S

Snap

Builds visual messaging and augmented reality tools

Head of Retail

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/24/2026
No salary listed
Expert
Beijing, China
In PersonDefault-together policy expects office work 4+ days per week.
Sales & Account ManagementAccount Management

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 12 years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years leading high-performing sales organizations, managing managers, and developing senior talent.
  • Significant experience owning complex revenue businesses and developing multi-client or multi-category growth strategies.
  • Deep understanding of China's retail, e-commerce, and omnichannel advertising ecosystem, with demonstrated experience working with large advertisers and complex decision-making structures.
  • Proven success leading full-funnel commercial planning, forecasting, and execution in a high-growth, matrixed environment.
  • Experience managing managers or leading teams across multiple job profiles and lines of business.
  • Demonstrated ability to build relationships and negotiate effectively with vice president and C-suite stakeholders.
  • Strong business judgment, strategic thinking, and ability to solve complex, ambiguous problems with limited oversight.
  • Strong cross-functional leadership and collaboration skills, with a track record of aligning teams to shared goals.
  • Solid financial acumen, including the ability to interpret performance indicators, assess risk and return, and use data to guide investment and business decisions.
  • Deep customer focus and ability to translate market, product, and client insight into actionable growth plans.
  • Ability to influence without authority across regional and global organizations, set direction, delegate effectively, and lead through others.
  • Ability to operate independently with minor oversight, navigate complexity with sound judgment and accountability, and foster collaboration, open dialogue, and urgency across teams.
  • Ability to develop talent through clear expectations, regular feedback, and coaching and growth support.
Responsibilities
  • Own the overall Retail business in China, including revenue growth, client success, organizational performance, and long-term market expansion.
  • Define China's Retail vertical strategy, including market prioritization, growth initiatives, organizational focus, and investment recommendations.
  • Lead full-funnel business strategy across multiple clients and lines of business, setting goals, shaping the approach, and overseeing execution against company priorities.
  • Influence regional and global commercial strategy by sharing market insights, identifying scalable opportunities, and advocating for China-specific priorities across cross-functional leadership teams.
  • Manage and develop a team spanning three or more job profiles by setting clear expectations, coaching regularly, and building team capability.
  • Oversee the Retail client portfolio, ensuring strong planning, disciplined execution, and alignment across internal and external stakeholders.
  • Build and maintain executive-level relationships with vice president and C-suite client stakeholders, serving as a strategic partner in high-impact discussions.
  • Partner with the Country Manager and cross-functional teams to solve complex business challenges and unlock growth opportunities.
  • Apply market knowledge, client insights, and understanding of the product roadmap to challenge assumptions and shape business strategy.
  • Promote team collaboration by surfacing risks, sharing insights, and ensuring information flows across the organization.
  • Drive accountability through clear goals, performance management, and follow-through on commitments and business outcomes.
  • Represent the company in executive forums, industry events, and strategic partnerships to strengthen its position within China's Retail ecosystem.
  • Build a high-performing Retail organization with a strong leadership pipeline and sustainable operating rhythm.
  • Work in an office at least four days per week under the company's default-together policy.

About the company

Snap builds visual communication software centered on Snapchat, where people exchange photos and videos, chat with friends, and explore creator and publisher content. Stories collect shared moments, while Discover and Spotlight organize video content for viewing beyond private conversations. Lens Studio lets developers create interactive camera effects, and the company develops augmented reality glasses through its wholly owned Specs subsidiary. Snap earns most of its revenue by selling advertising to businesses, alongside paid Snapchat+ subscriptions that add features and personalization to the app. Snap began operations in 2011 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Company Size

5,001-10,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Santa Monica, California

Founded

2011

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Revenue growth strengthens the business: Snap reported 19% higher quarterly sales of $1.599 billion in August 2026.
  • Paid personalization broadens income: Snap reports more than 25 million Snapchat+ subscribers alongside its advertising business.
  • Design engineers get direct influence: Snap's listed Core Snapchat role pitches prototypes and product ideas directly to its CEO.

What critics are saying

  • Job security weakened: Snap announced cuts affecting approximately 1,000 team members and closing 300-plus openings in April 2026.
  • Growth still leaves losses: Snap reported a $164 million quarterly net loss in August 2026, despite positive cash flow.
  • Office attendance limits flexibility: Snap's listed design role requires at least four office days weekly under its Default Together policy.

What makes Snap unique

  • Public investors lack votes: Snap's listed Class A shares carry no voting rights, unlike its privately held voting classes.
  • AR creations travel beyond Snapchat: Snap's Camera Kit distributes Lens Studio experiences to other mobile apps and websites.
  • AR optics preserve outside vision: Snap's Specs design uses see-through displays with a 51-degree field of view.

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Benefits

  • Paid maternity, paternity, and family caregiver leave
  • Adoption, surrogacy, infertility, and fertility preservation benefits
  • Backup child care coverage, caregiver assistance, and digital maternity care support
  • Short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, and AD&D insurance
  • Comprehensive medical coverage
  • Dental coverage, including orthodontia benefits
  • Vision coverage, including LASIK benefits
  • Gym perks and discounts
  • Team fitness classes, hikes, and races
  • Sports leagues
  • Cooking and nutritional workshops
  • Generous time off and leave programs

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

1%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 23rd, 2026
Meta, Barclays, Block cut thousands of jobs as firms shift spending to AI

Companies are cutting jobs and shifting money from staff to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, as the cost of meeting booming AI demand reshapes budgets. Meta will lay off about 8,000 workers, or 10% of its workforce, and leave about 6,000 jobs unfilled. It expects 2026 expenses to reach as much as $169 billion, driven by infrastructure and AI talent. Block is cutting more than 4,000 of its 10,000-plus employees; its shares are up 19% this year. Kroger will lay off 3,000 corporate staff over three years, and Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs, about 5% of its workforce. Snap is eliminating about 16% of staff, or 1,000 jobs. Coinbase is cutting about 14%, and Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 8,750 US employees.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 21st, 2026
Snap taps Robert Downey Jr. as customer chief to promote $2,195 Specs AR glasses

Snap Specs has named Robert Downey Jr. its honorary chief customer experience officer ahead of the fall launch of its $2,195 augmented reality (AR) glasses. The glasses layer apps, games, and an AI assistant over the real world. Snap did not disclose the terms of the deal. In June, tech reporter Alex Heath said Snap was in talks to pay Downey about $100 million; neither side has confirmed that figure. Snap stock fell when chief executive officer Evan Spiegel unveiled the glasses in June. It has gained almost 40% over three months, but remains 22.48% lower since the start of the year. Meta sells its own $1,299 VR glasses, though that is a VR device rather than AR glasses.

Android Headlines
Oct 20th, 2026
Snap hires iron man star Robert Downey Jr. for Specs AR glasses.

Snap hires iron man star Robert Downey Jr. for Specs AR glasses. Oct 20, 2026 Snap hired actor Robert Downey Jr. as Chief Customer Experience Officer to promote its $2,195 standalone Specs AR glasses. The campaign features hands-on video demos and TV ad spots, highlighting dual-lens spatial displays and hand-tracking controls ahead of fall shipments. Snap is bringing a familiar Hollywood face to its latest hardware push by partnering with actor Robert Downey Jr. The Marvel star has officially signed on as the honorary Chief Customer Experience Officer for Specs, Snap's new standalone augmented reality glasses that project digital graphics directly into your real-world field of view. Hands-on demos and video series. To launch the collaboration, Downey stars in a series of short video clips published across YouTube and the official Specs site. The hands-on episodes show him testing out the see-through glasses across a variety of everyday activities. The list includes aiming golf putts, following interactive painting tutorials, and streaming video content while resting in bed. In one of the promotional clips, he also dumps a box labeled "AI glasses" into a trash bin, taking a lighthearted jab at basic audio glasses on the market. Snap is taking the promotional push beyond online channels with a major television advertising rollout. Commercial spots featuring Downey are scheduled to debut during high-profile sports broadcasts, starting with the NBA tip-off matchup between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, followed by an ad placement during Game 1 of the MLB World Series. Standalone hardware features and pricing. Unlike basic smart frames that only play audio, Specs functions as a complete standalone augmented reality system. The device features built-in micro-displays inside both lenses along with full hand-tracking support. That hardware combination allows users to navigate menus and manipulate virtual screens using natural hand gestures or voice commands without needing to tether the device to a smartphone or computer. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel noted that working alongside Downey helps turn long-held concepts of wearable computing into practical consumer products. Preorders for the hardware are open now on Snap's website, starting at $2,195 for the Wi-Fi version and $2,395 for a model equipped with Verizon 5G connectivity, with shipments set to begin later this fall. Media partnerships in the spatial tech space. Alongside the celebrity endorsement campaign, Snap is expanding its software ecosystem through partnerships with major media brands like HBO and the NBA to build custom AR Lenses. While a $2,200 entry price limits the glasses to early adopters and creators, Snap is betting that true dual-lens displays offer far more real utility than basic smart glasses.

The Next Web
Oct 20th, 2026
Robert Downey Jr. joins Snap's SPECS as honorary customer experience chief.

Robert Downey Jr. joins Snap's SPECS as honorary customer experience chief. The actor who played Tony Stark will help shape apps, content and hardware for Snap's augmented reality glasses. His first project, a series of test episodes, is already out. October 20, 2026 - 8:23 pm Robert Downey Jr. has joined SPECS, Snap's augmented reality glasses business, as its honorary chief customer experience officer, Snap announced. His job is to show people what the see-through glasses can do. SPECS runs as Specs Inc., a wholly owned Snap subsidiary. Its glasses put digital content into the world around the wearer, controlled by hand and voice. Snap did not disclose the terms of the deal. "Having tested practically every wearable tech that's come to market in the last 20 years, and been largely unimpressed, I was absolutely sold on SPECS within 40 seconds," said Downey Jr. Episodes, lenses and hardware. Downey Jr. will work across the SPECS organisation, Snap said. He will explore new capabilities, shape new Lens experiences and develop original content. Lenses are the AR apps that run on the glasses. He will also work on hardware and in-person experiences. His first project launched with the announcement. It is a series of short episodes that put the glasses to the test, covering workspaces, golf, watching shows and learning artistic skills. The episodes are on the SPECS website and YouTube, and more will follow. The partnership makes its broadcast debut during the New York Knicks v Philadelphia 76ers tip-off game. Another episode will air during Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, 23 October. "It delivers on the promise of AR glasses made by a certain techno optimist superhero I portrayed," said Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark in Marvel's films. Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel said Downey Jr. had been imagining what the technology could become for nearly 20 years. "It's an honor to work with him to bring that vision to life," said Spiegel. SPECS so far. Snap launched the glasses as a consumer product in June, priced at $2,195. In early October, an investor urged Snap to raise outside capital for SPECS. Snap's second-quarter results, in August, showed its North American user numbers falling. Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 20th, 2026
Blue Duck urges Snap to seek external Specs funding, shifting $500M in annual spending

Blue Duck Capital has urged Snap's board to seek external funding for its Specs business and to separate Specs development costs from core operations. The open letter, issued on October 6, 2026, says the move would clarify the value of Snap's augmented reality platform. Blue Duck says ringfencing Specs would shift about $500 million in annual spending off the main business. That would let management focus on advertising and subscriptions. The change would mainly improve how Snap's finances look; the operating challenge stays the same. Snap faces tough competition from Meta, Alphabet, and TikTok, and an ad-heavy model that is exposed when digital budgets soften. Consensus forecasts put Snap's revenue at $8.1 billion by 2029, with earnings of $384 million, against a current loss of $409.9 million.