Associate Director, Programmatic

Darkroom•New York, NY

1d•Remote

About The Position

Darkroom is hiring an Associate Director, Programmatic to build and lead its programmatic capability within Paid Media. This foundational role expands the agency beyond its strengths in Meta and Google, developing expertise across Amazon DSP, connected TV (CTV), online video (OLV), Retail Media Networks (RMNs), display, high-impact media, and privacy-safe environments. The role leads programmatic strategy and execution for client accounts and connects media investment to business outcomes, incrementality, and budget decisions. When programmatic work is lighter or between test cycles, the position also supports hands-on Paid Social execution across Meta, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest. The Associate Director will establish the operating practices, measurement approach, partner strategy, and internal expertise needed to grow the programmatic practice. The role partners with Paid Social, Paid Search, Creative, Growth Strategy, Analytics, and the Shadow product team, and reports to the Managing Director of Paid Media. Darkroom describes itself as a remote-first agency; employees based in or near its New York or Lisbon headquarters are expected to work hybrid with weekly in-office time. The company offers unlimited PTO and U.S. holidays; company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision coverage; a 401(k) with company match and profit-sharing opportunities; flexible parental leave; and opportunities for interdisciplinary growth. The stated base salary for candidates based in New York, including New York City, is $110,000 per year, with eligibility for performance-based compensation.

Requirements

6–8+ years of programmatic media experience, preferably in a fast-paced agency or high-growth brand environment.
Deep experience with Amazon DSP.
Strong experience planning or activating CTV and OLV campaigns.
Experience with Retail Media Networks and audience-led media environments.
Hands-on Paid Social media buying experience across at least two of Meta, TikTok, Reddit, or Pinterest, including campaign execution and optimization.
Ability to build programmatic strategies tied to business outcomes, incrementality, and budget decisioning.
Strong understanding of programmatic buying models, inventory quality, audience strategy, frequency management, supply paths, brand safety, and measurement limitations.
Experience with streaming video, display, high-impact, contextual, publisher-direct, and DSP-based media.
Experience building test plans, media forecasts, budget recommendations, and client-facing measurement readouts.
Experience partnering with analytics or measurement teams on incrementality testing, lift studies, clean rooms, exposure logs, or MMM inputs.
Strong client communication skills, including the ability to explain complex programmatic concepts in plain English and make clear recommendations.
High ownership mindset and interest in building systems and a new function.
Comfort operating in a remote, fast-moving, high-accountability environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with MMM, MTA, and strong measurement points of view.
Ability to interpret incrementality test outputs, translate findings into media strategy, and obtain client buy-in.
Experience managing programmatic and paid social together on the same account, with a point of view on how the channels work together in a full-funnel strategy.
Hands-on experience across Meta, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest.

Responsibilities

Build Darkroom's programmatic media capability across Amazon DSP, CTV, OLV, RMNs, display, and high-impact media, with support from the Paid Media Managing Director.
Lead strategy, planning, activation, optimization, and measurement for programmatic campaigns across key client accounts.
Serve as the internal subject matter expert for Amazon DSP, retail media, streaming video, CTV, OLV, and programmatic buying strategy.
Develop test plans that connect programmatic investment to business outcomes rather than relying only on impressions, reach, or platform-reported conversions.
Partner with Analytics and Growth Strategy to design incrementality-minded tests, including geo holdouts, matched-market tests, exposure-log measurement, clean rooms, and lift studies.
Develop clear client-facing narratives about programmatic's role in a broader growth system.
Evaluate programmatic partners, publishers, DSPs, RMNs, and measurement vendors.
Establish programmatic best practices, SOPs, QA standards, pacing rules, and reporting expectations.
Collaborate with Creative on channel-specific requirements for video, display, high-impact, and RMN environments.
Create case studies demonstrating programmatic's incremental impact and supporting future new business.
Educate the broader Paid Media team on programmatic strategy, terminology, platform capabilities, measurement expectations, and client use cases.
Help define the long-term roadmap for the programmatic practice at Darkroom.
Work with the Shadow product team to enhance Shadow's programmatic backbone.
Manage and optimize Paid Social campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest when programmatic priorities are lighter.
Partner with Paid Social, Paid Search, Creative, Growth Strategy, and Analytics.