Ad Sales Lead, Programmatic

Duolingo; New York (NY); On-site; USD 152,000 - 228,000; Full time

Job summary

Duolingo is seeking an Ad Sales Lead, Programmatic in New York to own a deal-led book of business with agency partners and premium buyers. You’ll package native formats and first-party signals into always-on deals, negotiating annual commitments to secure durable revenue.

You’ll build the value proposition, drive pricing strategy, and coordinate with Ad Ops to deliver on structured campaigns. A strong PM/PG track record and excellent presentation skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in digital advertising with PMP/PG selling and trading-desk engagement.
• Proven book of PMP and PG business you personally sourced and grew.
• Experience selling premium mobile or consumer app inventory via programmatic channels.
• Strong understanding of ad tech, DSP/SSP workflows, verification and measurement.

Responsibilities

• Own a programmatic revenue target and forecast across agency buyers and premium programmatic buyers.
• Lead the shift from open auction to premium, deal-led PMP/PG formats and pricing.
• Be the main contact for holdco programmatic teams on mobile app inventory and deals.
• Build the programmatic value proposition and measurement stories for pricing and packaging.
• Partner with Ad Platform Operations on deal setup, targeting, floors, pacing and QA.
• Collaborate with direct sellers to expand accounts and drive renewals.
• Provide market intelligence to sales, product and engineering on pricing and formats.
• Establish operating rhythm with CRM pipeline, cadence, and repeatable playbooks.

Skills

Programmatic sales

Ad tech knowledge

Executive communication

Deal negotiation

Forecasting & pipeline

Tools

DSP/SSP platforms

Job description

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. It’s a big mission, and that’s where you come in!

At Duolingo, you’ll join a team that cares about educating our users, experimenting with big ideas, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. You’ll have limitless learning opportunities and daily collaborations with world-class minds — while doing work that’s both meaningful and fun.

Join our life-changing mission to develop education for our half a billion (and growing!) learners around the world.

Join us to build Duolingo Ads, Duolingo’s premium programmatic business. Most learners use our free, ad-supported app—so great ads are core to our mission. Reporting into the Head of Ad Sales, the Ad Sales Lead, Programmatic will build a deal-led book of business with agency holding companies, independent agencies, and advertisers who want access to Duolingo’s native formats, first-Party learner signals, and one of the most engaged mobile audiences in the world. You will own buy-side relationships across holdco investment and programmatic teams, trading desks, curation and principal media groups, and premium programmatic buyers. This is a high-ownership, high-visibility, early-stage opportunity to help define how programmatic can fuel high-quality ads for millions of learners while driving outcomes for partners.

• Own a programmatic revenue target and forecast, and build a predictable pipeline across agency holding-company programmatic and investment teams, trading desks, independent agencies, and premium programmatic buyers.
• Lead our shift from open auction to premium, deal-led PMP/PG by packaging Duolingo’s native formats and first-Party learner signals into always-on and custom deals that buyers will pay a premium for, and negotiate annual and upfront commitments that make that revenue durable.
• Become the person holdco programmatic teams call about mobile app inventory: run joint business planning; get Duolingo onto preferred supply paths, curated marketplaces, and principal/outcome-based buys; and defend our position when buyers consolidate
• Build the programmatic value proposition and measurement story through proposals, pricing narratives, and post-campaign proof that connect our native formats and audience data to brand and performance outcomes (e.g., verification, attention, brand lift, incrementality, MMM).
• Partner with Ad Platform Operations and Ad Ops on deal setup, targeting, floors, pacing, and troubleshooting—ensuring what you sell is deliverable and delivers against expectations.
• Work alongside our direct sellers under clear rules of engagement so programmatic expands the account through incremental value; coordinate with Account Management pre- and post-sale to drive renewal and expansion.
• Feed structured market intelligence back to sales, product, and engineering leadership about what buyers need in pricing, packaging, audience segments, formats, and integrations, balancing this input with our learner-first standards and operational quality.
• Establish the operating rhythm for a scaling programmatic business via account planning, outreach cadences, deal hygiene in CRM, pipeline rigor, and repeatable playbooks the next sellers can run.

You have

• 8+ years in digital advertising, including at least 4 years selling programmatic on the sell side (publisher/platform/app) or in a holding-company programmatic/investment role, carrying and hitting a quota; demonstrated PMP/PG selling and trading-desk engagement.
• A demonstrated book of PMP and PG business you personally sourced, negotiated, and grew.
• Experience selling premium mobile or consumer app inventory—especially video and native/custom formats—through programmatic channels to top-tier advertisers and agencies.
• Strong understanding of ad tech and mobile app ecosystems, including DSP/SSP workflows, deal IDs, verification/measurement, and using data to inform pricing and packaging.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; clear, concise storytelling for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Exceptional candidates will have

• Deep, current relationships with programmatic leads at major agency holding companies and larger independents.
• Experience moving partners from a heavy open-auction mix to meaningful always-on/custom PMP/PG alongside direct sales—and knowing what actually moved the deal (packaging, pricing, supply path, or sales motion).
• Sold against first-Party audience segments or custom data products, not just inventory.
• Hands-on partnership with Ad Ops on deal setup, SSP onboarding, and campaign QA to improve fill, CPMs, and delivery quality.

Benefits: Take a peek at how we care for our employees' holistic well-being with our benefits here.

Accommodations: We will do everything we can within reason to make sure that your interview takes place in an environment that fairly and accurately assesses your skills. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact [e-mail].

Equal Employment Opportunity: Duolingo is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

By applying for this position your data will be processed as per the Duolingo Applicant Privacy Notice.

The offered salary is dependent upon several factors, including work experience, skills, and internal peer comparisons. The posted range is subject to change in the future. For this role, base salary is supplemented by equity compensation. We encourage you to talk with your recruiter for more information related to compensation for this role!

Salary Range:

$152,000 — $228,000 USD

AI in Hiring: Duolingo uses AI technology to assist in our hiring process. We want to be transparent about how we use this technology and your rights. We use Greenhouse Software's Talent Matching feature to assist with reviewing applications for the skills and experience we have decided are important for this role.

How it works:

• Talent Matching reviews your resume and responses to application questions to determine the extent to which your qualifications match the job requirements selected for this role. These requirements and their desired weighting are established by our recruiters in collaboration with hiring managers.
• All Talent Matching output is reviewed by our recruiting and hiring teams, who make the final decision on each application. Talent Matching does not automatically disposition any candidate or make hiring decisions.