Programmatic Media Specialist

Job title: Programmatic Media Specialist

Department: Marketing

Manager: Paid Media Manager

Position Summary:

As our primary Programmatic Media Specialist/ Subject Matter Expert, you will be the driving force behind our programmatic advertising capabilities and partnerships. You will own the full-cycle process, including the planning, execution, optimization, and reporting of programmatic campaigns across channels like display, native, online video (OLV), connected TV (CTV), digital out-of-home (DOOH), and audio.

This role requires a blend of hands-on platform expertise and strategic insight. You will balance the precision of campaign setup with the vision to guide targeting, creative, and measurement strategies. You will work closely with in-house Paid Media Specialists, our analytics team, partner agencies and DSPs, and creative partners to ensure campaigns meet performance goals and deliver measurable business impact for our clients.

Key Responsibilities

Campaign Strategy & Execution

• Plan, build, and manage programmatic campaigns in major DSPs such as The Trade Desk, Yahoo DSP, DV360, and others
• Act as a main point of contact for partner agencies that are running campaigns on behalf of our clients, and manage flow of deliverables and overall optimization to drive performance
• Set up PMP (private marketplace) deals, custom audiences, and retargeting strategies
• Integrate 1st- and 3rd-party audience data via onboarding partners (LiveRamp, Neustar, etc.) with both partner agencies and DSPs
• Traffic creative assets and ensure correct pixel tracking implementation
• Monitor pacing, delivery, and budget allocation daily
• Define metrics for success and optimization

Optimization & Measurement

• Optimize campaigns for performance KPIs including CTR, CPA, ROAS, viewability, and completion rates
• Plan and manage A/B testing on creative, audiences, and bidding strategies
• Collaborate with third-party tools, vendors, and our internal analytics team on advanced measurement initiatives (incrementality testing, brand lift, footfall attribution, etc.)
• Generate weekly and monthly performance reports with actionable recommendations

Collaboration & Communication

• Partner with Paid Media Specialists to translate client goals into media plans and strategies
• Partner with outside agencies/DSP partners as needed to drive performance
• Work with external creative team and with client creative teams to guide ad format selection and best practices for performance
• Communicate campaign performance and insights directly to internal teams and, occasionally, to clients

Process & Growth

• Help build SOPs for programmatic workflows both internally and with external partners
• Stay current on DSP capabilities, ad tech trends, and industry privacy changes
• Recommend new tools, partners, and tactics to enhance performance and efficiency

Skills & Qualifications:

• 2–4+ years of hands-on programmatic buying/trading experience in a DSP—experience with the Yahoo DSP is a strong plus
• Strong understanding of audience targeting, PMP/private marketplace buying, and data onboarding
• Experience with multiple ad formats: display, native, CTV, OLV, DOOH, and audio
• Proficiency in pixel implementation and troubleshooting using platforms like Google Tag Manager
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret campaign data and recommend optimizations
• Familiarity with attribution models, incrementality testing, and brand lift studies
• Excellent project management, time management, and communication skills
• Comfortable managing multiple campaigns in a fast-paced environment

Salary range: $70,000 - $90,000, depending on experience

What we offer:

• Healthy work/life balance
• A creative environment to do the best work of your career
• An amazing team of developers, designers, marketers, and project managers.
• Paid Parental Leave
• Paid vacation and sick time off
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Retirement plan with company matching

About Happy Cog:

Happy Cog is a growing interactive agency of 80+ people, all working 100% remotely.

We design, develop, and market websites and mobile apps for a wide variety of clients - everyone from small startups, to Fortune 100s. Projects we've recently worked on have included online ordering platforms for restaurants, custom content management systems for law firms, an economic mobility research platform, and many more.

We are looking for great people to join our team, so if you don't check all the boxes, but believe you can do the job, reach out and tell us why – your experience might be just what we're looking for!

Happy Cog is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, protected veteran status, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability.

We are also proud to have been on the Inc 5000 list of America's fastest growing companies for 7 years in a row! For more information go to our website: https://www.happycog.com.