Business Development Director

thetradedesk

Los Angeles

Posted Aug 19, 2026

Full-time
Direct Sales

Job description

The Trade Desk is a global technology company and the world’s leading independent platform for digital advertising, with nearly 4,000 employees across more than 30 offices. Our technology helps advertisers reach the right audiences across the open internet — from streaming TV and podcasts to mobile apps, news, and more.

Advertising powers the content people love. By making it more transparent, effective, and responsible, we help support trusted journalism, quality entertainment, and creators worldwide. The world’s brands and agencies rely on us to reach their customers and grow their businesses responsibly.

The scale of our platform brings unique technical challenges — from processing massive datasets in real time to building systems that operate reliably on a global scale. When you work here, your impact is worldwide. We welcome diverse perspectives, encourage curiosity, and build teams that learn from one another. If you’re driven to solve meaningful challenges, we’d love to meet you.

The Director role is a strategic sales leader responsible for driving long-term growth and expansion across a portfolio of existing client partnerships. Acting as the general manager of a book of business, this individual develops and executes growth strategies that increase client investment, deepen platform adoption, and strengthen long-term partnership value.

This role is designed for experienced commercial leaders who excel at navigating complex organizations, influencing senior decision-makers, and identifying scalable growth opportunities across multiple accounts. Success requires balancing strategic planning, executive relationship management, commercial negotiation, and cross-functional leadership to deliver sustained revenue growth and business outcomes.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable building C-level relationships, leading high-impact commercial discussions, and developing repeatable growth strategies that can be scaled across a diverse portfolio of advertisers and agencies

What You’ll Do:

Own and grow a portfolio of 7–12 existing client relationships, driving revenue expansion and long-term partnership value.
Operate as the strategic business owner across your portfolio, developing account plans and growth strategies that align client objectives with The Trade Desk's capabilities.
Build and maintain relationships with senior marketing, media, analytics, and executive stakeholders, influencing investment decisions and long-term account strategy.
Identify, pitch, and close strategic growth opportunities including channel expansion, advanced measurement solutions, audience activation, and broader platform adoption.
Lead executive business reviews, commercial negotiations, renewal discussions, and investment planning conversations.
Act as a trusted advisor to clients, delivering strategic insights, market intelligence, and thought leadership on the evolving digital advertising landscape.
Collaborate closely with Client Services, Product, Marketing, and Revenue teams to drive client success, influence innovation, and unlock incremental growth opportunities.
Maintain accurate visibility into business health through forecasting, pipeline management, and account planning.
Serve as a leader within the Growth organization by sharing best practices, mentoring peers, and elevating commercial excellence across the team

Who you are:

Bachelor's degree required.
10+ years of experience in digital advertising, media, ad technology, account management, or consultative sales.
Proven track record of strategically managing and growing a multimillion-dollar portfolio of business while consistently exceeding revenue targets.
Demonstrated success building trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and influencing business decisions at the executive level.
Experience developing and executing long-term account growth strategies that drive increases in client investment, product adoption, and partnership depth.
Strong business acumen with the ability to connect client objectives, industry dynamics, and platform capabilities into actionable growth opportunities.
Exceptional consultative selling, communication, and executive presentation skills.
Experience leading commercial negotiations, annual planning discussions, and executive business reviews.
Highly analytical mindset with strong quantitative, problem-solving, and strategic planning capabilities.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive outcomes without direct authority.

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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.

The Trade Desk will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Ordinance No. 184652.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, The Trade Desk is committed to creating an inclusive hiring experience where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Please reach out to us at accommodations@thetradedesk.com to request an accommodation or discuss any accessibility needs you may require to access our Company Website or navigate any part of the hiring process.

When you contact us, please include your preferred contact details and specify the nature of your accommodation request or questions. Any information you share will be handled confidentially and will not impact our hiring decisions.