Locala is the world’s leading commerce media platform, leveraging consumer insights and location data to increase brand awareness, drive consumers to store, and deliver smarter business outcomes. Our proprietary technology enables local advertising and insights at scale, all while meeting the highest user privacy standards in the industry.
The Senior Programmatic Trader is responsible for driving campaign execution excellence, performance optimization, and margin efficiency across all channels.
This role acts as the central authority on trading strategy, deal structuring, and campaign performance, partnering closely with Pre-Sales, Customer Success, and Operations to ensure campaigns are executed effectively and deliver against client expectations.
While the role maintains visibility into inventory and supply, its primary focus is on how we buy, optimize, and scale media efficiently and profitably.
Your role:
1. Trading Strategy & Execution Leadership (Primary Focus)
Objective:Ensure all campaigns are executed with consistency, efficiency, and strong performance outcomes.
Responsibilities
Define and standardize trading best practices across all channels:
Display / Mobile
CTV
DOOH
Audio / OLV
Guide:
Campaign setup strategy
Budget allocation
Optimization frameworks
Ensure consistency in:
Naming conventions
Campaign structures
Targeting logic
Lead execution quality control:
Reduce setup errors
Improve campaign readiness and launch timelines
Partner with teams to ensure alignment between strategy and execution
Expected Impact
Improved campaign quality and consistency
Reduced operational errors
Faster and smoother campaign launches
2. Performance Optimization & Trading Excellence
Objective:Maximize campaign performance through continuous optimization and data-driven decision making.
Responsibilities
Monitor and analyze:
Delivery & pacing
CPMs / CPCs
Win rates
Conversion / visitation metrics
Define and implement:
Optimization frameworks
Testing strategies (A/B, formats, audiences)
Identify:
Underperforming campaigns
Optimization opportunities
Provide clear recommendations to trading teams
Lead post-campaign analysis to inform future strategy
Expected Impact
Improved campaign performance
Stronger optimization culture
Better use of data in decision-making
3. Margin Management & Buying Efficiency
This is critical based on your org shift.
Objective: Ensure campaigns are executed in a way that protects and improves margin.
Responsibilities
Partner with Pre-Sales on:
Deal structuring
Media mix optimization
Monitor:
Cost vs. sell price
Margin performance by campaign / channel
Identify:
Inefficiencies in buying strategy
Opportunities to improve margin through optimization
Support teams in:
Adjusting inventory mix
Improving cost efficiency
Flag risks early:
Underperforming or low-margin campaigns
Expected Impact
Stronger margin performance
Better alignment between trading and commercial strategy
4. Deal Strategy & DSP / SSP Execution (Deal ID Ownership)
Objective:Ensure all deal-based and standalone campaigns are structured and executed effectively.
Responsibilities
Own Deal ID strategy and implementation:
Define deal structures
Select appropriate inventory
Align with campaign objectives
Oversee:
PMP / PG / Open Exchange strategies
Troubleshoot:
No-bid issues
Underpacing
Access / targeting conflicts
Work directly with SSPs / DSP partners to:
Resolve delivery issues
Optimize deal performance
Monitor:
Deal-level performance
Win rates and delivery
Expected Impact
More efficient deal execution
Improved delivery and performance
Reduced campaign risk
5. Trading Analytics & Insights
Objective:Turn campaign data into actionable insights to improve performance and strategy.
Responsibilities
Build and maintain trading performance dashboards (DV360, Fusio, etc.)
Analyze:
Publisher performance
Channel performance
Spend allocation trends
Provide:
Weekly / monthly trading insights
Identify:
Performance trends
Optimization opportunities
Support:
PCA / Tier 1 client insights
Expected Impact
Data-driven trading decisions
Improved visibility into performance
6. Cross-Functional Partnership
Objective:Ensure strong alignment across teams to improve campaign outcomes.
Responsibilities
Partner with:
Pre-Sales → Feasibility, media strategy alignment
Customer Success → Performance insights, client needs
Operations → Process and execution improvements
Act as:
Go-to resource for trading-related questions
Support:
Complex / Tier 1 campaigns
7. Inventory Strategy & Supply Collaboration (≈20%)
Objective: Support trading performance through smart inventory selection and supply collaboration.
Responsibilities
Maintain visibility into:
Key supply partners (SSPs, publishers)
Inventory performance trends
Collaborate with supply partners to:
Unlock better rates or access when needed
Support:
Inventory selection for campaigns
Provide input on:
Premium vs. scalable inventory
Share inventory insights with internal teams
Expected Impact
Better-informed inventory decisions
Improved cost efficiency
Stronger collaboration with supply partners
Your profile:
6-10 years in programmatic advertising with 2+ years in a senior or architect-style role managing large, Tier 1 accounts
Strong experience with DSPs such as DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP, or Xandr
Solid understanding of campaign trafficking, ad operations, optimization, and troubleshooting
Strong knowledge of publisher landscape is a plus
Solid understanding of third party measuring tools (IAS, Doubleverify) is a plus
Nice to Have / Differentiators
Experience managing Tier 1 or complex, multi-market campaigns
Strong understanding of inventory, supply dynamics, and buying strategies
Ability to collaborate with external partners (DSPs, SSPs, publishers) to resolve issues and improve performance
Experience balancing performance with cost efficiency or margin considerations
In addition to an engaging company culture, a remote-first work environment and training & development, future Localers can expect a competitive benefits package that includes:
Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance - 100% paid for the employee-only, 80% for dependents
401k with Company Match
Paid Parental Leave
Paid Vacation, Sick Time & Holidays
Base Compensation for this role is $110,000-$120,000 with up to $10,000 in bonuses
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