
• Comfortable on camera: You do not need to be an influencer, but you do need to be willing to record yourself and get better.

What you studied matters less than your energy, communication, taste, coachability, and ability to move fast.

This probably is not for you if...

• You want a slow, predictable first job.
• You do not want to be on camera.
• You need a lot of structure before you start.
• You get defensive when someone gives direct feedback.
• You are not willing to record and edit your own content during training.
• You want a role where effort matters more than results.
• You cannot consistently meet the role’s schedule, output expectations, and in-person requirements.
• You are not in San Diego and are not willing to relocate.

One-month training and trial period

The role starts with a one-month training and trial period. We’ll teach the system, give you real reps, and look at output, speed, taste, coachability, work ethic, and how quickly you improve.

This first month can also be treated as an internship-style training period: you’ll be learning the system, doing real content work, getting direct feedback, and proving whether the full-time role is the right fit.

Successful candidates move into a full-time entry-level paid Growth Associate - Content role with a clear path to Head of Growth. We care more about performance than years of experience, and compensation can grow quickly for people who prove they can drive results.

Growth path

The path is real, but it is earned.

Promotion is based on output, content quality, reach, conversions, speed of learning, and whether you can turn what you learn into a repeatable system for other creators.

If you do that, the path is:

Growth Associate - Content → Head of Growth for a vertical

That means eventually leading the content strategy and creator program for one vertical, not just making videos yourself forever.

Location and schedule

This is a San Diego-based hybrid role. You must already be in the San Diego area. Expect to be in person about two days per week.

Compensation

This is an entry-level paid role after the one-month training and trial period. Compensation will be competitive for an entry-level role and can grow quickly for people who prove they can drive results.

How to apply

Don't overcomplicate this. The goal here is for us to see your ability to speak on camera and have a basic understanding of how short-form works. We are looking to hire over the next 1-2 weeks so just apply.

Email application@runcontengine.ai with the subject line:

Growth Associate - Content Application X [Your Name]

Include:

1. Your resume
2. A Google Drive link to a 60-second video showing one example of a time you performed at a high level

For the video: record it on your phone, with you on screen. It must include an on-screen text hook. Treat it like proper short-form content (Tik Tok, Instagram Reels, etc): hook us early, keep it clear, and try to hold our attention the entire time. Do not overproduce it.

Your example can come from sports, school, sales, content, a hard job, a club, events, a project, entrepreneurship, or something you built yourself. Pick the example that best shows your drive, taste, energy, and ability to get better fast.

Set the Google Drive link to Anyone with the link can view. Please send the link, not the video file as an attachment.

I’ll review every application myself.