Programmatic Trading Lead, Ad Operations

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Programmatic Trading Lead to spearhead our managed service programmatic business at Fanatics Advertising. This is a high-impact, highly visible role that will serve as the foundation of our growing programmatic practice. You will own the end-to-end execution and performance of Display, OLV, and CTV campaigns within our DSP, partnering closely with our Sales, Account Management, Product, and Measurement teams to deliver exceptional results for our clients.  

You will also partner closely with our Sr. Manager, Programmatic Supply to implement an advanced SPO and brand safety strategy, investing in and building direct supply partnerships that drive efficiency and quality across all programmatic investments. 

The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on trading expertise with a strong grounding in brand and upper-funnel campaign execution and understands that great programmatic execution is as much about where and how you buy as it is about what you optimize toward. This role is designed for someone who thrives as a hands-on practitioner today and is equally excited about building and mentoring a team as we scale. 

What You'll Do

Campaign Management & Execution 

• Own end-to-end setup, trafficking, and management of managed service programmatic campaigns in our DSP, spanning Display, OLV, and CTV/Video formats.
• Build and optimize campaign structures including ad groups, targeting parameters, audience segments, open exchange, private marketplace (PMP) deals, and bidding strategies.
• Monitor daily pacing and performance across all active campaigns, proactively identifying and resolving discrepancies or underperformance.
• Partner with Measurement and Supply teams to define learning opportunities and execute tests on creative, audiences, and bidding tactics to drive continuous performance improvement.

Performance & Optimization 

• Own campaign performance across a range of KPIs including viewability, completion rate, reach, frequency, CTR, and CPA while effectively balancing brand and lower-funnel objectives based on campaign goals.
• Develop and apply audience strategies using first-party and third-party data in partnership with our Measurement team.
• Lead bid strategy optimization including CPM adjustments, frequency capping, dayparting, and geo-targeting refinements with a strong emphasis on supply quality and brand safety.
• Successfully implement and invest in Fanatics Advertising’s programmatic supply strategy to garner efficiencies, build partnerships, and optimize towards performance.
• Stay current with DSP platform updates, beta features, and programmatic industry trends, recommending adoption where appropriate.

Reporting & Internal Collaboration 

• Support the delivery of regular campaign performance reports and wrap-ups, translating data into clear optimization narratives for internal stakeholders and account teams.
• Partner with Account Management and Sales teams on day-to-day campaign questions, post-campaign analyses, and ongoing performance communication.
• Contribute to QBR preparation by providing campaign insights, performance summaries, and strategic recommendations to cross-functional team members.
• Build and maintain internal reporting templates and dashboards to improve operational efficiency as the team scales.

Operations & Process Building 

• Establish and document campaign setup standards, QA checklists, naming conventions, and operational best practices.
• Collaborate with the technical/ad tech team on pixel implementation, conversion tracking, and tag management.
• Coordinate with cross-functional peers to ensure consistency in tools, platforms, and ways of working.
• Provide mentorship and training as the team scales.

What We're Looking For

• 3 - 6 years of hands-on programmatic trading and ad operations experience, with at least 2+ years of direct campaign management in a top tier DSP.
• Deep expertise in all programmatically enabled format execution across all buying methods (Open Exchange, PMP, and PG), leveraging audience targeting, measurement, and varying KPIs.
• Demonstrated experience managing campaigns with brand and upper-funnel objectives (e.g., reach, frequency, viewability, awareness), not solely performance or DR-focused.
• Strong understanding of supply strategy, inventory quality, and brand safety.  Comfortable working within defined supply constraints rather than optimizing for cheapest available inventory.
• Solid analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable optimizations and clear internal narratives.
• Experience supporting client-facing reporting and performance communication in partnership with account or client teams.
• Proficiency with ad verification tools (IAS, DoubleVerify), ad servers, and analytics platforms.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Background at a marketing technology company, agency trading desk, or retail media network.
• Familiarity with identity solutions such as UID2, LiveRamp RampID, or first-party data onboarding.
• Working knowledge of ad server platforms (e.g., Google Ad Manager) and data visualization tools (e.g., Looker, Tableau, or similar).
• Exposure to CTV/OTT ecosystem nuances including content targeting, device targeting, and completion rate optimization.
• Some prior experience mentoring junior team members or leading a small team.
• Experience in a sports, entertainment, or fan-centric media environment is a plus.

Why Join Us 

Build something meaningful: Be the architect of our programmatic practice from the ground up. 
Grow your career: a clear, supported path to managing and developing a team within 12 months. 
Work with cutting-edge tools: deep access to our DSP’s full platform capabilities including emerging CTV and identity solutions. 
Unique audiences: leverage one of the most passionate and engaged fan audiences in sports and entertainment. 
Collaborative culture: a cross-functional team of media, sales, data, and technology professionals all rowing in the same direction. 
Competitive compensation: salary, performance bonus, and benefits commensurate with experience.