- Company Name
- Airbnb
- Job Title
- Senior Backend Software Engineer, Media Ingestion & Serving
- Job Description
-
**Job Title**
Senior Backend Software Engineer, Media Ingestion & Serving
**Role Summary**
Design, implement, and maintain high‑performance, highly reliable backend services and data pipelines that ingest, process, and serve large volumes of media assets (images, videos, metadata) at scale. Own end‑to‑end workflows that enable ML/AI analysis, drive infrastructure cost reduction, and expand media capabilities for product teams across the organization.
**Expectations**
- Deliver production‑ready backend solutions that meet strict reliability, performance, and cost metrics.
- Own the evolution of media ingestion, transcoding, and metadata pipeline architecture.
- Collaborate closely with product, ML, and infrastructure teams to translate business needs into scalable technical designs.
- Mentor junior engineers, encourage best practices, and foster a culture of continuous learning.
- Keep abreast of emerging distributed systems, media processing, and ML infrastructure technologies.
**Key Responsibilities**
1. Architect and develop backend services in Java/Kotlin (or equivalent) for media ingestion, processing, and serving.
2. Build data pipelines and batch processing frameworks that support ML/AI workflows, metadata extraction, and downstream consumption.
3. Implement APIs, data models, and storage strategies that ensure high throughput and low latency.
4. Optimize existing infrastructure for performance, reliability, and cost efficiency (image transformation, storage, vendor consolidation).
5. Partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to design self‑serve solutions for product teams’ media needs.
6. Stay current on industry trends and evaluate new tools/frameworks for potential adoption.
7. Mentor and guide team members, providing technical direction and career development support.
**Required Skills**
- ≥5 years of backend engineering experience, with a deep understanding of large‑scale distributed systems.
- Proven expertise in media technologies: image processing, video transcoding, or metadata management.
- Strong background in building data pipelines, batch processing, or ML workflow platforms.
- Proficiency in Java or Kotlin; experience designing REST/GraphQL APIs and robust data models.
- Hands‑on experience with workflow orchestration (e.g., Airflow, Prefect) and cloud infrastructure.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills; comfortable working with cross‑functional teams.
**Required Education & Certifications**
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field (Master’s or higher degrees preferred).
- Relevant certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, GCP Professional Cloud Architect, or similar) are a plus but not mandatory.
San francisco, United states
On site
Senior
26-01-2026