Building a User Acquisition Team: Structure and Skills

My first UA hire was a disaster. Great resume. Impressive track record. Interviewed brilliantly. But he'd only ever run campaigns at a company spending $50M a year with a team of 20. At our startup, with a $30K monthly budget and exactly zero support, he was completely lost.

That experience taught me something crucial: the right UA team depends entirely on where you are. A structure that works at scale will crush an early-stage company. And the generalist who thrives at a startup will drown at an enterprise.

Here's what I've learned about building UA teams at every stage—from scrappy startup to eight-figure budgets.

Team Structure by Stage

Early Stage (1-3 people)

• UA Generalist: Runs campaigns across all channels
• Key skills: Platform expertise, basic analytics, creative sense
• Focus: Finding product-market fit for UA

Growth Stage (4-8 people)

• UA Manager: Strategy and team leadership
• Channel Specialists: Meta, Google, programmatic
• Creative Producer: Ad creative production
• Analytics: Attribution and optimization

Core Roles

UA Manager

• Campaign strategy and execution
• Budget allocation and optimization
• Partner and vendor management
• Performance reporting

Creative Strategist

• Ad creative concepting
• Creative testing frameworks
• Trend analysis and ideation
• Production coordination

Growth Analyst

• LTV modeling and prediction
• Attribution analysis
• A/B test design and analysis
• Dashboard and reporting

"The best UA teams combine channel expertise with strong analytics capabilities. You can't optimize what you can't measure accurately."

Key Skills to Hire For

Technical Skills

• Platform certifications (Meta Blueprint, Google Ads)
• MMP familiarity (Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch)
• SQL for data analysis
• Excel/Sheets mastery

Soft Skills

• Analytical thinking
• Curiosity and testing mindset
• Attention to detail
• Cross-functional communication

Processes That Scale

Daily Operations

• Morning performance checks
• Budget pacing reviews
• Anomaly detection and response

Weekly Cadence

• Performance reviews with stakeholders
• Creative pipeline review
• Channel optimization planning

Monthly Activities

• Strategy review and planning
• Budget reallocation
• Partner performance evaluation

Common Mistakes

• Hiring channel specialists before generalists
• Underinvesting in analytics capabilities
• Separating UA from product/retention
• No creative testing process
• Over-reliance on agencies

Building a UA team is an iterative process. Start lean, hire for potential, and continuously refine your structure as your spending and complexity grow.