Director, Ad Operations & Technology

Director, Ad Operations & Technology
San Mateo, CA (hybrid)

We are seeking a Director of Ad Technology & Advertising Operations to lead the strategy and execution of our global advertising technology and operations ecosystem. This role will shape the future of our ad tech approach, driving the growth of programmatic and customer-focused monetization while building and scaling a high-performing global organization.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in ad tech and programmatic advertising, strong operational leadership, and the ability to partner effectively across Product, Sales, and Data within a gaming and entertainment environment. This is a unique opportunity to build a modern, user-focused advertising ecosystem at scale within one of the world’s most influential gaming and entertainment platforms, balancing innovation, premium experiences, and operational excellence.

What you’ll be doing:

Ad Technology & Platform Strategy

• Define and implement the global ad tech roadmap, including ad serving, programmatic monetization, audience targeting, measurement, and privacy-first data activation.
• Lead build vs. buy decisions, vendor selection, and platform integrations in partnership with Product and Engineering.
• Drive the evolution toward scalable, automated, and audience-based advertising solutions.

Advertising Operations & Monetization

• Own global advertising operations, including campaign execution, trafficking, yield management, forecasting, and optimization.
• Establish scalable processes, tools, and performance standards to support growth across regions, formats, and demand sources.
• Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to drive business progress while maintaining operational excellence and advertiser performance.

Audience, Data & Measurement

• Partner with data and analytics teams to develop and activate audience strategies that are ethical, measurable, and future-proof.
• Enable advanced reporting, insights, and experimentation to inform monetization and product decisions.

Leading a Distributed Team

• Build, lead, and scale a global organization of managers and individual contributors across the US, UK, and Japan.
• Set clear team charters, development paths, and performance expectations.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive culture focused on accountability, innovation, and growth.

Cross-Functional & External Leadership

• Act as a senior partner to Product, Engineering, Sales, Legal, Privacy, and Finance collaborators.
• Represent the organization with key ad tech vendors, platform partners, and industry forums.

What we’re looking for:

• 15+ years of experience in ad technology, ad operations, or digital monetization.
• Deep understanding of programmatic advertising, ad tech platforms, and yield optimization.
• Proven experience owning and evolving complex ad tech stacks.
• Experience leading global, distributed teams and managing managers.
• Strong critical thinking combined with hands-on operational execution.
• Experience in gaming, entertainment, streaming, or premium digital platforms preferred.
• Familiarity with global data privacy and advertising regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

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