The Trade Desk

We were founded in 2009 to provide an independent media buying platform for the open internet. Our platform specializes in online advertising, real-time bidding, demand-side platforms (DSPs), behavioral targeting, and data management platforms (DMPs).

Our platform gives brands access to customer engagement across various content, channels, and devices, offering transparency and precision in advertising. We support campaigns across digital audio, Connected TV, digital out-of-home, mobile, display, native, and video.

We also offer tools for measuring campaign results, both online and in-store, through a marketplace of objective measurement partners. Our technology helps advertisers find new audiences, grow their brands, and achieve both brand-building and performance marketing goals.

Technically, we develop machine learning models and create scalable ETLs for petabytes of data. We integrate these models into a high-performance bidding infrastructure designed for ultra-low latency, running millions of times per second across global data centers. We also develop debugging and analytical tools for real-time monitoring of the bidding system to improve campaign efficiency and budget utilization. This work involves designing data systems, applying advanced statistical methods, and developing software for statistical modeling, often using high-performance computing, Python, SQL, cloud data management, and machine learning pipelines.

Our mission is to power relevant advertising in the digital world. We do this by providing an independent media buying platform for the open internet. We believe that advertising, audience reach, client choice, return on investment, and business growth all matter, and we empower brands with smart marketing solutions.

We have between 1,001 and 5,000 employees. We foster an inclusive and innovative culture, challenging our teams to work on large-scale systems and machine learning problems. Our teams are globally connected.

Some U.S. roles, like Staff Data Scientists, are fully remote. Other positions, such as Software Engineer II in Boulder, CO, may be hybrid. For roles in EMEA, like Sourcing Partner or Recruiting Sourcer in London, we typically follow a hybrid schedule with three days in the office (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). We encourage collaboration across our mission-focused teams and provide opportunities to mentor or lead small groups.

We provide comprehensive healthcare coverage, including medical, dental, and vision, with premiums fully paid for employees and their dependents. We also offer a 401k plan with a company match, along with short and long-term disability coverage and basic life insurance.

Our financial benefits extend to an employee stock purchase plan with a discount. Employees may also receive stock-based compensation grants, sales incentives, commissions, or other role-based incentives.

For time off, we offer about 13 paid holidays annually. Full-time employees get up to 120 hours of vacation in their first year, increasing to 160 hours afterward. Sick time accrues at 1 hour per 30 hours worked. We support employee development through tuition reimbursement and provide parental leave and general well-being benefits.