Experiential Marketing Manager

Second Front Systems (2F) is seeking an Experiential Marketing Manager to lead our global events program and the experiences that put our brand in front of the customers, partners, and operators who matter most. This is not a traditional field marketing job, and we don't want someone who's looking for one. Your north star is building experiences that last—the moment people are still talking about a month later, the piece of swag they actually keep on their desk instead of tossing at the airport, the image of 2F that lodges in someone's head and won't leave. That's the work. It also has to drive results. Your activations should connect to pipeline and measurable outcomes—memorability that moves the business is what we're after. We want someone who creates unforgettable moments, understands why they matter to the mission, and gives customers a reason to choose Second Front. You'll design and run the full portfolio of 2F's live presence: our annual symposium (500+ attendees), happy hours and socials, sporting and action-sports activations, executive engagements, trade shows, and large-scale booth builds. Defense tech events are a sea of sameness—pipe-and-drape booths, branded stress balls, the same hotel ballroom happy hour. We want to be the thing people talk about on the flight home. This is a builder's and an instigator's role. You bring the playbook, the vendor network, and the irreverent instinct for what cuts through—and you'll have the autonomy to run with it. Note: Candidates must reside in one of our approved hiring hubs: - DC/Maryland/Virginia - Preferred - Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC - Denver/Colorado Springs, CO - Dallas/Fort Worth, TX WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own the strategy, budget, and execution for 2F's flagship annual symposium, from concept through day-of operations and post-event measurement. - Build experiences that last. Design the highlight moments—the unexpected venue, the activation with a line around the block, the standout swag people actually keep, the stunt that earns its way onto someone's LinkedIn without us asking—that leaves a lasting impression of 2F in people's minds. - Generate fresh, counterculture, off-the-wall concepts that make 2F the standout in a crowded, conservative market—and have the rigor to pull them off. - Run our happy hours, socials, and executive dinners—the high-touch engagements where deals and partnerships actually move—and reinvent the format so they don't feel like everyone else's. - Manage sporting and action-sports activations and suite hospitality, including racing partnerships and VIP programs. - Lead trade show presence and large-scale booth activations: design direction, vendor management, logistics, staffing, and lead capture—with a creative point of view that refuses the default. - Build customer engagement programs that deepen relationships across our customer and partner base. - Partner with sales and demand gen to connect activations to pipeline and measurable outcomes. - Manage external vendors, venues, agencies, and production partners—pushing them past their comfort zone and holding them to deadlines, budgets, and our quality bar. - Bring an ecosystem-first instinct: lead with customers and partners and their wins, not with us. WHAT YOU BRING - 5+ years running experiential, events, or field marketing—ideally including large-scale (250+ people) flagship events. - A portfolio of moments people still remember—and a sense for how those moments connected back to the business. - Bold, unconventional ideas you actually shipped—not decks of concepts that died in committee. We want to see the stunt, the activation, and the moment that worked because they were different. - End-to-end ownership: strategy, budget, logistics