Director, Communications

Job description

ABOUT CARDLESS Cardless is a Series C consumer fintech that uses AI to make it easy for the world's largest brands to build credit cards into their ecosystems. Think Shopify, but for credit cards. Brands use Cardless to configure, launch, and grow credit card programs that delight their customers and strengthen their core business. Customers include Coinbase, Bilt Rewards, Alibaba, Qatar Airways, and LATAM Airlines. Cardless powers cards on all three major networks (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) and uses agentic servicing to operate at a fraction of the headcount and cost that traditional card issuers require. The company has scaled from $10 million to $150 million in run rate revenue in the past 12 months. Cardless raised a $60 million Series C led by Spark Capital in September 2025, bringing total funding past $170 million. The team is past 70 people and scaling toward profitability by year-end 2026. ABOUT THE ROLE Cardless doesn't just need people who believe in the story — it needs people outside the company writing about it, sharing it, and validating it before a prospect ever gets on a call with us. Every piece of earned coverage, every executive interview, every well-timed partner announcement does something paid marketing can't: it tells the market that people other than Cardless think this is worth paying attention to. This role is the person who builds that credibility deliberately, rather than hoping it happens. As Director of Communications, you will own Cardless's public relations function — building and running the press, media, and executive visibility strategy that gets Cardless, and the partners who trust it, covered accurately and credibly. You'll pitch journalists, draft releases, and line up the interviews and speaking opportunities that put Cardless leadership in front of the right audiences. You will work closely with Product Marketing so the story you're telling the press is the same one showing up on the website and in the sales deck, and with Business Development and Account Management so partner launches land publicly the way they were promised to land privately. This role reports to the Chief Business Officer. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role: you pitch the press yourself, you write the releases yourself, and you build and maintain your own relationships with the reporters and outlets who cover fintech, payments, and the brands Cardless partners with. You will be evaluated on the quality, frequency, and accuracy of the coverage you generate, and on how well partner and company milestones land publicly when they matter. WHAT YOU WILL DO Build and Maintain Press Relationships - Build and maintain relationships with the reporters, editors, and outlets who cover fintech, payments, and the consumer brands Cardless partners with — before you need something from them, not just when a launch is imminent. - Understand each outlet's beat and angle well enough to pitch stories they'll actually want, instead of sending the same release to everyone on a list. - Track the trade and business press landscape closely enough to know who's writing about card programs, co-brand partnerships, and embedded finance right now. - Represent Cardless credibly in direct conversations with press — on background, on the record, and everything in between. Drive Executive Visibility - Identify and pursue the interviews, bylines, panels, and speaking opportunities that put Cardless leadership in front of the audiences that matter. - Prepare executives for press interactions — talking points, likely questions, and the version of the story that's true and compelling at the same time. - Build a cadence of thought leadership that reinforces Cardless's positioning over time, rather than one-off appearances with no throughline. - Work with Product Marketing to make sure what executives say publicly matches what the company says everywhere else. Land Partner and Launch Announcements - Plan and execute PR around new brand partnerships going live — Coinbase, Bilt, and whoever's next — including joint announcements co-owned with the partner's own communications team. - Navigate partner comms approval processes so joint announcements land on time, accurately, and in a way both companies are comfortable with. - Turn each partner launch into a press moment that reinforces Cardless's broader market narrative, not just a standalone announcement. - Coordinate timing across press, product, and partnerships so a launch lands as one coherent moment instead of a scattered series of updates. Own PR Operations and Reporting - Draft and manage press releases, media kits, and briefing documents, keeping them accurate and current as the company and product evolve. - Track coverage and the quality of placements — not just volume — and report honestly on what's working and what isn't. - Maintain your own media list and outreach systems so relationship-building is repeatable, not dependent on memory. - Flag reputational risks or brewing negative coverage early, and work with leadership on how to respond before it becomes a bigger problem. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR - Media Relationships: You already have real relationships with reporters and editors who cover fintech, payments, or the consumer brand space — not a list of names, but people who take your calls. - News Judgment: You know what's actually a story and what isn't, and you can shape a company update into something a reporter wants to write. - Executive Prep: You can sit with an executive before a big interview and make them sound sharper and more confident than they would on their own. - Writing: You write clean, fast, accurate press materials — releases, statements, talking points — without needing multiple rounds of rewrites. - Cross-Functional Coordination: You can run a joint announcement with a partner's comms team, and with Cardless's own product and partnerships teams, without dropping a detail or missing a deadline. - Composure Under Pressure: You stay level-headed and clear-eyed when a story isn't going the way anyone wanted, and you respond rather than react. THIS ROLE IS NOT A FIT IF - You want to direct an agency rather than do the pitching, writing, and relationship-building yourself — this role is hands-on, not managerial. - You think of PR as something that happens after the news is made — this role needs to be shaping how and when news happens in the first place. - You're only comfortable with planned, scripted moments — a real week here includes coverage you didn't ask for and have to respond to quickly. - You want PR and product marketing to operate independently — this role needs to be in lockstep with Product Marketing so the public story matches the sales story. - You're uncomfortable being the person who tells an excited internal team a launch isn't ready for press yet — sometimes the job is holding the line on timing. COMPENSATION This role has an annual starting salary range of $175,000–$220,000 + equity + benefits. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location. BENEFITS We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits: 💸 Meaningful Start-up equity 🏥 100% health, vision & dental primary coverage ➕ 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage 🍱 Catered lunches 🚎 $250/month Commuter benefit 👶 Parental leave ✈️ Team building events & happy hours 🌴 Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year 🖥️ Apple equipment 💸 401k plan LOCATION We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in Jackson Square. This role is in-office 5 days a week.