About Darkroom
What is Darkroom?
Darkroom (legal entity Darkroom Digital, Inc.) is a New York-based growth marketing agency for consumer brands. Its services page says "Darkroom is an enterprise marketing agency for consumer brands." and that it runs fourteen digital marketing services as one program: paid media, performance creative, TikTok Shop and Amazon management, retention marketing, AI search, growth strategy, conversion rate optimization, websites and a brand studio. Services are sold as monthly programs, for example paid media management at "Starts at $5,000/mo", and the process page says "Darkroom staffs all of those against a single retainer". The adverts say "Founded in 2017" and describe Darkroom as "a human services company powered by Shadow, a universal AI commerce layer"; the process page calls Shadow "our AI sister company". Clients named on the careers page include Olipop, TOTEME, Unilever and Amazon.
Where will I work?
The careers page names four hubs: New York ("Our Headquarters"), Lisbon ("Our European Headquarters"), São Paulo (the base in Latin America and the fastest-growing hub outside the United States) and Barcelona (the creative and design hub). It adds "Wherever you sit, you operate on EST". The adverts describe a remote-first culture: "Remote-First Culture: Many roles are fully remote. Employees based in or near our New York or Lisbon HQs are expected to work hybrid with weekly in-office time." On 6 November 2026 the Ashby board held 42 adverts: 18 listed in New York (15 hybrid, 3 remote), 13 in Brazil, 5 in Portugal, 2 in India and 1 in Egypt, all remote outside New York, plus 3 roles embedded at one client's office in the San José area. Two remote adverts state "This is a fully remote role supporting a team in the EST time zone and is open to candidates based in Brazil, Portugal, and Spain.", and seven live adverts give the hours as 9 AM to 5 PM EST, so the working day follows US East Coast time.
What is the Darkroom team like?
The adverts are direct about the culture: "Darkroom is not a typical agency." They want "A players" and say "We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership — but we also support each other relentlessly." and "We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics." The largest departments on the board are Paid Media (11 adverts), Marketing (9) and Creative (6), followed by Social Commerce, Retention, Growth and Sales, Finance and Data, People and Operations, with a small engineering and design group working on Shadow. The Chief of Staff advert says "Darkroom is a tech-enabled growth firm growing rapidly, with 150+ people and clients like Adobe, Amazon, Fanatics and Olipop." Three further adverts are for roles embedded at one client's office in the San José area. The careers page adds "We promote from within based on output." and describes team meetups across the four hubs and annual company gatherings. Seven of the 42 adverts are standing talent-pool pages rather than live vacancies ("This role is currently a Talent Pool, which means we are not actively interviewing — but plan to do so in the near future.").
Work-Life Balance
The careers page states the time-off policy in plain terms: "Unlimited PTO, with minimums". It continues "We don't track your days. Take what you need, and take at least 14 plus holidays in each Hub." and "We expect you sharp, well rested, and energized to build together." The adverts repeat it as "Unlimited PTO + US holidays: Rebooting is part of the work. Take the time you need to stay sharp." for US roles and "Unlimited PTO + Local holidays (Relevant to your hub): Rebooting is part of the work. Take the time you need to stay sharp." for hub-based roles. So the policy is unlimited, but with a stated minimum and the holidays of the hub on top; the pages do not say how requests are approved. Weigh that against the pace described in the adverts (a high bar for performance, accountability for outcomes) and the US East Coast time zone that applies to remote roles (seven live adverts, in Brazil, Egypt and New York, state 9 AM to 5 PM EST), which would mean afternoon and evening hours in local time for staff in Portugal.
Perks and Benefits
- Unlimited PTO with a stated minimum: "We don't track your days. Take what you need, and take at least 14 plus holidays in each Hub."
- Retirement and bonuses: "401k with company match and intelligent performance bonuses." (US employees)
- Health cover: "Medical, dental, and vision coverage for US employees as well."
- Parental leave: "Flexible parental leave" is listed in the adverts, with no number of weeks stated
- Team meetups across the four hubs and annual company gatherings (careers page)
- Remote-first working with hubs in New York, Lisbon, São Paulo and Barcelona
- Performance-based compensation is mentioned in some adverts