AdTech & Programmatic Lead (Berlin, or remote - London, Prague, Barcelona)

We’re entering an exciting new chapter — scaling our advertising business, expanding programmatic partnerships, and building the technical infrastructure to connect the world’s top travel brands with our global audience. We’re looking for an AdTech & Programmatic Lead to be the technical backbone of that growth. This is a strategic, hands-on AdTech position for someone who understands the programmatic ecosystem from the inside — how auctions work, how to interrogate a supply partner’s value proposition, how to configure and debug ad delivery at the code level, and how to architect a yield strategy that scales. You’ll own Rome2Rio’s full ad tech stack — both the operational infrastructure and the programmatic layer.

Responsibilities

Evaluate and qualify demand partners — assess the uniqueness of their demand, scrutinise their tech stack and data signals, and make recommendations on whom to contract and on what terms; Own the end-to-end programmatic deal pipeline — from initial partner conversations through contract, technical integration, and ongoing optimisation; Lead header bidding strategy — determine the right wrapper solution for Rome2Rio’s needs, manage Prebid.js configuration, and evaluate competing HB partners on technical merit and yield; Design and run price floor testing — set, iterate, and analyse floor strategies across open auction and PMP channels to maximise net revenue without sacrificing fill; Manage SSP and DSP relationships — hold partners accountable to performance, push back on black-box reporting, and ensure Rome2Rio is getting fair value from each integration; Work directly with HTML/JS ad templates — modifying, debugging, and extending ad unit implementations to ensure creative renders correctly across placements and devices; Own the ad tag layer — audit and adjust ad calls, diagnose low viewability issues at the slot level, and recommend implementation changes to improve performance (e.g. lazy loading, slot positioning, refresh logic); Manage GAM configuration end-to-end — line item architecture, key-value targeting, creative trafficking, and ad unit hierarchy — with a view to scalability, not just execution; Lead QA on ad delivery — validate that demand partners are rendering as expected, troubleshoot creative discrepancies, and own the relationship between implementation and revenue outcome; Monitor and analyse auction dynamics across demand partners — identifying inefficiencies, cannibalism, and opportunities to improve overall yield; Develop a coherent auction strategy as new demand sources come online, including direct programmatic partnerships; Track programmatic performance at the partner, placement, and deal level — and translate data into clear recommendations for leadership; Advise on tooling decisions (e.g. header bidding wrappers, floor management platforms, ad quality vendors) with a view to long-term scalability; Work closely with product and engineering on ad slot implementation — contributing technical requirements and reviewing changes that affect ad delivery; Partner with sales and campaign management on direct deals — ensuring the programmatic and direct stacks don’t conflict, and advising on feasibility of custom executions; Act as the internal authority on all things AdTech — capable of explaining auction mechanics, bid landscape dynamics, and implementation trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Requirements

5–8 years of experience in programmatic, AdTech, or publisher-side ad operations — with a strong focus on the technical and strategic, not just campaign execution; Hands-on experience with header bidding (Prebid.js strongly preferred) — you’ve configured adapters, debugged auction logs, and made informed decisions about wrapper architecture; Ad implementation experience — comfortable reading and modifying HTML/JavaScript ad templates, adjusting ad calls, and diagnosing creative or delivery issues at the code level; Deep understanding of the programmatic supply chain — how SSPs, DSPs, ad exchanges, and data layers interact, and how to assess whether a partner brings genuine incremental value; Experience with price floor strategy — you’ve designed and run floor tests, understand the trade-offs, and can interpret the results; Strong analytical skills — fluent in auction-level data, comfortable with GAM reporting, and able to build or interpret dashboards that surface revenue insights; Google Ad Manager (GAM/DFP) expertise — including advanced targeting, line item architecture, and programmatic deal setup.

Nice to have

Experience working at or with an SSP, DSP, or ad exchange — you understand the buy side as well as the sell side; Familiarity with ad quality and brand safety tooling (e.g. DoubleVerify, IAS, Confiant); Exposure to ad trafficking automation or outsourced trafficking models — you know when to build vs. buy vs. delegate; Experience in travel, comparison, or content-at-scale publishing environments.

Benefits

Build & Shape; Culture-First; Career Growth; Flexibility & Trust; Explore Fund