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Accelerate the ad technology evolution.
The Role
The Senior Director, Platform Partnerships leads strategic direction in demand-side partnerships, focusing on DSP algorithms, commercial deals, and team development.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Index Exchange:
Index Exchange is a global advertising supply-side platform enabling media owners to maximize the value of their content on any screen. As a trusted partner and ally, we connect leading experience makers with the world’s largest brands to ensure a quality experience for consumers.
We’re a proud industry pioneer with over 20 years of experience accelerating the ad technology evolution. With our radically transparent business practices and dedication to total market efficiency, we’re committed to upholding the integrity of the programmatic ecosystem at large.
What’s it like to work at Index?
Index is an exciting and fast-paced place to work. You'll be able to feed your ambition, lean into trust and transparency, and feel genuine support from your colleagues. We’re built on our core values and live them each day. They're not just buzzwords.
We pride ourselves on our independence and openness, not only in our technology, but in our teams, too. Our diverse and inclusive culture celebrates how we can leverage our unique differences to help drive Index forward.
We have more than 550 Indexers around the globe dedicated to building a safe and transparent marketplace that provides a trusted experience for consumers, and we’re looking for talented professionals to help take us to the next level.
Are you ready to join the programmatic evolution?
The Senior Director, Platform Partnerships (North America) is a senior leadership role responsible for driving the strategic direction and growth of Index Exchange’s demand-side partnerships across the North American market. Based in New York, this is a high-impact, highly visible position that sits at the intersection of strategic partnership embedding, signal intelligence, commercial deal architecture, product intelligence, people leadership, and technical expertise.
This is not a relationship management role. It is a demand activation role. The Senior Director must be able to operate credibly across all four of the team’s core jobs simultaneously: diagnosing and closing signal gaps that limit DSP bid quality; structuring and activating commercial deals; building joint growth agendas that shape DSP buying behavior; and routing DSP product intelligence into Index’s planning cycle. They must model what great looks like — because the team does not yet have that example internally.
This role requires a leader who can operate at both the strategic and executional level — setting vision, coaching talent, and personally managing complex partner relationships. Travel across North America required.
Here’s what you’ll be doing:
Signal Intelligence
Understand how each DSP’s algorithm scores, evaluates, and bids on Index inventory. This is the diagnostic and ownership layer that makes everything else work.
- Map the signals each DSP values — identity coverage, contextual data, publisher quality, auction transparency, GPID — and identify where Index is not being read correctly
- Own the signal gap identification and prioritization process per DSP partner
- Drive joint test design with Technical Ops to close identified gaps; own the outcome, not just the diagnosis
- Translate signal findings into commercial positioning and partner conversations
- Deliver measurable improvement in bid density and win rate across the partner portfolio
Commercial Deal Architecture
Know how each DSP structures its market and close the gaps between how DSPs buy and how Index supply is packaged.
- Understand DSP market structures across open auction, curated deals, always-on deals, programmatic guaranteed, API-driven buying, and verticalized packages
- Own deal discoverability and activation per DSP market structure
- Drive deal pipeline in partnership with Publisher Development and Sales; own the structuring, pitching, and closing
- Deliver incremental deal revenue and format diversification across the portfolio
- Know the troubleshooting tools DSP clients use and where Index inventory is or is not accessible within those systems
Strategic Partnership Embedding
Show up to every DSP conversation with a joint growth agenda — not a data deck.
- Understand each DSP’s commercial priorities, the verticals they are scaling, the advertisers they are chasing, and how Index complements their motion in market.
- Use earnings calls, press releases, and product announcements as inputs; be inside the DSP’s planning cycle before decisions are made, not after.
- Own a joint growth agenda per DSP partner, refreshed quarterly
- Lead DSP QBRs that produce decisions, commitments, and roadmap intelligence — walk in with a point of view, open with insight, walk out with a named next step
- Drive spend growth tied to specific commercial milestones
- Develop and execute long-term strategic account plans that deepen platform integration and expand Index’s share of wallet.
Product Intelligence Loop
The DSP Partnerships team sits closer to DSP product and engineering roadmaps than any other team at Index. That intelligence belongs in the product planning cycle — not siloed in relationship notes.
- Own DSP roadmap intelligence gathering across formats, identity strategy, AI and bidding infrastructure, and agentic buying
- Deliver quarterly product input briefs to the Index Product team; this is a standing accountability, not an ad hoc contribution
- Advocate for Index capabilities that match where DSP demand is actually heading
- Ensure IX product priorities are shaped by DSP roadmap signals gathered by this team
People Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing North America platform partnerships team, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of accountability and growth
- Drive talent development through coaching, performance management, and succession planning — with a specific focus on building technical fluency and commercial thinking across the team
- Operate as a player/coach: carry your own partner relationships while actively developing the team on QBR execution, signal diagnostics, and deal architecture
- Collaborate with global partnership leads to align regional priorities with company-wide objectives
- Act as a senior representative of the partnerships function within North America, contributing to organizational strategy and cross-functional leadership discussions
Internal Orchestration
- Pull Technical Ops, Sales, and Agency teams into the commercial motion as a matter of standard operating rhythm — not as escalations
- Build the operating cadences that make cross-functional work happen without friction
- Partner with the Index Product team to route structured market intelligence into product planning on a defined cadence
- Collaborate closely with global DSP leads to ensure regional activities align with and advance global partnership strategies
- Serve as subject matter expert on partner performance and growth across the North American market.
Here's what you need:
Experience & Qualifications
- 12+ years of experience in digital media or ad technology, with significant tenure in a senior partnerships, business development, or commercial leadership role
- Demonstrated people leadership experience — including team management, coaching, and performance development
- Deep expertise in the programmatic advertising landscape, with a strong command of
- DSP dynamics, auction mechanics, and the broader buy-side ecosystem
- Hands-on experience with signal diagnostics, bid quality analysis, or technical integration work with DSP partners — not just commercial relationship management
- Demonstrated ability to build and manage commercial deal pipelines across multiple deal types: open auction, PMP, PG, curated, and API-driven
- Proven track record of building and managing high-value strategic partnerships at a senior level, including complex commercial negotiations
- Proven success in business development and new partner acquisition in a competitive market
- Exceptional business acumen with the ability to develop and articulate long-term strategic visions for partners and the broader business
- Fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills and strong attention to detail
Competencies
- Technical fluency: Can sit with DSP product and engineering teams, understand auction mechanics and signal logic, design diagnostic tests, and translate technical findings into commercial strategy. This is not optional — the team’s credibility with DSP technical counterparts depends on it.
- Commercial architecture: Understands how DSPs structure their markets, where Index fits in each buying structure, and how to close gaps between DSP buying motion and Index supply access.
- Strategic: An expert in strategic account management capable of translating market intelligence into actionable growth agendas. Builds joint growth plans with DSP partners based on their commercial priorities — not just Index’s.
- Communicative: Able to communicate effectively at all levels — from technical working sessions with DSP engineering to executive briefings with ELT. Leads with the headline and the strategic implication, not the operational detail.
- Collaborative: Skilled at building trusted relationships across internal and external stakeholders. Orchestrates cross-functional motion — Technical Ops, Sales, Product, Agency — as a standard part of how work gets done
- Accountable: Owns goals and KPIs and drives a culture of accountability within the team. Measures outcomes, not activity.
- Player/coach: Carries their own partner relationships while developing the team. Does not disappear into management or defer on technical and commercial questions the role requires them to lead.
Equal employment opportunity
At Index Exchange, we believe that successful products are built by teams just as diverse as the audience who uses them. As such, we are committed to equal employment opportunities. We celebrate diversity of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. Additionally, we realize that diversity is deeper than any status or classification—diversity is the human experience. For those who show grit, passion, and humility—Index will welcome you.
Accessibility for applicants with disabilities
Index Exchange welcomes and encourages individuals with disabilities to apply to work with us.
If you require an accommodation, please share the details of your request and any information how we can assist you with the hiring recruiter when they contact you. Index Exchange will make reasonable efforts to ensure accommodation requests are met throughout the recruitment process.
Index everywhere, Index anywhere
Our corporate headquarters are in Toronto, with major offices in New York, Montreal, Kitchener, London, San Francisco, and many other global cities. As a major global advertising exchange, we are committed to operating as a tightly knit global team and embracing and empowering talent wherever our colleagues may be.
AI Disclaimer: Automated tools including artificial intelligence may be used to assist in screening and assessing applicants for this role. All hiring decisions involve human review.
Vacancy Status: This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Skills Required
- 12+ years of experience in digital media or ad technology
- Demonstrated people leadership experience
- Deep expertise in the programmatic advertising landscape
- Hands-on experience with signal diagnostics and technical integration work
- Proven track record in managing strategic partnerships
- Fluency in English with excellent communication skills
Index Exchange Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Index Exchange and has not been reviewed or approved by Index Exchange.
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Affordable Benefits — Medical, dental, and vision coverage is described as fully paid for employees and often for dependents in the U.S., reducing out-of-pocket costs. While specifics vary by region, public materials consistently emphasize low-premium coverage.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is positioned as generous and inclusive, with birthing parents able to take extended fully paid leave and structured return‑to‑work support. Coverage also extends to non‑birthing and adoptive parents, with fertility benefits highlighted.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off combines substantial PTO with additional health days and personal obligation days, expanding rest and recovery options. Volunteer time off and the ability to work from another location for part of the year further broaden flexibility around time away.
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The Company
What We Do
Index Exchange is a global advertising supply-side platform enabling media owners to maximize the value of their content on any screen. As a trusted partner and ally, we connect leading experience makers with the world’s largest brands to ensure a quality experience for consumers. We’re a proud industry pioneer with over 20 years of experience accelerating the ad technology evolution. With our radically transparent business practices and dedication to total market efficiency, we’re committed to upholding the integrity of the programmatic ecosystem at large. Our global teams are dedicated to driving industry standards and building technology that delivers scale, efficiency, and long-term value for our customers and partners. In our workplace, we pride ourselves on fostering an environment of openness where everyone feels connected and supported - a place where you can be your best inside or outside of work.
Why Work With Us
When you join Index Exchange, you’ll be working at an engineering-first company. Our foundation is our technology platform and all of the Indexers who come together to improve, extend, and reinvent it. We invest heavily in building an organization that’s committed to DEI&B, our core values, and our vision of total market efficiency.
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