Associate Director of Social Media

About Vale

At Vale, our goal is to make magic and bring the real benefits of matcha to a billion people. We are a group of fun-loving, matcha enthusiasts who believe that a good idea can come from anywhere. Vale is a Seattle startup making magic through cutting-edge technology, automation, and world class hospitality experiences. We are a dynamic and highly cross functional team with a wealth of experience in food service, food automation, software engineering, aerospace, and consumer electronics. We have come together to develop the Matcha experience of the future — whether that’s in a cafe, your neighborhood park, or at home.

The Opportunity

We're looking for an Associate Director of Social Media to help make Vale a brand people can't stop watching, sharing and talking about. You'll own our social presence from big picture strategy to hands on creation, content calendars, publishing and community engagement. Think bold campaigns, behind the scenes magic, cultural moments and stories that make people stop scrolling.

As social is often a customer’s first touchpoint with Vale, it’s critical that our presence sets the tone and reflects our core brand values while pushing boundaries to deliver engaging, standout content. You’ll set the vision, develop a compelling and distinctive content strategy, and continuously evolve our platform approach to make our products stand out in the algorithm. Social at Vale isn’t just about posting or conversion - it’s a creative engine that translates the brand’s personality, educates our audience, and drives awareness.

This is a high-visibility, high impact role for a confident leader with a growth mindset. The ideal candidate is imaginative, culturally fluent, organized, and analytically sharp.

About you

You are someone who is enthusiastic about matcha, obsessed with innovation, and loves being a part of a dynamic team.

- Enthusiastic about matcha. The world of matcha is huge, so you should be curious about its benefits, flavor profiles, and methods of preparation.
- Detail Oriented. Take pride in your craft and ensure Vale’s products are consistent, repeatable, and of the highest quality.
- Versatile. Bringing matcha to a billion people is dynamic work! You should be comfortable sharing your expertise in one area, but capable of owning something new in another.
- A bar raiser with proven experience. You don’t just meet the standard — you raise it. You bring deep, hands-on expertise that elevates everyone around you and sets a new benchmark for what great looks like.
- Excited to be a part of a growing team. Vale is a growing company and we want you to grow with us.
- Comfortable with ownership. You’ll own a feature from database to UI, with strong opinions about code quality and a collaborative approach to building great products.

What You'll Bring:

- 4-8 years of experience in social strategy, content, digital storytelling and community engagement
- Experience growing and managing social teams in fast-paced environments
- Understanding of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and emerging platforms - including algorithms, formats, and cultural nuance
- Strong ownership mentality and comfort navigating ambiguity in a startup environment
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally
- Curiosity, rigor, and a desire to continuously improve processes and outputs

What You'll Do:

Leadership

- Be the social expert and point of view internally for all content
- Own Vale’s content creator relationships across agencies, paid social, cafe social, and more
- Partner with leadership and all cross-functional Vale teams to ensure content supports the entire ecosystem
- Serve as the social side of Public Relations + Comms team with real-time updates, cultural reactions, and risk management

Social Strategy and Execution

- Own Vale’s social platforms end to end, including content creation, publishing, engagement, and performance
- Build scalable systems for content ideation, production, posting, and reporting
- Ensure external partners support speed and scale without diluting brand voice or quality
- Define and own Vale’s social strategy across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and emerging platforms
- Own Vale’s content pillars, creative frameworks, channel-specific tactics, and posting cadence
- Lead ideation and planning for our social calendar, balancing company-wide objectives with content that is fun, witty, educational, and culturally relevant

Bonus Points

- Proven success at a fast-paced startup
- Passion for Matcha
- Ability to work in Adobe Suite or other design and video editing software

Compensation and Benefits

- $125-145K base salary, depending on experience, plus meaningful equity in a self-funded company with minimal outside dilution. We're building for the long term, with the independence to make bold decisions, stay focused on our vision, and grow without outside investor pressure.
- Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits
- Commuter support and meaningful equity participation.
- An opportunity to earn annual bonuses
- Unlimited matcha