The Trade Desk

Lead Principal Technical Account Manager

The Trade Desk$113K — $208K *
Technical Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years in a technical, client-facing role; management experience preferred.
  • Strong familiarity with digital advertising tech and measurement/analytics tools.
  • Proficient in SQL, web technologies/programming languages, and APIs.
  • Experience with political or advocacy advertisers is a strong plus.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, fluid environment.

Responsibilities

  • Lead technical relationships with high-tier agency and political accounts.
  • Identify business needs and growth opportunities through strategic consultations.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert in measurement strategy and reporting.
  • Build robust technical operations tailored to the demands of political advertising.
  • Mentor and manage a small team of Technical Account Managers (TAMs).

Benefits

  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage for employees and dependents.
  • 401k plan with company match for retirement benefits.
  • Tuition reimbursement for skill development.
  • Parental leave and sick time accrual.
  • Generous vacation time policy and paid holidays per year.
Full Job Description
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

The Lead Principal Technical Account Manager will lead several of our most strategic agency and political engagements while managing a small team of TAMs. This is a player-coach role: you'll own the technical relationship on high-visibility accounts while developing the people around you. This individual plays a critical role in translating company initiatives through streamlined technical operations. We are looking to hire someone who understands web technology, measurement frameworks, and emerging AI and agentic technologies, learns fast, and is not afraid of complexity. You are comfortable leading high-visibility projects, coaching a dynamic group of TAMs, and setting the standard for technical excellence across the team.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

Client & Portfolio Leadership
• Manage the post-sale technical relationship for a portfolio of top-tier agency accounts and political advertisers, participating in strategic meetings that require technical consultation.
• Know our capabilities and differentiators to identify opportunities that solve client business needs and support revenue growth.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on measurement strategy, advising partners on attribution frameworks, incrementality testing, and cross-channel reporting methodologies.
• Navigate the unique demands of political advertising - compressed election-cycle timelines, data sensitivity requirements, and rapidly shifting priorities - and build technical operations that hold up under them.
• Consult on clients' technology stacks - including data clean rooms, CDPs, and identity solutions - to identify integration opportunities and drive platform adoption.
• Ideate, scope, and program manage engineering work to facilitate custom solutions - including AI and agentic workflow solutions - scaled across the portfolio.

People & Team Leadership
• Directly mentor and manage a small team of TAMs: set goals, deliver feedback and performance reviews, and build individualized development plans.
• Coach team members on technical depth, client management, and career growth, and serve as an escalation point on their accounts.
• Lead the development of project tracking and portfolio-specific goals based on the company's vision, and define a framework for reporting progress with leadership.
• Manage product prioritization, reflecting business needs over time for TAM leadership.
• Collaborate effectively with functional leaders to solve business challenges, identify growth opportunities, and drive efficiency across the organization.

SKILLS SUMMARY:
• Proven people leader - experience managing or coaching direct reports, with the judgment to balance individual-contributor work against team responsibilities.
• Strong acumen for technical consulting and adept at influencing client technical investments that drive positive business outcomes; passion for educating, training, and bringing creativity to problem solving.
• Familiarity with agency operating models and how they evaluate and procure technology; experience with political or advocacy advertisers is a strong plus.
• Expert project/program manager responsible for setting timelines, stakeholder management, and independently driving initiatives forward - superb attention to detail is an absolute must.
• Deep curiosity and working knowledge of AI, agentic workflows, and emerging standards such as Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Superior relationship management skills with the ability to influence and advocate for your team across Commercial and Technical organizations.
• Effective decision-making that clearly defines context, stays solution-oriented, and builds advocacy with your leadership team.
• Quickly grasp new technical subjects and explain them clearly to others.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE:
• 8+ years of work experience in a technical client-facing role; people management experience is strongly preferred.
• Proficient working knowledge of Excel, Office, and Outlook is a must.
• Experience with SQL, web technologies/web programming languages, and APIs is strongly preferred; experience with AI/ML tooling or familiarity with agentic platforms is a plus.
• Demonstrable creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fluid, fast-paced environment - political clients in particular move on election-cycle timelines.
• Experience working with clients, product, and engineering teams - with the ability to break down complex concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience with digital advertising technology, agency relationships, and measurement/analytics tools (e.g., MMM, MTA, incrementality); agency and political ad tech experience is a major plus.

#LI-JS1

In accordance with various US state laws, the range provided is the Trade Desk's reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount may differ based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, and location. All employees may be eligible to become The Trade Desk shareholders through eligibility for stock-based compensation grants, which are awarded to employees based on company and individual performance. The Trade Desk also offers other compensation depending on the role such as variable compensation-based incentives and commissions. Plus, expected benefits for this role include comprehensive healthcare (medical, dental, and vision) with premiums paid in full for employees and dependents, retirement benefits such as a 401k plan and company match, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, well-being benefits, reimbursement for certain tuition expenses, parental leave, sick time of 1 hour per 30 hours worked, vacation time for full-time employees up to 120 hours thru the first year and 160 hours thereafter, and around 13 paid holidays per year. Employees can also purchase The Trade Desk stock at a discount through The Trade Desk's Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

The Trade Desk also offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn more.

Note: Interns are not eligible for variable incentive awards such as stock-based compensation, retirement plan, vacation, tuition reimbursement or parental leave

At the Trade Desk, Base Salary is one part of our competitive total compensation and benefits package and is determined using a salary range. The base salary range for this role is

$113,500-$208,100 USD

About The Trade Desk

The Trade Desk is a global advertising technology company that provides a self-service platform for buyers of digital advertising. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Ventura, California. The Trade Desk's mission is to empower buyers of advertising with the tools they need to reach their target audiences in a more efficient and effective way. The company's platform allows buyers to manage their advertising campaigns across multiple channels, including display, video, mobile, and social. The Trade Desk's technology uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to optimize ad campaigns in real-time, ensuring that buyers get the best possible return on their investment.
Learn more about The Trade Desk
Size
1,967 employees
Market Cap
$21.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$242.3 million
Founded
2009
5 Year Trend
+42.6%
Revenue
$836 million
NASDAQ

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