Associate Partner Activation Manager

Advertising is a trillion-dollar global industry split into silos that don't talk to each other, and every platform grades its own homework. Samba is the independent layer in the middle. Over the last two decades we built our own technology to understand media at scale, across streaming, linear and the web, in 40+ countries. The Samba Knowledge Graph ties it together: one connected map of content, audiences and outcomes that the industry has never had. As media workflows go agentic, the quality of decisions is only as good as the data behind it. We built the tools to put it to work. Join us this year and help build what the industry runs on.

The Associate Partner Operations Manager owns partner onboarding, taxonomy strategy, and pricing operations for Samba's data syndication platform (“Gravity”), while acting as the technical liaison between account/partner teams and Engineering. This role sits at the intersection of Programmatic and Technical Account Management, Product and Partnerships — coordinating cross-functional project work as partners onboard, model, and distribute their datasets for syndication. It combines hands-on platform and ticket work with partner-facing strategy, taxonomy guidance, and both internal and external coordination.

Core Responsibilities

• Serve as the go-to expert on platform capabilities and limitations, supporting both internal teams and external partners/advertisers.
• Troubleshoot segment issues ahead of escalation — understanding nuances of platforms and expected SLAs for for modeling and distribution.
• Lead onboarding, auditing, and taxonomy strategy for data partners and agencies.
• Create and present business reviews for data partners.
• Own custom partner reporting as required and maintain accuracy of taxonomy pricing and destinations.
• File and escalate platform tickets between account teams and Engineering/Product — covering access requests, cross-region data bridging, segment permissions, importer/ID mapping, and export capability.
• Support identity match testing and onboarding architecture for new data imports (S3/SFTP).

Required Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in ad tech, programmatic operations, partner/account management, or a related platform-support role.
• Working knowledge of DSPs (The Trade Desk, DV360) and how audience segments surface, price, and activate within them.
• Familiarity with data partner or SSP integrations and segment/taxonomy management.
• Comfort troubleshooting technical issues and coordinating across account, product, and engineering teams.
• Eagerness to expand knowledge across programmatic ecosystems, audience targeting, and identity resolution.
• Strong Excel proficiency (SUMIFS, INDEX/MATCH, pivot tables, VLOOKUP).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for both internal and client-facing contexts.
• BA/BS in Marketing, Business, Data, or a related field.

Preferred Experience

• Direct experience with identity or data partners such as Acxiom, Experian, or ThinkNow.
• Familiarity with S3/SFTP data onboarding and audience file formatting methodology.
• Intimate knowledge of Programmatic advertising with working knowledge of DMPs, DSPs, SSPs, and identity resolution.
• Working knowledge of SQL.
• Proficiency with CRM and project management tools (Salesforce, Jira, Asana, etc.)