--- title: 'General Manager, Startpage at System1' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/general-manager-startpage-system1-los-angeles-5n93ja2wdf00' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-15' --- # General Manager, Startpage at System1 - **Company:** System1 - **Location:** Los Angeles, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-02-26 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/system1/c8ceb91b-a0f9-4975-a2bc-5b71b674ffeb ## Job description About Startpage: Startpage is System1's flagship privacy technology brand, serving millions of users worldwide with private search and browsing experiences built around privacy, trust, and user choice. Founded in the Netherlands and built on privacy-by-design principles, Startpage has grown into one of the world's leading privacy-focused search platforms. Today, Startpage is a profitable, scaled global consumer internet business with meaningful revenue, EBITDA, and a loyal international user base. As consumers become increasingly aware of how their data is collected and used online, Startpage is uniquely positioned to become the trusted alternative for users seeking a safer, more private web experience. The Opportunity: Search is undergoing its most significant evolution in decades. Advances in AI are changing how consumers discover information, how platforms compete for attention, and how digital businesses create value. Startpage is uniquely positioned to capitalize on these shifts as a trusted privacy-first alternative serving millions of users worldwide. We are seeking a General Manager to lead the next phase of Startpage's growth by expanding our user base, strengthening our brand, accelerating product adoption, deepening user engagement, and driving profitable growth. The successful candidate will understand how emerging technologies, including AI, are reshaping consumer behavior and will help ensure Startpage continues to innovate while remaining true to its privacy-first mission. This role is ideal for a consumer internet operator who has successfully scaled digital products through growth, product marketing, partnerships, and operational excellence. You should be equally comfortable discussing acquisition economics, retention cohorts, brand positioning, distribution strategy, monetization, and product priorities. You will operate with an owner mentality, running Startpage as a standalone business while leveraging the scale, resources, and infrastructure of System1. Core Mandate: - Accelerate global user growth, engagement, user retention, activation, and lifetime value - Strengthen Startpage's position as the leading privacy-focused search and browsing platform - Expand distribution through strategic partnerships and platform integrations - Grow revenue and profitability through disciplined product and commercial execution - Build a world-class consumer growth organization across product, marketing, analytics, and partnerships This position is an onsite role requiring you to work in our headquarters located at 4235 Redwood Ave. Los Angeles, CA  90066. Business Leadership & P&L Ownership: - Own the overall operating plan, strategy, and financial performance of Startpage. - Drive sustainable growth in users, engagement, revenue, and profitability. - Allocate resources effectively across growth functions and competing opportunities - Identify and execute new opportunities for expansion and long-term value creation. - Operate with founder-level accountability and ownership. Growth, Marketing & User Acquisition: - Own global user acquisition, activation, retention, and engagement metrics. - Lead cross-functional growth initiatives spanning product, marketing, analytics, and partnerships. - Scale acquisition channels while improving efficiency and return on investment. - Drive lifecycle marketing programs that improve retention and user lifetime value. - Build a culture of experimentation and data-driven decision making. - Expand Startpage's reach across key international markets. Product Strategy & Consumer Experience: - Define and execute the product strategy for Startpage's search and browsing experiences. - Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Design leaders to deliver compelling consumer experiences that drive acquisition, engagement, and retention. - Champion the voice of the customer across all product decisions. - Ensure product investments align with business objectives, user needs, and brand positioning. - Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends, including AI-powered search and discovery, where they can improve user experiences while preserving Startpage's privacy-first values. Search & Market Evolution: - Monitor changes in search, browsers, AI-assisted discovery, and consumer behavior. - Evaluate emerging technologies and partnerships that can strengthen Startpage's competitive position. - Help shape Startpage's long-term strategy as search and AI continue to converge. - Ensure Startpage remains relevant as the search ecosystem evolves while maintaining its commitment to privacy and transparency. Partnerships & Distribution: - Expand distribution through strategic partnerships with browsers, OEMs, publishers, privacy-focused platforms, and other ecosystem partners. - Identify, negotiate, and manage high-impact commercial relationships. - Develop new channels for user acquisition and business growth. - Strengthen Startpage's position within the broader privacy and consumer technology ecosystem. What Success Looks Like (24–36 Months): - Sustained growth in DAU, MAU, and search volume - Increased user retention and engagement - Expanded global distribution footprint - Stronger brand awareness and consideration among privacy-conscious consumers - Successful introduction and adoption of new search and discovery experiences that strengthen Startpage's competitive position in an evolving search landscape - Improved monetization and unit economics - Continued growth in revenue and EBITDA - Strengthened market position as the leading privacy-first alternative in search What You’ll Bring: Required: - 8+ years of experience building and scaling consumer internet businesses. - Experience leading growth and/or product marketing for a consumer product at scale. - Demonstrated success driving user acquisition, engagement, retention, and revenue growth. - Strong understanding of lifecycle marketing, consumer acquisition, monetization, partnerships, and brand development. - Experience managing meaningful business metrics and operating plans, ideally with direct P&L responsibility. - Ability to partner effectively across product, engineering, marketing, analytics, and commercial teams. - Strong strategic thinker with a bias toward execution and measurable results. - Passion for consumer products and delivering outstanding user experiences. Preferred: - Experience with search, browsers, consumer subscriptions, digital media, marketplaces, or other scaled consumer internet businesses. - Experience leading international consumer products. - Experience overseeing both product and growth organizations. - Familiarity with how AI is influencing consumer search, discovery, content, or digital experiences. - Interest in privacy, trust, and consumer technology. Ideal Candidate Background: Successful candidates often come from leadership roles within consumer internet businesses such as: - Search and browser platforms - Consumer subscription businesses - Digital media companies - Creator and content platforms - Privacy-focused technology companies - Consumer productivity and utility products Why This Role Is Unique: - A profitable, scaled consumer internet business with millions of users worldwide. - The opportunity to shape the future of privacy-first search as search and AI continue to evolve. - Significant autonomy and direct P&L ownership. - The resources and infrastructure of System1 combined with the agility of an independent business. What We Have To Offer: - Competitive salary + bonus + equity - Generous PTO + 11 company holidays - Open sick time - 100% covered Medical, Dental, Vision for employees - 401k with match - Health & Dependent Care Flex Spending Account - Paid professional development - Leadership & growth opportunities - Virtual company and team building events The U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is $220,000 - $300,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in U.S. role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. System1’s headquarters is located in Marina del Rey, CA with an additional office in Bellevue, WA. Employees near office locations are returning to the office. Equal Employment Opportunity: System1 provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. ## About System1 ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: System1 is an omnichannel digital marketing platform that uses AI and machine learning to monetize internet traffic by connecting advertisers with high-intent customers. - **Entity Type**: Public (NYSE: SST) - **Headquarters**: Marina del Rey, California, United States - **Founded**: 2013 - **Founders**: Michael Blend and Charles Ursini ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Digital Marketing, Advertising Technology (AdTech), Software Development, Consumer Internet - **Target customers**: B2B (advertisers and advertising partners across hundreds of verticals), B2C (consumers via owned brands like MapQuest, HowStuffWorks, Info.com, and Startpage) - **Mission or purpose statement**: System1 aims to deliver high-intent customers to advertising partners while building powerful consumer brands and developing privacy-focused products. ## Products & Services - **RAMP (Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform)**: A closed-loop digital customer acquisition platform using proprietary algorithms, intent data, and auctioning technology to enable customer acquisition at scale. - **Owned & Operated Publishing Websites**: A portfolio of brands reaching 120 million consumers each month across verticals like health, automotive, personal finance, travel, and entertainment. Key brands include MapQuest, HowStuffWorks, Info.com, and Startpage (a private search engine). - **Applications Portfolio**: A growing portfolio of mobile and web applications leveraging audience expansion capabilities. - **Privacy Products**: Development and operation of privacy-focused services, including the world’s most private search engine (Startpage) and a privacy-friendly browser (Waterfox). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: $95.3 million (as of recent data) - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $266.1 million; Q2 FY2026 (quarter ended June 30, 2026) revenue was $30.2 million. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Public company; notable partners include major digital ad networks and monetization channels (search, display, video, commerce, lead generation, subscription). - **Growth Signals**: Completed strategic acquisitions including CouponFollow (2022), InfoSpace (2016 for $45M), and Waterfox (2020). Workforce distributed across 12 countries. Recent hiring for AI-focused roles (Lead AI Product Engineer, Lead Product Manager - AI Agents) signals investment in emerging technologies. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary AI & Machine Learning Platform (RAMP)**: A differentiated, closed-loop platform that optimizes customer acquisition across hundreds of verticals and monetization channels. - **Diverse Brand Portfolio**: Ownership of well-known, high-traffic consumer brands (MapQuest, HowStuffWorks, Startpage) provides a large, direct audience and significant data assets. - **Privacy Leadership**: A strong commitment to user privacy, operating the world’s most private search engine and a privacy-friendly browser, positioning the company favorably in a privacy-conscious market. - **Omnichannel & Omnivertical Capability**: The platform integrates with every major ad network and operates across hundreds of verticals, reducing dependency on any single channel or sector. ## Strategic Focus - **AI & Emerging Products**: Actively investing in AI agents and emerging product areas, as evidenced by dedicated leadership roles (Lead AI Product Engineer, Lead Product Manager for AI Agents). - **Privacy-First Innovation**: Continuing to develop and expand privacy-focused products and services, seeing it as a core duty and market differentiator. - **Portfolio Growth & Optimization**: Managing and growing a portfolio of owned brands (publishing, search, apps) while leveraging the RAMP platform for customer acquisition. - **Talent Acquisition**: Hiring senior leadership in engineering, product management, and growth strategy to drive technical strategy and execution. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Values**: Emphasizes a growth mindset, ambitious goals, teamwork, respect, open communication, and individual responsibility. Promotes an environment where different backgrounds and points of view are valued. - **Work Environment**: Offers a mix of in-office and on-site roles (e.g., Los Angeles, CA). The company has 7 offices across the US, including locations in Marina del Rey, Bellevue, and Guelph (Canada). - **Perks & Benefits**: Great compensation, 401k with company match, excellent benefits, education subsidy, in-office events, weekly workouts, employee resource groups, volunteer opportunities, lunch & learns, access to LinkedIn Learning, monthly all-team events, team building events, and hackathons. - **Engineering Culture**: Described as having an incredible group of engineers, product managers, and data scientists. The company holds hackathons and encourages creative innovation. Recent job postings include Senior Director of Engineering – Technical Strategy & Execution. - **Growth Opportunities**: As a public company with a history of acquisitions and a focus on AI, there are opportunities to work on cutting-edge technology and be part of a growing organization. ## Sources 1. [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/system1co) 2. [system1.com/careers](https://system1.com/careers) 3. [system1.com/who-we-are](https://system1.com/who-we-are) 4. [system1.com/what-we-do](https://system1.com/what-we-do) 5. [jobs.lever.co/system1](https://jobs.lever.co/system1) ## Other roles at System1 - [Senior Media Buyer, Subscription Products](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-media-buyer-subscription-products-system1-los-angeles-s0b20h5q4vb8) — Los Angeles, CA - [Lead AI Product Engineer - AI Agents & Emerging Products](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-ai-product-engineer-ai-agents-emerging-products-system1-los-angeles-sbmgmjtm2p7e) — Los Angeles, CA - [Lead Product Manager - AI Agents & Emerging Products](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-product-manager-ai-agents-emerging-products-system1-los-angeles-tt4hzeztrvfk) — Los Angeles, CA - [Senior Growth Strategist, Startpage](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-growth-strategist-startpage-system1-los-angeles-424tb040r6e1) — Los Angeles, CA