Technical SEO Manager, The Athletic
$125-135k
Subscription-based sports content publisher
Open for applications
Subscription-based sports content publisher
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
$125-135k
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To produce smarter coverage for die-hard fans and redefine the way fans get access to sports content by flipping the normal model for sports journalism.
Role
Who you are
- Must have 4+ years of technical SEO experience
- 2+ years demonstrated experience working with product and engineering teams
- Experience managing multiple work streams
- An understanding of current technical search best practices and the implementation details to achieve them
- Experience communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and helping to weigh the impact of technical SEO work on UX and Audience
- Experience using multiple industry-leading SEO tools (Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, Botify, Ahrefs, etc.)
- Comprehension of Schema.org, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, HTTP status codes, and web standards
What the job involves
- The SEO function at The Athletic plays an essential role in reaching and growing our biggest audience channel: search
- We are seeking a Technical SEO Manager to be the dedicated search expert embedded within the Product organization, with full ownership of the technical SEO roadmap and execution
- While partnering closely with the Editorial SEO team on overall strategy, this role is responsible for improving search visibility primarily by enhancing the product’s technical capabilities and performance
- You will partner directly with engineers and product leads to ensure the latest technical SEO best practices are implemented, the site’s technical health is sound, and all product development aligns with Google’s core guidelines. Furthermore, you will analyze search performance, develop search strategies, and lead initiatives to grow search
- Influence and direct strategic search projects in partnership with the editorial SEO team, the Audience team, and the Product organization (including Product and Engineering leadership)
- Lead on analyzing SEO performance metrics, translating complex data into actionable insights and continuous strategic adjustments
- Establish the prioritization framework of SEO initiatives by evaluating potential impact and business value against the required effort to ensure focus on the highest-value work
- Oversee and conduct continuous technical audits; identifying enhancements, bugs, and fixes, and filing them in JIRA
- Ensure product compliance to web performance standards, including Core Web Vitals, Time to First Byte (TTFB), and accessibility guidelines, driving accountability across Engineering teams
- Analyze traffic abnormalities and fluctuations, providing real-time debugging, auditing, and diagnosing
- Monitor and benchmark competitors in the sports news space, looking at different technical aspects of their site for insights and inspiration
- Develop and deliver ongoing technical SEO training programs, and establish technical standards and best practices for cross-functional teams
- Maintain a strong understanding of Google's search ecosystem, proactively staying informed about the latest algorithm updates, bugs, new requirements, and features
- Build familiarity with new technologies and platforms, including AI search engines,, to inform product strategy
Our take
The Athletic provides authentic, in-depth coverage written by journalists who know the teams they write about inside out. Its model bucks the trend of traditional sports journalism outfits by asking for a subscription rather than relying on ad-revenue.
Despite initial doubts that users would be willing to pay for sports journalistic content, The Athletic has found significant success and was acquired by the New York Times in 2022. Despite it operating at a loss directly after the takeover, it was clear that the New York Times perceived this as a long-term investment.
In 2025, it was reported that The Athletic was now profitable, which aligns well with its parent's prediction of profitability within 4 years. This has been aided by accelerated customer growth alongside the rising trend of subscription-based sports news.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Jan 2020
$50m
SERIES D
May 2019
$21.8m
SERIES C
Total funding: $139.7m
Company benefits
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Parental Leave
- 401 (k)
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Free Subscription
- Competitive Health Care
- HSA & FSA
- Commuter Benefits
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Adam Hansmann
(President & Co-Founder)Previously a McKinsey Business Analyst and then Associate at Calera Capital.
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