Senior SEO Technical Specialist

Ascent is a leading provider of innovative financial products and student support services that enable more students to access education and achieve academic and economic success. Everything Ascent offers is designed with the best-in-class teams and technology to increase every student's ability to plan, pay, and succeed in their education and career. Ascent's planning tools and financing resources are co-created by students for those in college, graduate school, and career training programs. Ascent offers financial wellness education, student success services, and one-on-one and digital career coaching that put students' academic and professional goals within reach. Ascent has been widely recognized for its strong culture – named “Best Places to Work” by the San Diego Business Journal for the past 5 years – and as an industry leader – named “Best Student Loan” by NerdWallet for the past 3 years.

Description

Ascent is looking for a Senior SEO Technical Specialist with a passion for driving organic growth, solving technical challenges, and staying ahead of the ever-changing digital landscape. 

The ideal candidate will have 4–6+ years of hands-on SEO experience, deep technical expertise, and the ability to collaborate across teams to improve visibility, traffic, and conversions. You’ll take ownership of our SEO roadmap, manage audits, and help shape the future of our digital strategy—particularly as AI continues to evolve how people search. 

Qualities we are looking for:  

• Deeply passionate and curious about SEO, digital performance, and the evolving search landscape—including the role of AI in organic discovery 
• Strong technical skills with the ability to identify issues, develop solutions, and see them through implementation 
• Experience working cross-functionally with product, dev, analytics, and content teams to influence priorities 
• Data-obsessed and skilled in performance analysis, reporting, and drawing actionable insights 
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment 
• Proactive, curious, and always looking for opportunities to optimize site health and structure 
• An excellent communicator who can clearly explain SEO concepts to technical and non-technical audiences and advocate for the tools and resources we need in order to rank  

In this role you will: 

• Own and evolve our SEO strategy in alignment with business goals 
• Conduct in-depth site audits to identify and fix technical SEO issues 
• Optimize site architecture, page speed, crawlability, and indexing 
• Implement structured data and schema markup 
• Develop and manage SEO dashboards and monthly reporting 
• Collaborate with product, analytics, development, and marketing teams to prioritize and implement SEO-related updates 
• Monitor keyword rankings, backlinks, and competitive SEO landscape using tools like SEMrush, Moz, GA4, and Search Console 
• Guide and support link-building strategies and performance analysis 

You could be a fit if you have: 

• 4–6+ years of hands-on SEO experience, with strong technical SEO expertise 
• Deep knowledge of modern SEO tools (SEMrush, Screaming Frog, Moz, Ahrefs, GA4, GSC, etc.) 
• Proficient in technical audits, schema markup, site performance, and web architecture 
• Familiarity with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as they relate to SEO 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills 
• A track record of solving complex SEO challenges and driving measurable results 
• ​​​​​​​Curiosity about the future of SEO and how AI is reshaping search behavior 

Competitive pay with bonus, and comprehensive benefits package that includes, but not limited to:

• Compensation includes a base salary of $70,000 - $80,000 commensurate with experience, plus bonus and options.
• Company Stock Options
• 401(k) + Company Match
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Annual HSA contribution of $1,650
• Life insurance, disability, and critical illness
• 14 Paid Holidays! Eleven (11) + Two (2) Community Days + Your Birthday!
• Snacks and drinks in the office
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Generous paid leave policies
• $2,000 Vacation Incentive Plan after 3 years + $1,000 Sabbatical Day
• Wellness, Work from Home funds, and more!

Job Description Disclaimer

The Job Description serves as a general overview of the key responsibilities and requirements for the position. Please note, however, that this description may not cover all aspects of the role, and both responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Our company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability (sensory, physical, or mental), marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy extends to all areas of employment, including hiring, job assignments, compensation, promotions, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. We also provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.