Senior Media Trader

Brkthru; North Carolina; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Brkthru is seeking a Senior Media Trader to own the performance of complex, high-impact programmatic campaigns. You will optimize campaigns, manage pacing and margin goals, and proactively address risks and opportunities to raise team performance.

You will leverage AI-powered tooling and direct execution or coordination with extended team resources to achieve client outcomes while maintaining strong attention to detail and strategic judgment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of programmatic media buying with ownership of campaign performance across accounts.
• Experience managing campaigns with pacing, delivery, and performance outcomes.
• Experience using AI-powered tools to improve management, analysis, or efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end campaign performance for complex, high-priority programmatic campaigns.
• Maintain performance visibility with regular reviews and data-driven decisions.
• Lead and coordinate extended execution resources and ensure client expectations are met.

Skills

Programmatic media buying

Campaign performance ownership

AI-powered tooling

Analytical decision making

Client-facing experience

Tools

DV360

The Trade Desk

Amazon

Beeswax

Job description

Brkthru was founded with a client-centric philosophy in an industry where service is often overlooked. Our mission is to be the preferred partner of local advertisers and agencies, creating and managing successful paid digital media campaigns for local, state, regional and national brands in nearly every B2C and B2B vertical and industry. Our campaigns reach customers on digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers and digital TV.

We are guided by our core values and we center them in the hiring process and our workday to build teams that exemplify Positive Attitude, Caring, Contribution, Communication, and Trust.

Why Brkthru?

Brkthru is the leading digital media solutions provider to mid-market agencies and brands. Our trading works in 20+ different digital media platforms, but our client-first philosophy sets us apart, consistently earning us a 90% client satisfaction rating, and equally impressive client retention is proof. We are growing quickly, ranking for the fifth year in-a-row to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

The Opportunity

The Senior Media Trader owns the performance of complex, high-impact campaigns and sets the standard for how we execute programmatic media at Brkthru. Reporting to the Account Director, Media, this role operates as a senior individual contributor with deep platform expertise and strong ownership over campaign outcomes.

This role sits at the center of performance. You are responsible for making sure campaigns are structured correctly, optimized proactively, and delivering against pacing, performance, and margin expectations. You are expected to stay ahead of your campaigns, identify risks early, and make confident decisions that improve results. You will also play a key role in raising the level of the team. How you get there is up to your judgment, either executing directly, directing AI-powered tooling, or coordinating across team resources, whatever the campaign demands.

Responsibilities:

• Own campaign performance and execution: Accountable for the end-to-end performance of complex, high-priority programmatic campaigns. Ensure campaigns are structured correctly, pace as expected, and deliver on performance and margin goals. This may involve executing hands-on, directing AI agent tooling, or coordinating execution across extended team resources.
• Maintain performance visibility and operational discipline: Stay ahead of campaign performance through a consistent review cadence. Leverage AI-powered tooling and platform data to surface pacing risks, efficiency gaps, and margin opportunities early. Translate those signals into clear decisions and action.
• Lead and coordinate extended execution resources: Oversee the work of execution partners and extended team members contributing to your portfolio. Set clear standards for quality, turnaround, and adherence to Brkthru best practices, ensuring work meets client expectations before it reaches the account.
• Act as subject matter expert and operator: Serve as the strategic and executional programmatic lead for your portfolio. Translate business goals into programmatic media strategy, and make sharp judgment calls about when to execute directly, when to deploy AI agent tooling, and when to coordinate execution across extended team resources. Deep platform expertise is non-negotiable. This role is hands-on capable at all times.
• Own escalation and problem resolution: Serve as the primary escalation point for complex performance issues, delivery challenges, and platform changes across your programmatic campaigns. Resolve issues independently, sometimes jumping in yourself, redirecting an AI agent workflow, or course-correcting execution resources. Escalate only when there is meaningful business risk, with clear context and a recommended path forward.
• Drive testing, optimization, and innovation: Evaluate new platform features, buying approaches, and optimization strategies. Bring forward recommendations and apply learnings to improve performance, efficiency, and repeatability across campaigns.
• Contribute to team capability and knowledge sharing: Share best practices, reinforce standards, and support adoption of new tools and workflows. Contribute to the overall capability of the team, not just individual campaign performance.
• Maintain clear communication and upward visibility: Keep leadership informed of performance, risks, and opportunities without prompting. Provide clear updates with context and recommended actions.

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in programmatic media buying, with ownership of campaign performance across multiple accounts
• Experience managing complex campaigns with accountability for pacing, delivery, and performance outcomes
• Experience using AI-powered tools to improve campaign management, analysis, or operational efficiency, with the ability to evaluate outputs and maintain accountability for results
• Experience coordinating work across extended execution resources or distributed teams while maintaining quality and performance standards
• Experience working in a performance-driven, client-facing or agency environment

Skills:

• Strong proficiency in programmatic and paid social platforms (DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon, Beeswax) with the ability to execute and optimize campaigns independently
• Comfort using and directing AI-powered execution and optimization tooling, with sound judgment about when to automate versus execute directly.
• Ability to manage campaign performance across pacing, delivery, and margin, and take action to improve results
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate data into clear insights and decisions
• Ability to identify risks early and resolve issues with minimal oversight
• Clear and direct communication skills, with the ability to share insights, recommendations, and updates with both peers and leadership
• Strong attention to detail and execution accuracy across campaign setup and optimization

Preferred Experience:

• Experience testing new buying strategies, platform features, or optimization approaches
• Experience working with AI-powered or automated execution and optimization tooling.
• Experience mentoring or supporting junior team members
• Experience contributing to process improvements or best practice development

Travel/Onsite Requirements:

• In-person attendance is required for all company-wide offsite meetings (typically two annually), in alignment with company policy.
• Additional travel may be required for team or department-specific offsites to support collaboration, knowledge sharing, and performance alignment.
• All travel will be covered in accordance with company expense guidelines.
• Location: Our hiring strategy prioritizes proximity to key markets and business hubs to foster collaboration and better serve our clients. Candidates must reside within select locations and metro areas to ensure accessibility for travel, alignment with team operations, and for in-person collaboration. This approach allows us to maintain a strong local presence while supporting a remote-first work environment. Candidates based in the following hubs will be prioritized: Richmond, VA; Norfolk, VA; Virginia Beach, VA; Newport News, VA; Dulles, VA; Fairfax, VA; Raleigh, NC; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Tampa, FL; Orlando, FL; Miami, FL; Detroit, MI; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Toledo, OH; Chicago, IL; New Haven/Hartford, CT; Massachusetts near PVD airport or Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Albany, NY; New York City, NY (proximity to EWR, JFK, LGA airports); New Jersey; Wilmington, DE; Austin, TX; Dallas, TX

We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related conditions), national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, age, family status, marital status, veteran or military status, the presence of a medical condition or physical or mental disability, height, weight, misdemeanor arrest record, genetic information, citizenship, hair (including texture or protective hairstyle), or any other characteristic protected by applicable law, and encourage all applicants to apply.