Demo

Lead Associate Account Director

The Trade Desk
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 4/28/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 5/27/2026
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.

What you'll do:


  • Oversee the health of client relationships as a strategic advisor, guiding problem-solving discussions and providing best-in-class client services.
  • Demonstrate the value of The Trade Desk to clients by providing innovative solutions that meet the clients’ needs and our business goals.
  • Lead key agency client meetings in collaboration with business development and trading counterparts.
  • Develop trusting and productive relationships with key stakeholders both internally and externally.
  • Lead the development of portfolio-specific goals based on the company’s vision and values and responsible for tracking progress of portfolio revenue goals on a monthly and quarterly basis.
  • Become heavily involved in product development by identifying how to build product that provides solutions for our clients’ business objectives and serving as a liaison between our clients and our product team.
  • Coach a small and nimble team of Account Managers; overseeing their day-to-day management, motivating the team by setting clear expectations, developing career path plans, providing constructive feedback, and maintaining a high level of performance from the team to develop the next generation of leaders.
  • Manage for team bandwidth, delivering a high-level of account support and reporting progress against goals to management.
  • Communicate effectively with other functional leaders by solving business challenges together, identifying opportunities for growth, and collaborating to drive efficiency and effectiveness across the organization.

Who you are:

You are an effective client-facing leader who is skilled in building and nurturing client relationships while also leading an agile team and developing talent. We are looking for an individual possessing excellent communication, strategic and leadership skills to serve as a player-coach across a portfolio of accounts.


  • 7 years of digital advertising experience with at least 2 directly managing and developing a team
  • Experience in developing, nurturing and managing client relationships.
  • Proven track record of driving revenue growth with large customer accounts.
  • Strong management and leadership skills through a collaborative team approach.
  • Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, executive team and industry groups.
  • Execute (and coach others to execute) timely in fast-paced environment through effective time management and prioritization skills.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ambition to develop personally and nurture the development of others.
  • Excellent influencing and negotiation skills.
  • Highly organized with a strong attention to detail.

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.

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.

Salary.com Estimation for Lead Associate Account Director in Chicago, IL
$175,208 to $230,678
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