Exchange Optimization Lead Analyst

Company at a Glance OpenX is focused on unleashing the full economic potential of digital media companies. We do this by making digital advertising markets and technologies that are designed to deliver optimal value to publishers and advertisers on every ad served across all screens. At OpenX, we have built a team that is uniquely experienced in designing and operating high-scale ad marketplaces, and we are constantly on the lookout for thoughtful, creative executors who are as fascinated as we are about finding new ways to apply a blend of market design, technical innovation, operational excellence, and empathetic partner service to the frontiers of digital advertising. OpenX is seeking a highly capable and entrepreneurial Lead Exchange Optimization Analyst to join our core team focused on improving the efficiency, performance, and monetization of our global programmatic exchange. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in data, is fluent in advanced SQL, and has a passion for uncovering optimization opportunities across billions of bid requests each day. You will work hands-on with rich datasets to diagnose inefficiencies, test hypotheses, and drive measurable improvements that benefit DSPs, publishers, and OpenX. While not a formal data science team, we deeply value analytical rigor and statistical thinking—and are looking to strengthen our bench with someone who brings that mindset to the table. The ideal candidate is relentlessly curious, comfortable pivoting complex data, and excited to explore the inner workings of one of the largest ad exchanges in the world. You’ll play a key role in shaping how the exchange evolves to serve a more dynamic, data-informed, and value-driven ecosystem. You’ll be empowered to go beyond just surfacing insights—your work can directly translate into action. Analysts on our team not only identify inefficiencies but also design and launch live experiments to validate improvements. When successful, those changes can be shipped to production in a matter of hours—shaping how billions of requests are processed across the exchange. Your ability to connect business understanding with data-driven execution will be critical to driving meaningful impact at scale. Our analytics stack is fully cloud-based, giving us scalable access to both raw logs and curated data views. Whether we’re debugging at the request level or analyzing patterns across weeks of exchange traffic, querying billions of records takes seconds. This speed and flexibility empower us to move quickly from hypothesis to insight to action.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyze large-scale exchange data (bid requests, impressions, wins, revenue) to surface actionable insights and optimization opportunities
• Design, execute, and evaluate experiments that test hypotheses around traffic shaping, bid filtering, pricing floors, or other monetization levers
• Develop and maintain dashboards and recurring reports in SQL and BI tools like Looker to monitor key exchange metrics and alert on anomalies
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and data science teams to refine exchange logic and build smarter systems for request routing, deal handling, and QPS allocation
• Work collaboratively across demand and supply teams to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and growth opportunities
• Serve as an internal subject matter expert on bid request data quality, ad decisioning paths, and exchange performance drivers
• Translate complex data findings into clear narratives and strategic recommendations for cross-functional stakeholders

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in analytics, data operations, or optimization within a high-scale programmatic environment (SSP, DSP, or ad exchange)
• Expert-level SQL skills, especially in BigQuery or a similar large-scale data platform
• Strong background in data analysis, statistics, or experimentation—able to interpret noisy signals and guide decision-making with evidence
• Proven ability to break down complex systems, identify optimization levers, and implement data-driven strategies
• Demonstrated ability to manipulate, aggregate, and pivot large datasets for insight discovery
• Familiarity with OpenRTB, programmatic auction mechanics, and bidstream signals
• Clear communicator who can articulate technical findings to product managers, business leads, and engineers alike

Preferred Skills:

• Analytics & Data Exploration
• Skilled in pivoting, aggregating, and slicing large datasets to identify patterns and anomalies
• Comfort with (and thrill of) exploratory data analysis and ad hoc and ongoing investigations in SQL-based environments
• Relentlessly curious about testing new ideas and concepts
• Strong ability to summarize and synthesize trends, findings and test results
• Experience with Excel/Google Sheets pivot tables, vlookups and other advanced features
• Advanced proficiency with Looker (or equivalent), including dashboard building

Programmatic Advertising Expertise:

• Familiarity with OpenRTB specifications, bid request/response structure, and auction flows
• Understanding of SSP/DSP mechanics, including campaign delivery, win rates, QPS and traffic shaping
• Exposure to supply path optimization (SPO) concepts, ad quality signals (e.g., bcat, badv), and deal types
• Basic knowledge of identity frameworks (cookies, IPs, UID2, etc.) and how they impact optimization
• Awareness of request filters, throttling, floor pricing, traffic sets, and other monetization levers

Technical Proficiency:

• Heavy (expert level) SQL + to drive ideas to experimentation to analysis
• Comfort with BigQuery or similar large-scale analytics platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift). Strong understanding of joins, UDFs, subqueries, CTEs, and performance tuning
• Familiarity with structuring analytical pipelines for analysis, learning and reporting
• Comfortable with scripting in Python, particularly for:
• Lightweight ETL or automation
• Statistical analysis (e.g., pandas, numpy, scipy)
• Bonus: Exposure to Airflow, GCP Dataform

Attitude & Mindset:

• Entrepreneurial problem-solver who thrives in ambiguity and complexity
• Strong ownership mentality—sees problems through from insight to resolution and iteration
• Naturally curious, with a bias for action and experimentation
• Comfortable operating in lightly structured environments and building frameworks from scratch
• Thrives in a fast-paced, high-scale setting, balancing speed and rigor
• Communicates clearly and concisely with both technical and non-technical partners
• Eager to challenge assumptions and improve systems—even when that means breaking status quo
• Operates as a strategic partner, not just an analyst—constantly thinking about levers, constraints, and tradeoffs

We offer:

• A high-scale, cloud-native environment with full access to raw logs and preprocessed data views
• Sub-second query performance across billions of records using modern, scalable infrastructure
• End-to-end ownership: identify opportunities, run online experiments, and deploy successful changes to production within hours
• A culture that values business context, self-agency, and fast iteration over rigid process
• The chance to directly shape how one of the largest ad exchanges in the world operates, in real time

Pursuant to any state, local ordinance, or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation. OpenX is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. For all applicants, the base salary range is noted above, per year + bonus + equity + benefits. A candidate’s salary is determined by various factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, and certifications. A summary of our benefits, which include medical, dental, vision, 401k, equity and more, can be viewed here: https://www.openx.com/company/careers/ A candidate’s salary is determined by various factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, and certifications. OpenX VALUES Our five company values form a solid bedrock serving to define us as a group and guide the company. Our values remind us that how we do things often matters as much as what we do. WE ARE ONE We are one team. There are no exceptions. We are a group of strong and diverse individuals unified by a shared mission. We embrace challenges and win together as a team. We respect and care about our colleagues and cultivate an inclusive culture WE ARE CUSTOMER CENTRIC We innovate on behalf of our customers. We understand, respect, and listen carefully to our customers. We build great products to solve our customers’ problems. We manage our customers’ expectations clearly and honestly. We are a trusted partner to all of our customers - we act with integrity at all times. We care. OPENX IS OURS We are all owners of OpenX We all have a voice to improve OpenX We stake our personal and professional reputations on the excellence of our work We are not interested in just "doing our jobs"; we take ownership to drive results WE ARE AN OPEN BOOK We understand and respect what each of us does. We are eager to teach and share what we know with others, both internally and externally. We are eager to learn from others and we ask questions internally and externally. WE EVOLVE FAST We take responsible risks and own and learn from our mistakes. We recognize and repeat success. We actively seek out and provide constructive feedback. We adapt quickly and embrace change. We tackle growth and learning with real urgency. We are endlessly curious. OpenX TRAITS Our three traits capture what makes a great team member at OpenX. HUMBLE Ideal team players are humble and demonstrate integrity. They put the team's success above their own, share credit generously, and value collective achievements. They are self-assured, open to coaching, and committed to continuous learning. DRIVEN Ideal team players are results-driven and motivated. They are curious, always seeking more to do, learn, and take on. As proactive problem-solvers, they take initiative without needing external motivation. They continuously think about the next steps and opportunities for improvement. SMART Ideal team players are smart and possess the intellectual acumen to understand the complexities of our organization and industry. They are interpersonally intelligent, good communicators, and exemplify sound judgment in their interactions across the company to foster a collaborative environment. OpenX is committed to equal employment opportunities. It is a fundamental principle at OpenX not to discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, genetic information, military or veteran status, marital status, gender identity/transgender status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, and other protected characteristic as established by law. OpenX Applicant Privacy Policy Applicants can review our Applicant Privacy Policy at any time by visiting the following link: https://www.openx.com/privacy-center/applicant-privacy-policy/. Effective Date: November 21, 2024