Associate Director, Organic & AI Search

CACTUS is a remote-first organization and we embrace an accelerate from anywhere culture. You may be required to travel to our Mumbai office based on business requirements or for company/team events.

We are a global scientific communications and technology company serving researchers, publishers, universities, and enterprises through brands like Editage, Paperpal, Researcher.Life, and RDiscovery. As we evolve into a multi-solution research ecosystem, organic growth and discovery will be central to our global expansion. We are hiring an Associate Director to lead and scale organic acquisition across our key platforms, driving visibility and growth across all major researcher discovery channels.

This is a strategic, high-ownership role responsible for end-to-end organic growth across traditional and emerging discovery surfaces. The scope spans SEO, AI-led search (GEO), app and extension ecosystems, and global/local market optimization. You will define the vision, build the roadmap, and lead the Organic & AI Search function, working closely with Product, Engineering, Content, Brand, and regional teams to embed organic growth into GTM strategy.

• Own Cactus's Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategy ensuring Editage, Paperpal, and R Discovery are consistently cited and recommended by AI engines including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Claude.
• Architect a content and citation framework that reinforces brand authority with LLMs - structured data, entity optimization, trust signals, and a deliberate presence across sources that AI systems draw from.
• Own global SEO strategy end-to-end including among others technical health, topical authority, keyword architecture, link equity, and Core Web Vitals across all Cactus Solutions and priority geographies.
• Build compounding content strategies anchored in researcher intent - topical authority maps, content gap analysis, and editorial calendars that drive sustained organic returns, not one-off traffic spikes.
• Develop localized organic strategies for Japan, Korea and China accounting for platform-specific search dynamics (Yahoo! Japan, Naver), local academic publishing cycles, and market-specific AI behaviour.
• Drive a structured experimentation culture, running A/B and multivariate tests across landing pages, content formats, metadata, and structured data to continuously improve organic conversion rates and discoverability signals, while building a shared learnings repository that compounds value across teams.
• Lead and grow a small in-house organic search team, while also managing agency partners for specific markets.
• Serve as the internal voice of organic discovery, translating complex GEO and SEO strategy into stakeholder-ready narratives that influence roadmap, budget, and cross-functional priorities.

• 8+ years in organic search / SEO with at least 3 years in a people management role. Demonstrable experience in strategy, not just execution.
• Hands-on exposure to Generative Engine Optimization, AI content optimization, or prompt/citation engineering.
• Experience managing organic search across multiple markets and languages, with Asia-Pacific exposure strongly preferred.
• Track record of growing organic traffic and domain authority at scale with numbers to back it up.
• Proficiency with industry tools: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, and at least one ASO platform.
• Background in SaaS, EdTech, publishing, or B2C/prosumer products targeting knowledge workers or professionals.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field.

Before applying, please ensure you meet the role requirements listed above and have legal authorization to work in the country where this role is advertised. Our selection process typically involves an initial screening by a recruiter, a technical assessment, and two to three interview rounds. For this role, there will be a recruiter screening round followed by 2 technical round of interview and an HR round.

Equal Opportunity

Our hiring practices reflect our commitment to providing equal opportunities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed. We celebrate the uniqueness of our team members and prohibit discrimination of any kind, based on race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

Accelerating from Anywhere

As a remote-first organization, these are essential attributes we look for in all our candidates.

• Taking ownership of your work with minimal supervision, showing strong ability to organize, prioritize and deliver results independently.
• Documenting work that brings everyone on the same page.
• Maturity to choose between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration.
• Effectively collaborating with colleagues across different time zones by setting dedicated hours for collaboration and keeping team members updated through your MS Teams status.

Established in 2002, Cactus Communications () is a leading technology company that specializes in expert services and AI-driven products which improve how research gets funded, published, communicated, and discovered. Its flagship brand Editage offers a comprehensive suite of researcher solutions, including expert services and cutting-edge AI products like Mind the Graph, Paperpal, and R Discovery. With offices in Princeton, London, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Mumbai and a global workforce of over 3,000 experts, CACTUS is a pioneer in workplace best practices and has been consistently recognized as a great place to work.