Staff Product Manager, Developer Platform
Quick Summary
Our teams own the software development life cycle at The Trade Desk – from the first day of a new developer, to the first discussions about a feature, to coding and debugging,
The Trade Desk is changing the way global brands and their agencies advertise to audiences around the world. How? With a media buying platform that helps brands deliver a more insightful and relevant ad experience for consumers –– and sets a new standard for global reach, accuracy, and transparency. We are proud of the culture we have built. We value the unique experiences and perspectives that each person brings to The Trade Desk, and we are committed to fostering inclusive spaces where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work every day.
So, if you are talented, driven, creative, and eager to join a dynamic, globally-connected team, then we want to talk!
Responsibilities
~1 min read- →Shadow a developer through their entire workflow to identify friction points
- →Analyze metrics showing a 20% increase in build failures and work with platform engineers to diagnose root causes
- →Facilitate a technical deep-dive with senior engineers on container startup times
- →Write a technical specification for improving our local development environment
- →Review user research showing developers are context-switching 47 times per day and design solutions to reduce interruptions
- →
Present a monthly roadmap to engineering leadership, articulating technical trade-offs and timelines
Responsibilities
~1 min read- →Understanding the needs of our Trade Desk Engineering Team through direct engagement, user research, and data analysis
- →Defining our developer experience (DX) strategy and building the roadmap to get there
- →Owning key areas such as: local developer environment setup, source control workflows (checkout, build, merge), code review processes, cross-team code stewardship, and deployment automation
- →Establishing the right metrics that measure developer productivity, satisfaction, and velocity—then using those metrics to drive data-driven decisions
- →Partnering closely with engineering, platform teams, and other stakeholders to deliver high-impact improvements to our SDLC
- →Evaluating emerging technologies (including AI-assisted coding tools) and determining if/when they should be integrated into our workflows
This is a strategic role within the Trade Desk Development Platform organization where you will be leading deeply technical projects and providing hands-on leadership in a complex, fast-paced environment.
- 7+ years of Product Management experience shipping developer tools, platforms, or infrastructure products at enterprise scale
- Proven track record shipping products where software engineers are your primary customers – not business users, not external consumers, but developers
- Deep working knowledge of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): You can articulate the challenges and best practices across local development, source control, CI/CD, code review, testing, deployment, and monitoring
- Experience conducting technical discovery directly with engineering teams – you don't need engineers to translate for you; you can hold technical conversations with Staff and Principal engineers
- Demonstrated "working backwards" from internal customers to build long-term strategies and solutions that measurably improve developer productivity
- Proven track record of partnering with engineering teams to solve complex, technical problems and delivering large, impactful software projects with measurable business outcomes (e.g., "reduced deployment time by 40%," "decreased build failures by 25%")
- Excellent communication skills: You can participate confidently in very technical conversations, drive consensus and commitment across teams, and crisply communicate delivery timelines, trade-offs, and risks to senior management
Nice to Have
~4 min read- Background in DevOps, Platform Engineering, Developer Productivity, or Developer Experience organizations
- Experience with metrics-driven optimization of developer workflows (build time reduction, deployment frequency, change failure rate, etc.)
- Hands-on familiarity with modern development tools and workflows: IDEs, source code repositories (Git/GitHub), build systems, containerization, deployment frameworks
- Understanding of AI tooling in developer workflows (GitHub Copilot, cursor.ai, MCP servers, agent frameworks) and how they impact the SDLC
- Durability and grit – sometimes solutions take creative thinking, multiple iterations, and staging while dependencies solidify. You try many different approaches to find the right answer
- Enthusiasm for all things developer tools, DevOps, emerging technologies, and a desire to stay on top of industry trends
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.
[LA JOBS ONLY] 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.
[SF JOBS ONLY] Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
In accordance with various US state laws, the range provided is the Trade Desk's reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount may differ based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, and location. All employees may be eligible to become The Trade Desk shareholders through eligibility for stock-based compensation grants, which are awarded to employees based on company and individual performance. The Trade Desk also offers other compensation depending on the role such as variable compensation-based incentives and commissions. Plus, expected benefits for this role include comprehensive healthcare (medical, dental, and vision) with premiums paid in full for employees and dependents, retirement benefits such as a 401k plan and company match, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, well-being benefits, reimbursement for certain tuition expenses, parental leave, sick time of 1 hour per 30 hours worked, vacation time for full-time employees up to 120 hours thru the first year and 160 hours thereafter, and around 13 paid holidays per year. Employees can also purchase The Trade Desk stock at a discount through The Trade Desk’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
The Trade Desk also offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn more.
Note: Interns are not eligible for variable incentive awards such as stock-based compensation, retirement plan, vacation, tuition reimbursement or parental leave
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.
Listing Details
- Posted
- April 15, 2026
- First seen
- March 26, 2026
- Last seen
- April 19, 2026
Posting Health
- Days active
- 23
- Repost count
- 0
- Trust Level
- 83%
- Scored at
- April 19, 2026
Signal breakdown
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