Director, Global Demand Generation

About the Role Cognex is seeking a Director of Global Demand Generation to serve as the chief architect of our growth engine. You are a data-heavy strategist who thrives on turning complex market data into scalable execution. You will lead a 20-person global team, manage a $5M+ budget, build the blueprint for an expanded Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and Customer Marketing motion, and define a strategic roadmap for growth. What You'll Do

• Develop and "sell" the multi-year demand generation vision to the executive team and sales leadership, justifying incremental headcount and budget based on data-backed ROI projections.
• Manage a distributed 20-person team organized by region (Americas, EMEA, APAC) and two specialized Centers of Excellence (Email and Tradeshows).
• Lead the selection and implementation of our first ABM platform. Design the "Cognex ABM Playbook" to penetrate top-tier accounts and new market segments, collaborating closely with the BDR team (housed in Marketing Ops).
• Establish Customer Marketing Strategy: Build a program specifically designed to reduce churn by identifying "at-risk" behaviors through AI data mining and engaging customers with targeted value-add content.
• Maximize LTV: Design and execute cross-sell and up-sell campaigns to the existing global customer base, leveraging intent data and usage signals to identify expansion opportunities.
• Full-Funnel Optimization: Own the primary KPIs of New Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, and Sourced Bookings. You will identify friction points in the existing funnel to increase sales productivity.
• Funnel Velocity Optimization: You don't just fill the top; you continually optimize the Marketing-to-Sales handoff. This includes setting Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for lead follow-up and monitoring the "days in status" for leads to prevent pipeline stagnation.
• Market Intelligence & Positioning: Collaborating with Product Marketing to ensure global campaigns aren't just loud, but actually resonate with specific buyer personas in different regions.
• Budget Management: Oversee an initial $5M global budget across paid search, 3rd party media, and high-impact regional tradeshows, optimizing for the lowest CAC in existing core markets.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the strategic peer to the Director of Marketing Operations, Web, and Content to ensure a seamless tech stack (Salesforce/Account Engagement) and a unified brand voice. What We're Looking For
• 12+ years of B2B Demand Generation experience in a high-growth tech environment (hardware or industrial tech experience is a plus).
• The "Data-Heavy" Mindset: Expert-level ability to manipulate Salesforce data to track attribution, forecast lead volume, and prove marketing’s impact on the bottom line.
• ABM Architect: Proven track record of building ABM programs from scratch, including platform selection (6sense, Demandbase, etc.) and sales/marketing alignment.
• Change Management: Experience scaling marketing investment from low single-digits of revenue to industry benchmarks.
• Operational Excellence: Deep understanding of the Salesforce ecosystem and its integration with Account Engagement (Pardot) for global lead routing.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and strategic partnership skills. Nice to Have
• Experience building ABM programs across global regions and with BDRs/Marketing Ops; familiarity with 6sense, Demandbase; hardware or industrial tech exposure considered a plus. Compensation & Benefits
• Base salary: 175,000 USD - 245,000 USD per year. Eligible for annual bonus or sales incentive plan.
• Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with company matching; employer-paid disability, family leave, and life insurance; paid time off (holidays); optional voluntary benefits; and recognition and wellness programs.
• Hybrid work arrangement: 3 days in the office, 2 days remote.