The Trade Desk is a global technology company with a mission to create a better, more open internet for everyone through principled, intelligent advertising. Handling over 1 trillion queries per day, our platform operates at an unprecedented scale. We have also built something even stronger and more valuable: an award-winning culture based on trust, ownership, empathy, and collaboration. We value the unique experiences and perspectives that each person brings to The Trade Desk, and we are committed to fostering inclusive spaces where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work every day.
Do you have a passion for solving hard problems at scale? Are you eager to join a dynamic, globally- connected team where your contributions will make a meaningful difference in building a better media ecosystem? Come and see why Fortune magazine consistently ranks The Trade Desk among the best small- to medium-sized workplaces globally.
About the Role:
As a Senior Manager, Software Engineering at The Trade Desk, you will lead globally distributed engineering teams building andoperatinglarge-scale,highly availablesystems. You will set direction,establishstrong operating mechanisms, andmaintaina high bar for engineering excellence,balancing execution speed with reliability, quality, and long-term maintainability.You'llwork closely with cross-functional partners to deliver meaningful business outcomes while growing leaders and strengthening team culture.
What we do:
We trust our engineering managers to grow, empower, and support our greatest asset,our people. At The Trade Desk, every opportunity to engage internal and external stakeholders is unique.
In this role, you will manage teams responsible for developing custom solutions and strategic integrations for our major clients. You will partner across Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Technical Account Management to incorporate stakeholder needs and drive strategic outcomes. Your teams will shape their charter in alignment with the business pipeline, supporting some of our largest and most impactful client opportunities.
Our system performs every day, 24/7, serving global traffic.It'simportant that we focus on quality at scale in an agile environment based on collaboration, ownership, and trust. Our engineering managers are there to build trust with our talented engineers, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and ensure they are motivated and productive, while having fun and enjoying every day.
What you will do:
Own end-to-end delivery of complex initiativeswithambiguous requirements, align stakeholders, and driveexecution to measurable outcomes.
Lead and develop multiple teams across regions (including people leaders and senior technical leaders), build a culture ofhigh standards, ownership, and continuous improvement.
Define and execute the technical vision and strategy for yourarea,balancenear-term delivery with reusable foundations and long-term platform leverage.
Make portfolio-level decisions on what to build, what to standardize, and what todecline,ensurecapacity is aligned to the highest-impact work.
Drive architectural direction and quality at scale through reference architectures, integration patterns, data contracts, andappropriate security/privacyguardrails.
Establish clear operating mechanisms for intake and prioritization,deliverygovernance, escalation paths, postmortems, and support models for production systems.
Partner effectively across Product, Solution Consulting, Technical Account Management, Business Development, Data Science, and platform engineering to align roadmaps, manage expectations, and resolve escalations.
Define success metrics and instrumentation to measure quality and business impact (e.g., adoption/usage, reliability, support load, and stakeholder outcomes).
Own resource planning across regions, hiring strategy, org design, performance management, and succession planning to build a durable leadership bench.
Stay close to architecture and delivery to guide tradeoffs, remove blockers, and ensure high-quality outcomes.
Who you are:
13+ years of software development experience, including building andmaintainingproduction systems.
5+ years of experience managing managers and/or leading multiple teams through senior technical leaders.
Bachelor's/Master's degree in Computer Scienceor a related engineering field (or equivalent experience).
Strong technical background in distributed systems, API design, and cloud infrastructure,able to guide architecture and tradeoffs at scale.
Proven ability to run complex, cross-functional programs with high ambiguity, competing priorities, and external stakeholders.
Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management,able to align teams and drive decisions with clarity and credibility.
Deep understanding of modern software development practices (engineering excellence, operational rigor, delivery mechanisms).
Experienceoperatingin an Agile environment across multiple concurrent initiatives and geographically distributed teams.
Ad-tech domain experience is a plus.
Variety of technical opportunity is one of the best things about working at The Trade Desk as a software engineer which is why we do not expect you to know every technology we use when you start. What we care about is that you can learn quickly and find solutions to complex problems using the optimum tools for the job.What you know is less important than how well you learn and innovate. We don't need engineers who know all the answers; we need engineers who can invent the answers no one has thought of yet, to the questions yet to be asked.
The Trade Desk does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm recruiters. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
LI-AD1
CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC residents only: In accordance with CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC law, 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, abilities, 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 sales-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
