Senior Creative Strategist - New York City

Ultra | Nicotine-Free Pouches for Focus & Energy · About Ultra · Ultra is already the #1 brand of nicotine-free pouches in the world and we only launched 6 months ago —we're just getting started. Our mission is to build the category-defining brand of functional pouches for peopl ...

Job description

Ultra | Nicotine-Free Pouches for Focus & Energy

About Ultra

Ultra is already the #1 brand of nicotine-free pouches in the world and we only launched 6 months ago —we're just getting started. Our mission is to build the category-defining brand of functional pouches for people who want enhanced performance without the crash, addiction, or long-term downsides. Ultra does not just make a pouch that is somewhat "better for you" than Zyn. We make functional performance products that are actively good for you.

The market shift is massive: nicotine pouch sales are up 3,000% since 2019 and projected to reach $20B by 2026. Consumers are adopting the pouch form factor at scale, and many are now seeking nicotine-free functional benefits in a pouch. Ultra is positioned to lead that wave.

Backed by some of the best investors, founders and athletes in the world, including:

• Left Lane Capital (Blank Street, Olipop, Holy)

• Sugar Capital (Grüns, Feastables, Lucky Energy)

• Athletes & Creators

  • Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Henrik Lundqvist, Jakob Chychrun + more

• Founders & Operators

  • Chad Janis (Grüns), Harpreet Singh (Oura Ring), Jeff Rader (Harry's), Vinay Menda (Blank Street), + more

Learn more:

The Role

As Senior Creative Strategist at ULTRA, you will own how ideas turn into scalable creative systems that drive growth. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, performance, and storytelling—responsible for shaping what we say, how we say it, and how it evolves based on what actually works.

You'll translate customer insight, performance data, and brand strategy into clear creative angles, narratives, and testing roadmaps across paid media, organic social, influencer, and lifecycle surfaces. You won't just generate ideas—you'll build the feedback loops that allow ULTRA's creative output to compound over time.

You'll work closely with Growth, Art Direction, Influencer, and Media Buying teams to ensure creative is distinct, on-brand, and relentlessly performance-aware. This is a role for someone who understands that great creative is both an art and a system.

What You'll Own

Creative Strategy & Angle Development

• Own the development of core creative angles, narratives, and hooks across channels.

• Translate customer insights, reviews, UGC, and cultural trends into clear creative hypotheses.

• Pressure-test messaging for clarity, believability, differentiation, and scalability.

Performance-Informed Creative Systems

• Partner closely with Growth and Media to connect performance data → creative direction.

• Build creative testing frameworks that allow rapid iteration and learning.

• Identify patterns in winning creative and codify them into repeatable playbooks.

Briefing & Creative Enablement

• Write clear, high-signal creative briefs for designers, editors, creators, and agencies.

• Ensure briefs are grounded in insight, strategy, and performance goals—not vibes.

• Act as the connective tissue between strategy and execution.

Influencer, UGC & Creator Strategy

• Shape creative direction for UGC and influencer content, including talking points, story arcs, and formats.

• Ensure creator output aligns with both brand voice and performance objectives.

• Continuously evolve creator strategy based on results and emerging formats.

Cross-Channel Creative Cohesion

• Ensure messaging and positioning stay consistent across paid, organic, lifecycle, and retail-adjacent surfaces.

• Partner with Art Direction to align narrative strategy with visual execution.

Insight Generation & Customer Understanding

• Deeply understand ULTRA's customer—why they buy, how they use the product, and what resonates emotionally and functionally.

• Use qualitative and quantitative insight to inform creative direction and experimentation.

Why You're a Fit

• You've led creative strategy for performance-driven brands, ideally in CPG, wellness, or DTC.

• You can clearly articulate why creative works—not just what looks good.

• You think in angles, narratives, and systems, not one-off ideas.

• You're comfortable living close to performance data and using it to sharpen creative direction.

• You write strong briefs and can guide creators, designers, and editors without micromanaging.

• You have taste—but you're not precious. You care about impact.

• You collaborate well with Growth, Media, and Brand, and thrive in fast-moving environments.

• You want to build something durable, not just ship ads.

Why ULTRA

• Creative actually matters here. ULTRA wins through messaging, education, and differentiation—not just spend.

• You'll shape how a category is explained. Functional pouches are still being defined, and creative strategy is central to that story.

• Real feedback loops. Your ideas will be tested fast, and you'll see what works in real time.

• Built for strategists with taste. This is a role where thinking clearly and creatively has outsized leverage.

• Portfolio-defining work. You'll help shape creative systems that scale a category-defining brand.

Equal Employer Opportunity

Ultra is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We believe in and are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, or other class protected by applicable law.

We comply with all applicable employment laws, including the NYC Fair Chance Act, and provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities and sincerely held religious beliefs.