Lead Product Manager - Ads Auction and Measurement (Remote - United States)

Summary

Yelp engineering culture is driven by our values: we’re a cooperative team that values individual authenticity and encourages creative solutions to problems. All new engineers deploy working code their first week, and we strive to broaden individual impact with support from managers, mentors, and teams. At the end of the day, we’re all about helping our users, growing as engineers, and having fun in a collaborative environment.

Yelp connects people with great local businesses. Our platform is powered by a vibrant community contributing reviews and engaging with local businesses daily. We monetize primarily through advertising, helping millions of businesses connect with high-intent consumers. The Ads Auction system sits at the heart of this exchange, determining which ads are shown for every opportunity.

The Ads Marketplace team is responsible for the core engine that drives Yelp's advertising business. We develop and optimize the sophisticated auction, bidding, and pacing systems that balance advertiser value (ROI), consumer experience, and Yelp's monetization goals. We work at the intersection of economics, machine learning, and large-scale systems engineering.

As the Lead Product Manager for Ads Auction and Measurement, you will own the product strategy and execution for Yelp's core ad auction, bidding, pricing, budget pacing mechanisms, and corresponding measurements. This is a highly technical leadership role where you will guide the evolution of algorithms and systems that make real-time decisions maximizing value across multiple stakeholders. You will define how we measure the performance and impact of these complex systems, focusing on both short-term efficiency and long-term impact. You will partner closely with world-class engineering and applied science teams to design, experiment, implement, and iterate on auction dynamics and the metrics that guide our progress.

This opportunity is fully remote and does not require you to be located in any particular state within the US. We welcome applicants from throughout the US. We’d love to have you apply, even if you don’t feel you meet every single requirement in this posting. At Yelp, we’re looking for great people, not just those who simply check off all the boxes.

What you'll do:

• Foster and build a fun, diverse, and inclusive culture that reflects Yelp’s values.
• Auction Strategy & Roadmap: Define and drive the product roadmap for Yelp's ads auction, bidding algorithms, pricing mechanisms, and budget pacing systems, ensuring alignment with business objectives and competitive dynamics. Identify key levers for optimization and innovation.
• Algorithm & System Optimization: Partner deeply with Engineering and Data Science to design, develop, and refine the auction-based ad selection system. Translate advertiser goals (ROI, leads, conversions), user experience, and monetization considerations into algorithmic requirements, and prioritize initiatives based on concrete data and expected impact.
• Auction Measurement & Evaluation: Define and own the key metrics framework for evaluating auction health, efficiency, and the business impact. Drive the development of robust measurement for complex trade-offs (e.g., relevance vs. monetization, short-term vs. long-term effects). Design and interpret large-scale A/B tests.
• Independent Data Analysis: Conduct hands-on analysis of large-scale auction and advertising datasets using tools like SQL and Python to uncover optimization opportunities, validate hypotheses, understand performance drivers, and inform product decisions.
• Technical Product Development: Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle for auction-related features and improvements, from ideation and requirements definition through launch and iteration.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the product leader for the auction domain, collaborating effectively with Engineering, Data Science, Sales, Finance, and other Product teams. Communicate complex technical concepts and trade-offs clearly to diverse audiences.
• Drive Business Impact: Directly influence Yelp's revenue and advertiser success by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the core ad marketplace.

What it takes to succeed:

• A Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent work experience is required
• Experience: 5+ years of technical product management experience, preferably focused on auctions, bidding systems, search ranking, or monetization platforms within the online advertising (AdTech) industry.
• Auction & Optimization Expertise: Strong theoretical understanding and practical experience with auction theory (e.g., VCG, GSP), optimization algo