Manager, Programmatic Sales

About WunderKIND Ads

WunderKIND Ads utilizes behaviorally triggered advertising. Our proprietary tag integrates directly onto a premium selection of publisher pages, tracking on-site user behavior so our ad renders only after a visitor has finished consuming the content. This creates a net new placement that did not exist on the page before our implementation. Our unique serving method sets us apart from every competitor in the market.

This precise approach yields positive results. When an ad experience respects a user's reason for visiting a page, the user reciprocates with greater attention and engagement. It results in brand safety by design and eliminates the need to fight editorial teams over inventory.

We operate within Wunderkind, the performance marketing engine that drives $1.2 billion a year in attributable revenue for brands including Hugo Boss, Gucci, Lenovo, Cole Haan, and HelloFresh, built on behavioral and identity data from over 400 retail and eCommerce relationships. This grants our supply a genuine understanding of the audience behind every impression, a feature most premium inventory lacks. You will be selling a structurally differentiated product to a market saturated with standard pitches.

Who Is This Role For?

Our Manager-level sales roles are ideal for individuals who have recently begun their sales careers (approximately 18 months of experience) in Programmatic, or for experienced professionals looking to break into this exciting, fast-paced, and rewarding field from Account Management, Client Partnerships, or Strategy (4+ years with demonstrable commercial acumen).

We are a lean team comprised of ultra-high performers, backed by a phenomenal product and outstanding coaches and mentors. We offer the lift-off your sales career is craving.

Application Focus

Relationships matter. We are interested in tangible connections—names, desks, holding companies, and the trust you have earned with them—not just follower counts. We will assess your ability to make strong, trust-earning introductions. Recognizing that at this level, experience may come from parallel fields, we are deliberately seeking the skills and relationships that prove you will excel when supported.

Similarly, research is critical. Generic pitching is quickly exposed in this market, and it is quickly exposed here.

What You'll Do

• Own the Demand: Drive agency, trading desk, brand, and DSP spend into Wunderkind's display and video inventory across NYC and the wider East Coast, maintaining focus against a clear revenue target.
• Build the Room: Maintain steady outreach, meetings, and entertainment with programmatic buyers and investment teams, positioning Wunderkind as their first-call solution.
• Grow What You Win: Collaborate with Account Management to accelerate campaign performance, spend volume, and renewals, evolving initial tests into always-on activations.
• Consult, Don't Just Sell: Educate buyers on how to launch, optimize, and troubleshoot CPA, CPC, and CPM campaigns across our inventory, driving adoption of new features and supply lines.
• Leave a Trail: Develop internal training materials, sales collateral, and client-facing guides to streamline and expedite future successes.

You will pursue top buyers and bring them to the table, and in return, you will earn significant rewards.

What You Must Bring to the Table

• 2 to 5 years of experience in programmatic advertising, gained within digital media, a DSP, an SSP, or an agency trading desk.
• At least 1 year in a client-facing role with direct revenue accountability (metrics you owned, not just supported).
• A managed book of business of $1MM+ with measurable growth evidence.
• Established, substantiable contacts within NYC agencies and holding companies (Omnicom and Hearts & Science relationships are a significant advantage).
• Hands-on DSP fluency: Proficiency in platforms such as The Trade Desk, DV360, Xandr, or comparable. This requires the ability to plan, optimize, and troubleshoot a campaign, not just discuss it theoretically.
• Depth of research: The capacity to enter any meeting already understanding the account's business, the pressures on their brands, and precisely where our inventory provides value.
• Resilient relationships: The ability to take ownership of stalled growth opportunities and navigate difficult client conversations without allowing the relationship to deteriorate.
• Credibility in both directions: Being authoritative and technically knowledgeable with a buyer, while remaining persuasive and commercially astute with an executive.

Bonus Points For

• 18 months or more in a dedicated advertising sales role.
• A background in account management, demonstrating an understanding of the post-signature client lifecycle.
• Experience successfully upselling or cross-selling programmatic products into existing client bases.
• Experience across ad exchanges, ad servers, and other optimization platforms.

The Non-Negotiables

• Three days per week presence in our office at 1 World Trade Center.
• Frequent travel, as client accounts and business will extend beyond FiDi Manhattan.

The Process

Beyond the initial application, the interview process includes:

1. Recruiter Meeting (30 minutes): Discussion covering the role, company, compensation, professional progression, and market scope.
2. Hiring Manager Interview (30 minutes): Assessment of your programmatic depth and proven ability to grow a book of business.
3. Team Interview (30 minutes): Meeting the colleagues you will be collaborating with.
4. Mock Prep and Presentation: You will receive a real-world scenario, prepare, and present solutions. This step allows us to evaluate your market understanding and research depth practically.

Why WunderKIND Ads?

You will sell a placement that no one else offers, to a market you already know, backed by an identity and performance infrastructure that validates the pitch. We expect excellence from our team, and the compensation matches the demand: a 50/50 compensation structure, a defined territory, and clear pathways for growth and promotion for high achievers.

If you wish to blend into a pool of sellers, this is not the environment for you. If you want your network and your sharp judgment to dictate your earnings, apply.

Compensation Details

Fair Compensation Notice: The base salary range for this role in New York is $100,000.00 to $115,000.00, which accounts for approximately 50% of total cash compensation. This base is supplemented by an equivalent commission component structured as a 50/50 split, leading to an on-target total cash compensation of approximately $200,000.00 to $230,000.00. Regional pay bands apply outside of New York. Actual compensation packages are determined by factors unique to each candidate, including skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and geographic work location, which may vary by market rate.

Wunderkind is proud to be an equal opportunity and safe workplace, and is strongly committed to equal employment opportunities for all races, colors, ancestries, national origins, marital statuses, age, citizenship, disabilities, genders or gender identities, or Veteran status.