Brand & Communications Manager

Role Overview

We're hiring a Communications Manager to own how Serval shows up in the press, in the industry, and in the rooms where the AI agent category is being defined. This is a player-coach role: you'll do the work yourself today — creating new content concepts like research or podcasts, pitching reporters, drafting executive op-eds, shaping launch narratives, running point in a crisis — and build the comms function as we scale.

You know the reporters covering AI, enterprise software, and the future of work better than they know themselves; building real relationships with them; and turning Serval's news, customers, and POVs into stories that move the category. You'll partner with our founders on thought leadership — the kind that gets quoted, not just published — and run the announcement playbook for funding rounds, product launches, customer wins, and major hires.

You'll report to the SVP of Brand & Communications and work closely with our founders, who care deeply about how Serval is talked about. If you've been waiting for a comms role where the company actually has something to say, this is it.

Who You Are

• A reporter's comms person. You think like a journalist first — what's the story, what's new, why now — and pitch like one. You'd rather land one great feature than five recycled mentions.

• A builder. You're excited that there's no comms playbook to inherit, and you want to write the one that defines how AI infrastructure companies talk about themselves.

• Sharp on the page. You can draft a press release, an op-ed, a CEO post, and a crisis statement before lunch — and each one sounds like a different voice on purpose.

• Calm under fire. When a reporter calls at 8pm with a hard question, you know what to say, what not to say, and how to make sure the founder feels supported through it.

• Genuinely interested in AI and enterprise software. You don't need to be technical, but you should be able to read a product announcement, understand what's actually new, and know which reporters will care and why.

• A connector. You build real relationships — with reporters, analysts, customers, and inside the company — and you treat them like the long-term assets they are.

What You'll Do

• Media strategy and execution: build the target reporter list, develop relationships, and run proactive and reactive press across AI, enterprise tech, business, and trade outlets.

• Pitch and place. You'll be the one drafting the pitch or working with our agency partner to do so. You are hands-on and the agency is your force-multiplier.

• Run announcement strategy end-to-end for funding rounds, product launches, customer stories, partnerships, and major hires. Build the narrative, brief the spokespeople, line up the exclusives, and measure what landed.

• Build our founders' thought leadership. Develop POVs with them, prep them for interviews and keynotes, and make sure their public voice matches what they actually believe.

• Shape and protect Serval's reputation. Anticipate issues before they're issues, draft the response when something does come up, and serve as a steady advisor to leadership in moments that matter.

• Develop the messaging that everything else flows from — the company narrative, product positioning at the highest level, customer story templates — in close partnership with product marketing.

• Run analyst relations. Get Serval into the right conversations with Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and the new wave of independent AI analysts who actually shape buying decisions.

• Build the playbooks, processes, and agency relationships that let comms scale beyond what one person can do, and help build the team when the time is right.

• Use AI tools aggressively for research, drafting, and media monitoring — and bring a clear point of view on what they're good at and where human judgment still wins.

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years in communications, with meaningful in-house experience at a B2B software, AI, or fintech company. Agency time is valuable, but we want someone who has owned the work from the company side.

• A track record of placed stories. Tier-one features, op-eds in real outlets, launch coverage that moved the needle — we'll want to read them.

• Excellent writing across formats — press release, op-ed, executive post, internal memo, talking points, holding statement. Plain English, opinionated voice, no corporate fog.

• Sound judgment in sensitive moments. You've been through a real launch, a real reorg, or a real crisis, and you've learned from it.

• Comfort in ambiguity and a bias to ship. We don't have a 50-page comms manual; we have a market that's moving fast and a story that's worth telling.

• Fluency with modern comms, listening, and AI tools — and a clear point of view on which ones are worth the money.

• San Francisco or New York City based.

What We Offer

• Impact: Be a key player in shaping the success of our product and company.

• Growth: Build a fundamentally new AI product offering with the support of our experienced team and investors. Grow rapidly with the company.

• Culture: Join a culture that values innovation, ownership, accountability, and fun.