Director, Ad Product

Business Insider is looking to hire a creative and technically experienced Director, Ad Product to join our Ad Innovation team. The role involves leading the development, evolution, and execution of Business Insider’s premium ad products and high-impact advertising experiences, while managing the Ad Solutions design team and working closely with Product, Engineering, UX/Design, AdOps, Sales, Marketing, Studios, Media Planning and external vendor partners to bring innovative ad solutions to market.

Business Insider is for people who are driven, optimistic and always looking forward. Our mission is to inspire action through thought-provoking stories. We tell our audience what they want and need to know to improve their lives and the world with storytelling that is accessible, smart, sometimes unexpected, and always helpful. Our team members embody and uphold Business Insider’s three core values: we are all one team, we are effective, and we strive to get better every day.

Ad Innovation is an integral part in accelerating and planning the creative evolution of Business Insider’s ad products and solutions to be more innovative, premium and to create distinct products for advertisers. Our Ad Innovation team values a culture that is collaborative, curious, inclusive and welcoming - a culture focused on solving problems and consistently delivering value while leaving egos out of the equation.

The Role & Team:

Business Insider is seeking a Director, Ad Product to serve as the technical & creative lead for our Ad Innovation team. Ad Innovation is a team of product and GTM experts within our Revenue Operations department.

In this role, you will own the technical vision, design direction, and execution of high-impact, innovative ad products across Business Insider’s entire media ecosystem. This includes driving the strategy for both our owned-and-operated site and our rapidly growing offsite footprint—spanning social-first sponsorships, creator-led advertising, CTV/FAST, and distributed platforms like Apple News, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

You will lead the 'how' of ad innovation—managing and optimizing the Ad Solutions design team to ensure flawless execution, while contributing to the creation of high-fidelity pre-sale conceptual mocks and prototypes for high-value advertising pitches. You will drive technical delivery with Product & Technology (P&T) and ensure all design and technical builds strictly align with and execute against the overarching commercial strategy and ad product roadmap.

This role currently reports directly to the SVP, Revenue Operations and offers a hybrid/remote work environment with access to our New York City office.

Key Responsibilities:

Ad Product Development & Execution

• Lead Multi-Platform Product Implementation: Oversee the technical development of ad products across all touchpoints, ensuring that whether a campaign lives onsite, on social, or on a distributed platform, it meets strict technical specifications and functions flawlessly.
• Vendor Evaluation & Integration: Actively research, scout, and evaluate external ad technology partners and vendors. Lead the integration, QA, and roadmap alignment with these partners to accelerate market launch for new capabilities.
• Drive Emerging Platform Innovation: Architect, test, and implement ad opportunities outside of the traditional O&O site, focusing on social platforms, short-form video, creator-driven monetization models, and CTV/FAST environments.
• Product Performance and Optimization: Use data-driven insights, campaign performance metrics, and rigorous A/B testing to refine and optimize ad designs, maximizing ROI for advertisers and engagement for the network.
• Troubleshooting & QA: Serve as the senior escalation point for technical and creative execution issues, bugs, and QA hurdles throughout the product life cycle.

GTM & Sales Enablement Support

• Sales Enablement Materialization: When applicable, deliver compelling, technically feasible pre-sale concepts, live-code demos, and interactive mockups that bring new ad products to life for client pitches.
• Product Specifications & Documentation: Own the end-to-end operational documentation for all new and existing ad products. Develop clear, comprehensive spec guides, technical requirements, lead times, and asset templates.
• Education & Enablement: Maintain detailed internal FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and product reference materials to ensure Sales, Marketing, and Client Success teams are fully equipped for successful product rollouts.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Negotiation

• Sales Enablement Partner: Support the commercial team by ensuring the design studio is equipped to deliver compelling, executable pre-sale concepts that help win business.
• P&T Technical Partner: Act as the primary partner for ad product development, designing ad product prototypes and concepts.
• AdOps Operations Lead: Lead communication with the AdOps team to coordinate implementation requirements, tracking, and launch readiness for new ad products.
• Strategic Alignment: Receive and execute against the commercial vision defined by the team's Strategic Lead, providing implementation plans, feasibility assessments, and design updates to ensure the overarching strategy is brought to market successfully.

Design Leadership & Creative Direction

• Set Premium Design Standards: Lead the creative vision and UI/UX standards for all new premium ad products, ensuring every ad experience feels premium, cohesive, and native to the user experience.
• Drive Pre-Sale Innovation: Design and develop high-end pre-sale mocks, interactive prototypes, and custom ad concepts to support priority Sales pitches and showcase new multi-platform capabilities.
• Team Optimization & Management: Manage and mentor the Ad Solutions design team, optimizing their workflows to maintain a flawless post-sale campaign delivery engine while successfully supporting strategic pre-sale design needs.

 

The ideal candidate will have:

• Experience in advertising solutions, ad product innovation, creative strategy, product management, media, or a similar role.
• Experience managing or guiding creative, design, production, or cross-functional execution teams.
• Strong understanding of digital advertising products, creative formats, ad technology, campaign execution, and premium media experiences.
• Experience developing, launching, or optimizing new advertising products, templates, sponsorship models, or monetizable digital experiences.
• Experience partnering with Product, Engineering, UX/Design, AdOps, Sales, Marketing, and vendor teams to bring products from concept to market.
• Experience supporting Sales teams through product education, pitch development, strategic mocks, client-facing materials, and product rollout.
• Experience managing external vendors or technology partners, including evaluation, implementation, QA, troubleshooting, and roadmap alignment.
• Strong creative judgment and ability to translate advertiser objectives into compelling, brand-safe, technically feasible ad experiences.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to drive alignment among multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to lead and operate in ambiguous environments and execute with urgency.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple workstreams, launches, stakeholders, and deadlines at once.
• A proactive, curious, solutions-oriented approach to identifying new revenue opportunities and improving existing products.
• Experience with social advertising, creator-led sponsorships, distributed content, short-form video, platform-native ad products, or new social monetization opportunities is a strong plus.
• Experience with AI-powered advertising products, conversational ad experiences, creative automation, newsletter monetization, video/audio sponsorships, CTV/FAST, or high-impact custom display formats is a plus.
  
  

Salary & Benefits:

• Base salary: $135,000-$150,000 (dependent on skills, experience, and competencies) plus bonus
• Bonus available in addition to base salary
• Unlimited PTO, 10 company holidays, and 16 weeks of parental leave
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Matched and vested 401k plan
• Access to resources for financial planning guidance, family planning services, mental health reach out and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
• Additional benefits include commuter benefits, phone reimbursement, gym membership discounts, and more

Business Insider is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and, when making employment decisions, does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, age, nationality or national origin, religion, disability, familial status, and military or veteran status. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented groups to apply.

Business Insider is a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE, a family-owned transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York. Axel Springer is dedicated to shaping the future of journalism in the free world, believing that a free and informed society is essential to democracy. The company’s guiding principles – first articulated as The Essentials by founder Axel Springer in the aftermath of World War II – remain a cornerstone of the company’s foundation today. Learn more about Axel Springer.