Senior Manager, Ad Ops - Mattel Digital Studio

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:

Mattel Game Studios (MGS) is building a digital games business inside one of the world's most iconic toy and entertainment companies. We publish mobile games — both partner-developed live titles like Uno, Phase 10, and Skip-Bo (via Mattel163) and original IP-led games launching in 2026 and beyond. We're a lean 22-person studio scaling toward 30 in 2026, with a $1B digital games business as our 2030 target. Every hire matters. Every hire ships. 

The Opportunity: 

We're hiring our first dedicated Ad Monetization & Operations leader to own in-app advertising revenue across our publishing portfolio. You'll be a player-coach from day one — personally configuring waterfalls, running experiments, and writing the SQL — while building the playbooks, tooling, and partner relationships that scale into a team behind you. This is a builder role for someone who wants to own a discipline end-to-end, not inherit one. 

What Your Impact Will Be: 

• Own ad revenue end-to-end. Configure and optimize mediation waterfalls and in-app bidding across our publishing portfolio. Manage ad units, placements, frequency caps, and pacing across rewarded video, interstitials, banners, and offerwalls. Hit ARPDAU, eCPM, fill-rate, and ad LTV targets you set with the Director of Product. 

• Run the experimentation engine. Design and ship A/B tests on placement, frequency, format, and waterfall configuration. Build a hypothesis-test-readout cadence the rest of the studio can rely on. Bring statistical rigor — every claim defended with data. 

• Manage network and mediation partnerships. Own the relationships with AppLovin, Unity, AdMob, ironSource, Meta, Mintegral, Pangle, and others. Negotiate floors, evaluate new networks, manage SDK upgrades and integration cycles, and resolve revenue discrepancies. 

• Build the measurement stack. Partner with Analytics to wire ad revenue into BigQuery, Mixpanel, and Singular. Stand up dashboards that the LiveOps PMs and Growth team rely on daily. Own ad LTV measurement and the IAA-IAP interplay model. 

• Apply AI as a force multiplier. Use modern AI tooling to compress the work — anomaly detection, SQL generation, A/B test summarization, partner correspondence, vendor evaluation. Stay current on AI-enabled ad-tech and bring credible recommendations to the table. We're not asking you to build AI — we're asking you to use it to do the work of three people. 

• Coordinate with UA and LiveOps. Ad LTV feeds UA bidding; ad placements affect retention and IAP conversion. Operate across these seams with the Sr. Director of Growth and the LiveOps PMs without dropping balls. 

• Partner with Mattel163. Our Beijing-based partner team runs ad ops on Uno, Phase 10, and Skip-Bo. You'll establish the working model — share learnings, align on standards, divide-and-conquer geographies and titles. 

• Champion player experience. These are family-friendly games tied to iconic brands. Brand safety, ad quality, age-appropriate content, and frequency discipline are non-negotiable. You will say no to revenue that compromises the brand. 

• Build the playbook. Document standards for new title launches: SDK integration checklists, placement design principles, A/B test protocols, network onboarding, incident response. Make it possible to scale this discipline to 3-5 titles without losing rigor. 

What We’re Looking For:

• 5+ years in mobile F2P ad monetization or ad operations, with hands-on ownership of waterfalls, mediation, and yield optimization. This is not transferable from web ad ops, programmatic display, or ad-network sales-side experience. 

• Hands-on fluency in mediation platforms — AppLovin MAX, ironSource LevelPlay, AdMob, or equivalent. You can configure a waterfall in your sleep and explain the difference between in-app bidding and traditional waterfall to a designer. 

• Demonstrable revenue impact. You will be asked for specific examples — a placement test that lifted ARPDAU by X%, a network swap that improved fill in geo Y, a frequency change that traded Z impressions for W retention. Bring numbers. 

• SQL fluency. You can write your own queries against BigQuery or equivalent. You don't wait for an analyst. 

• Experimentation rigor. You understand power calculations, segmentation traps, and the difference between a real lift and a noisy one. 

• Hybrid IAP/IAA experience. You've worked on titles where IAP was the primary revenue driver and IAA was the wedge — and you know how rewarded video can lift LTV without cannibalizing IAP. 

• Casual or puzzle genre experience preferred. Match-3, card, board, or hybrid-casual specifically. Mid-core or hyper-casual experience is a complement, not a substitute. 

• Working knowledge of post-ATT measurement — SKAdNetwork, conversion value mapping, and how ad LTV gets attributed in a privacy-constrained world. 

• AI-augmented workflow. You actively use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, etc.) in your daily work and can articulate where they help and where they don't. We don't expect you to build AI; we expect you to use it well. 

• Builder's mindset. You've operated in environments where the playbook didn't exist yet, and you wrote it. You're comfortable being the only person in your function and want it that way for now. 

• Brand-aware judgment. You can hold the line on ad quality and brand safety against revenue pressure when it matters. 

Nice to Have 

• Experience with at least one IP-led or licensed title. 

• Direct work with a China-based ad ops or development partner. 

• Familiarity with publisher-platform tooling (Singular, Mixpanel, Heroic Labs / Nakama, BigQuery). 

• Prior experience hiring or growing into a team-of-one-to-three lead role. 

*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!

How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are:
Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
Corporate Philanthropy