Job Description

Programmatic Media Buyer

Carbondale or Denver

At Backbone, we live by the mantra that passion drives results. We strive to align our clients with our team members’ interests, bridging the gap between work and play and keeping an eye on the elusive work/life balance. If you join our team of smart, driven marketers, you’ll become part of an extended work family, drawn together by a passion for an active lifestyle.

The Job

The Programmatic Media Buyer is a key member of Backbone’s Brand and Performance Media initiatives, responsible for planning, buying, executing, and optimizing campaigns across Programmatic, CTV, Streaming Audio, Display, Native, Digital Video, and Digital OOH. Working closely with media strategists, this role manages campaign performance primarily across self-serve platforms, ensuring budgets are invested in the right channels, audiences, and inventory to drive the strongest results.

The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience with DSPs and modern buying platforms such as The Trade Desk and Tatari, along with a strong understanding of traditional network, publisher, and partner relationships. They are detail-oriented, analytical, and strategic, with a particular strength in streaming TV/CTV and upper-funnel media investments that connect brand storytelling to measurable business outcomes.

The Work

Collaborate with the paid media team to plan, execute, and optimize programmatic campaigns within DSP platforms, ensuring strong performance across digital channels.

Oversee day-to-day campaign management, including pacing, optimization, trafficking coordination, vendor communication, and ongoing maintenance.

Develop comprehensive media plans that include audience strategy, market mix, reach and frequency projections, budget allocation, and flighting recommendations.

Negotiate directly with broadcast, cable, streaming, and audio partners to secure effective PMP and programmatic guaranteed opportunities.

Partner closely with Media Strategy, Analytics, Account, and Creative teams to ensure campaign recommendations align with brand objectives, measurement frameworks, and ad-serving capabilities.

Analyze campaign performance, audience research, and market insights to deliver clear recommendations, forecast outcomes, and communicate results through client-ready reporting and presentations.

Ensure financial and operational accuracy by QA’ing buys, orders, invoices, and post logs throughout the campaign lifecycle.

Stay ahead of industry trends by identifying new platform capabilities, emerging tools, and test-and-learn opportunities across programmatic channels, with a focus on TV, CTV, and audio.

Planning & Measurement Tools

Buying & Activation: The Trade Desk, Tatari, direct IO buying with a wide variety of networks and publishers

Planning & Audience: Nielsen (NPM, Nielsen ONE), Comscore, MRI-Simmons, Scarborough, Kantar

Measurement: Reach & Frequency analysis, Brand Lift Studies, Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), Incrementality and lift studies, Cross-channel attribution tools

The Essentials

Bachelor’s Degree

3-5 years of relevant experience

Your Capabilities

Note: we consider applicants of all backgrounds. If you are excited about what we’re doing but don’t meet some of the criteria below, please don’t let that discourage you from applying

• 3–6+ years of experience in TV, CTV, audio, and cross-channel media buying, with hands-on expertise managing campaigns across display, online video, digital audio, native, and digital OOH.

• Hands-on experience with The Trade Desk, Tatari, and/or other major DSP platforms.

• Strong understanding of media planning and buying fundamentals, including reach, frequency, GRPs, CPMs, impressions, and budget pacing.

• Proven ability to set up, manage, and optimize programmatic campaigns across channels, including bid strategy, performance analysis, and reporting.

• Experience working with ad serving tools, dynamic creative, and cross-channel or attribution reporting platforms.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and quantitative skills, with close attention to detail and financial accuracy.

• Strong communication and project management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, build internal and external relationships, and work both independently and in a team environment.

• Curious, adaptable, and eager to learn, with a strong understanding of marketing, advertising, and media principles.

The Extra Mile

Understanding of Backbone’s core values

A love of the outdoors

A sense of humor

Be you, on our team. We seek to build an inclusive team and culture that values diverse lived experiences, backgrounds and skill sets.

Salary: $60k-$70k depending on experience

Benefits: Health, Dental, Vision, 401k match

Perks: Flex time, powder days, wellness incentives, work from home/remote work options, office kegs, team hikes, floats, runs and playtime

Backbone Media is an active lifestyle marketing agency offering public relations, media planning and buying, digital media, affiliate marketing and social media management. Backbone partners with brands to target, engage and inspire the active lifestyle audience. For 23 years, Backbone has worked with gear, apparel and technology brands, as well as tourism destinations around the world. With offices in Carbondale and Denver, Colorado, Backbone has been consistently included on Outside magazine’s “Best Places to Work” list