Director of Product, Autos Advertising

Hearst • New York, NY

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

Help shape the future of automotive advertising at one of the world’s most influential media companies. Hearst Magazines is looking for a strategic, commercially minded product leader to build advertising solutions that connect automotive marketers with engaged audiences across a premium portfolio of brands, including Car and Driver, MotorTrend, Road & Track, Hot Rod, and Autoweek. This role involves collaboration with internal teams, publishers, and external clients to maximize monetization opportunities across our portfolio of sites. This individual will also serve as a strategic consultant to sales of automotive OEMs and agency partners leveraging deep expertise in automotive upfronts to shape industry-leading advertising solutions. The ideal candidate demonstrates expertise in developing monetization strategies, possesses strong leadership, excels in cross-functional coordination, and can translate market insights into impactful ad product offerings.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in product development, digital advertising, ad product strategy, or a related field, with experience in automotive media strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build, launch, and operationalize advertising products that drive revenue and meet advertiser needs.
• Deep understanding of digital advertising, ad technology, ad serving, targeting, measurement, and industry best practices.
• Strong automotive industry knowledge, including OEM priorities, agency planning cycles, automotive upfronts, and consumer shopping behaviors.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives across sales, marketing, product, technology, analytics, insights, and operations teams.
• Strong strategic thinking, project management, and data-driven decision-making skills, with the ability to turn market insights into clear product direction.
• Ability to communicate complex product, monetization, and technical strategies clearly to a wide range of stakeholders, including senior leaders and external clients.
• Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Google Analytics, SEO tools, or related digital platforms is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical, business, or related field preferred, or equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Analyze automotive market trends, competitive dynamics, and consumer shopping behaviors to provide strategic insights that inform advertiser media strategies and product development
• Lead package development during automotive upfront seasons with strategic recommendations aligned with advertiser annual planning cycles and business objectives
• Develop strategic frameworks and thought leadership on automotive advertising effectiveness, in-market targeting and measurement approaches
• Define and maintain the autos ad product roadmap with input from leadership and stakeholders.
• Evaluate and evolve offerings based on consumer shopping trends and market demand.
• Create the next generation of revenue-generating data, content, and display products for automotive OEMs.
• Have a clear and compelling vision of the future and lay out the milestones to get there.
• Identify, vet, and help choose key products and partners that meet strategic priorities.
• Oversee the development and improvement of ad operations technology for ad serving
• Own requirements and use cases for improving and unifying operations to Magazines ad operation tools
• Partner with sales, marketing, and insights teams to develop go-to-market strategies and promotional materials.
• Support the organization through team updates to ensure alignment on priorities and product requirements.
• Work with publishers on monetization strategies and product integration.
• Represent the company during client-facing meetings to present product updates and gather feedback.
• Partner closely with internal product and technology teams to address monetization needs effectively.
• Oversee end-to-end management of autos ad product initiatives, including requirement documentation and stakeholder sign-off.
• Provide site-specific monetization analysis and guidance in coordination with publisher team.
• Conduct thorough analyses of ad product performance and monetization opportunities to inform improvements.
• Develop frameworks and mechanisms for implementing enhancements that align with user behaviors and client demand.
• Measure success through adoption rates, user engagement, and revenue growth.

Benefits

• Access to innovative training programs, immersive workshops, and exclusive industry events.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance from Day 1.
• 401(k) plan with a generous company match.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director