---
title: 'Sr. Director, Media Planning and Buying at KAYAK'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-director-media-planning-and-buying-kayak-coral-gables-sfz1p5bbkpfc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Sr. Director, Media Planning and Buying at KAYAK

- **Company:** KAYAK
- **Location:** Coral Gables
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kayak/684f276f-fc7a-4657-9480-73e8a02f804b

## Job description

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is a leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We’re also transforming business travel with a new corporate travel solution, KAYAK for Business.

As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others. From start-up to industry leader, innovation is in our DNA and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark. Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

KAYAK is looking for a strategic Senior Director, Media Planning & Buying to shape how we invest in media across markets and channels. You will partner with Brand, Growth, Creative, Analytics, Finance, Product and Commercial teams to build effective, measurable campaigns that support audience growth and business outcomes.

This role will be required to work from our Miami, FL office 3 days per week.

## IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL:

- Define and lead KAYAK’s multi-market media planning and buying strategy across offline and digital channels.
- Own annual and quarterly media planning cycles, including budget allocation, forecasting, pacing, optimization and performance reviews.
- Develop integrated media plans spanning TV and video, out-of-home (OOH), radio, paid social, display, programmatic, search and other relevant channels.
- Balance brand impact, audience growth, efficiency and measurable business results across media investments.
- Establish measurement frameworks and feedback loops to evaluate reach, effectiveness, incrementality, efficiency and return on investment.
- Partner with Analytics and external measurement providers on attribution, incrementality testing and media mix modeling.
- Use campaign performance, consumer insights, competitive intelligence and market trends to develop clear investment recommendations.
- Manage strategic relationships with media agencies, publishers, broadcasters, technology partners and other vendors.
- Collaborate with Creative and Brand teams to translate audience and media insights into compelling, channel-appropriate campaigns.
- Partner with Finance, Product, Growth and Commercial leaders to align media investment with business priorities and communicate trade-offs clearly.
- Lead, coach and develop media professionals while building strong working practices across distributed, cross-functional teams.

## PLEASE APPLY IF YOU HAVE:

- 10+ years of progressive experience in media planning and buying, including responsibility for multi-market campaigns and substantial budgets.
- Proven track record of using media investment to drive measurable brand awareness growth while delivering strong ROI and business results.
- Demonstrated expertise across offline and digital media, including TV/video, out-of-home, radio, paid social, display, programmatic and search.
- A track record of developing and executing integrated media strategies that deliver measurable business results.
- Experience leading annual and quarterly media planning cycles, including budget allocation, forecasting, pacing, optimization, vendor negotiation and performance evaluation.
- Strong knowledge of marketing measurement, including KPI development, incrementality testing, attribution, media mix modeling (MMM) and ROI or ROAS analysis.
- Advanced Excel skills and the ability to use data to develop clear, actionable recommendations.
- Experience hiring, managing, coaching and developing high-performing media or marketing teams.
- Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior agencies, publishers, broadcasters, technology partners and internal stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and storytelling skills, with the ability to explain complex media decisions to senior audiences.
- A bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Business, Economics, Statistics or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

## BENEFITS AND PERKS

- Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year
- Focus on mental health and well-being:
- Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth
- Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace
- Company-wide week off a year - the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)
- No meeting Fridays
- Paid parental leave
- Generous paid vacation + time off for your birthday
- Paid volunteer time
- Focus on your career growth:
- Development Dollars
- Leadership development
- Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings
- Travel Discounts
- Employee Resource Groups
- Competitive retirement and health plans
- Free lunch 2 days per week

## INCLUSION

At KAYAK, we want everyone to have the space to grow, share ideas and do great work. That’s why we’re focused on hiring the best talent from all walks of life and experiences, supporting them well and making sure no one feels like they have to fit a mold to belong here.

Need any adjustments for the interview, application or on the job? No problem—we’ve got you.

## #LI-AS1

## About KAYAK

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: KAYAK is the world’s leading travel metasearch engine, enabling travelers to compare flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages from hundreds of sites in one place.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc., NASDAQ: BKNG)
- **Headquarters**: Stamford, Connecticut, USA (with 15 international offices)
- **Founded**: 2004
- **Founders**: Steve Hafner (former CEO until February 2026) and Paul English

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Online travel, travel technology, metasearch.
- **Target customers**: B2C (leisure and business travelers) and B2B (travel providers, advertisers, and corporate clients via KAYAK for Business).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To help travelers make confident travel decisions by providing transparent, comprehensive search results that put control back in their hands. KAYAK believes “travel makes the world better.”

## Products & Services
- **KAYAK Metasearch**: Core product allowing comparison of flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages from hundreds of travel sites.
- **KAYAK for Business (K4B)**: Free corporate travel solution for business travelers.
- **KAYAK Mobile App**: iOS and Android app offering seamless travel planning, price forecasts, price alerts, trip management, and AI-powered search.
- **KAYAK.ai**: AI-powered travel assistant providing personalized tips, live pricing, and conversational booking.
- **Explore Tool**: Inspires spontaneous travel by showing destinations within a chosen budget.
- **Trips**: Personal travel assistant for organizing, managing, and sharing itineraries with real-time flight status.
- **Price Forecast & Alerts**: Predicts price trends and notifies users of changes for flights, hotels, and car rentals.
- **KAYAK for Partners & Advertisers**: Commission-based and advertising revenue models.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed as a subsidiary; parent Booking Holdings has a market cap of ~$150+ billion (as of mid-2025).
- **Key Metric**: Processes billions of searches annually; 800+ team members; 60+ international sites in 25+ languages.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Owned by Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), which acquired KAYAK in 2013. Partners with hundreds of airlines, hotels, online travel agencies, and car rental companies.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Named #1 Best Airfare Search Site by Frommer’s (2024, 2025).
  - Won World’s Best Flight & Hotel Comparison Website at World Travel Tech Awards (2022–2024).
  - Recognized by Statista & COMPUTER BILD as a Top Online Platform 2025.
  - First mainstream travel company to introduce AI-powered conversational search (KAYAK AI Mode).
  - Expanded portfolio of 7 travel search brands globally.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover in travel metasearch**: Pioneered the concept in 2004, creating a trusted, comprehensive comparison platform.
- **Unbiased results**: Displays fares from all major providers without favoritism, clearly labeling booking sources.
- **Massive data advantage**: Processes billions of searches, enabling powerful AI/ML tools like Price Forecast and AI Mode.
- **Global brand portfolio**: Manages 7 brands (KAYAK, SWOODOO, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi, HotelsCombined) with a global footprint.
- **Strong financial backing**: Part of Booking Holdings, providing stability and resources for innovation.
- **High trust & recognition**: Consistently ranked #1 by leading travel publications and awards.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI & personalization**: Leading with AI-powered search and conversational planning to improve user experience.
- **Expanding corporate travel**: Growing KAYAK for Business as a free, self-service corporate travel tool.
- **Global scale**: Continuing to expand international sites and language support.
- **Innovation in search tools**: Developing new features like Price Forecast, Explore, and real-time trip management.
- **Maintaining transparency**: Strengthening trust through clear labeling and fair marketplace practices.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven, data-obsessed team of 800+ passionate about travel technology; emphasis on career growth, skill development, and individual learning.
- **Work policy**: Hybrid model – team members work from the office three days a week, with flexibility to come in more often. Some roles are fully remote (US-based).
- **Perks**: Part of a global network including OpenTable and a portfolio of travel metasearch brands; employee-resource groups for under-represented communities; global equal-pay policy.
- **Engineering culture**: Strong focus on data, AI, and scalable systems (billions of queries); tech stack includes modern Java, frontend frameworks, and ETL tools.
- **Global opportunities**: 15 international offices with opportunities to work across teams.
- **Recognition**: Named a top employer by Built In and industry awards.
- **Caution**: KAYAK warns of fraudulent job ads – all genuine recruitment ends with @kayak.com, and no payment is ever requested from candidates.

## Sources
1. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/careers/)
2. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/about)
3. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/c/help/about/)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kayak)
5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kayak)

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