Activation Operations Analyst, FreeWheel

FreeWheel, a Comcast company, provides comprehensive ad platforms for publishers, advertisers, and media buyers. Powered by premium video content, robust data, and advanced technology, we’re making it easier for buyers and sellers to transact across all screens, data types, and sales channels. As a global company, we have offices in nine countries and can insert advertisements around the world. Job Summary Activation Operations manages the post-activation lifecycle of programmatic Deal IDs once buyers have activated them. This role monitors delivery, troubleshoots technical issues, and optimizes performance to ensure deals run smoothly and meet expectations. The team serves as the primary operational owner for live deals, collaborating closely with Sales, Account Management, the Inventory Desk, Business Intelligence, and other cross-functional teams to coordinate programmatic demand and supply across the FreeWheel ecosystem. Sitting within the Programmatic Activation pillar, this role works in close coordination with Supply Activation and Demand Activation to support seamless deal performance post-activation through ongoing optimization and troubleshooting, ensuring deals deliver as expected and buyers achieve their campaign objectives. Job Description Core Responsibilities Deal Monitoring & Delivery Management • Monitor live Deal ID performance and delivery across DSPs, SSPs, and internal ad serving platforms • Track key metrics including impressions, win rates, bid rates, spend, fill rate, and revenue performance • Identify delivery issues such as under-delivery, pacing discrepancies, or bid suppression • Ensure deals are delivering according to agreed targeting, pricing, and inventory parameters Troubleshooting & Issue Resolution • Investigate issues impacting live deals including deal not receiving bids, low win rate or unexpected bid behavior, DSP targeting mismatches, pricing/floor conflicts, and supply path or seat configuration issues • Work with internal DSP traders, SSP partners, and internal product/engineering teams to resolve technical problems • Diagnose issues across platforms such as bid requests, deal targeting, inventory eligibility, and auction dynamics Optimization & Performance Improvement • Analyze performance trends and proactively recommend optimizations • Recommend configuration adjustments and optimizations including deal priority, floor pricing, inventory packages, and targeting parameters • Identify opportunities to increase delivery, revenue, and buyer satisfaction • Devise new tactics, strategies, and frameworks for optimization to be used by both external and internal customers Cross-Functional Collaboration • Partner closely with Sales and Account Management for deal expectations • Collaborate with Product to roll out new programmatic products, features, and capabilities • Collaborate with programmatic strategy teams on deal performance insights and with Product/Engineering for platform troubleshooting • Provide operational support for escalations from buyers or internal stakeholders Reporting & Insights • Build and maintain post-activation reporting dashboards • Deliver insights on delivery trends, buyer behavior, and auction dynamics impacting deals • Provide regular updates on deal health and performance to internal teams • Analyze bid data to resolve technical bid activity issues • Review and analyze bid data and historical marketplace activity to improve PMP performance and delivery AI-Assisted Operations & Workflow Innovation • Leverage AI-assisted tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Glean, and large language models to enhance operational efficiency and analytical capabilities • Apply AI-driven approaches to streamline reporting, documentation, deal analysis, and troubleshooting workflows • Utilize AI tools to identify patterns in deal performance data and surface optimization opportunities more quickly • Stay current on emerging AI capabilities and integrate them into day-to-day operational processes where applicable Process Improvement & Operational Excellence • Develop and document standard operating procedures for post-activation deal monitoring • Identify recurring issues and recommend workflow improvement to scale operational efficiency as deal volume grows • Provide troubleshooting and QA support to address campaign performance issues • Other duties and responsibilities as assigned Minimum Qualifications • 2-5 years of experience in programmatic advertising operations, digital advertising analytics, or technical ad operations roles with strong programmatic knowledge • Strong understanding of Deal IDs, PMP deals, programmatic guaranteed, and open auction dynamics • Deep knowledge of the programmatic ecosystem, including SSP and ad server technologies, DSPs, auction mechanics, identity and addressability, and cross-platform video supply • Familiarity with major DSPs (e.g., The Trade Desk, Google DV360) • Familiarity with SSPs/exchanges (e.g., Magnite, PubMatic) • Strong analytical skills with the ability to work confidently across large, diverse data sets to quickly identify delivery issues and trends • Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools (e.g., Looker or similar BI dashboards) • Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills • Experience working cross-functionally with sales, buyers, and technical teams • Strong communication skills for translating technical issues into clear explanations • Detail-oriented with strong operational rigor • Comfortable managing large volumes of live deals simultaneously • Proactive mindset for identifying issues before buyers escalate • Ability to work independently with moderate guidance while knowing when to escalate • Highly organized and self-motivated with a track record of delivering against goals • Comfort working with AI-assisted tools and a demonstrated willingness to integrate AI into day-to-day workflows (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Glean, large language mode