Staff Software Engineer, Safety Experience
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Staff Software Engineer, Safety Experience
San Francisco Bay Area
Discord has a highly engaged community of millions of daily active users who use the platform for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does: play video games. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming, and we are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to hang out before, during, and after playing games.
As a Staff Engineer on the Safety Experience team, you'll be a technical leader who autonomously delivers real business impact on large, ambiguous projects. You'll design and build product features and systems that prevent harmful activities at scale while ensuring regulatory compliance. This role requires both deep technical expertise and the ability to be a force multiplier for your team: driving engineering excellence, making solid technical decisions, and remaining a top code contributor. You'll work cross-functionally to shape the technical direction of safety initiatives that protect hundreds of millions of Discord users. This role reports to the Engineering Manager of Safety Experience.
What You'll Be Doing
Lead development of high-impact, user-facing safety products that deliver measurable results for Discord's users.
Own complex, multi-milestone projects end-to-end, identifying optimal solutions, navigating ambiguity and making independent technical decisions.
Design, build, and deploy robust production APIs, backend services, and data pipelines that enable safety features to scale efficiently.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, Policy, Data Science, ML, Legal, and Trust & Safety Operations to create solutions that are both impactful and lovable.
Drive engineering excellence by mentoring others and guiding the team through architectural challenges to ensure long-term scalability.
Respond rapidly to the ever-evolving abuse and compliance landscape with strategic thinking and swift execution.
What You Should Have
8+ years of relevant industry experience, with demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, high-impact work on complex projects.
Strong expertise in Python and back-end API frameworks (Flask, Django).
Strong front-end development skills with JavaScript (React, TypeScript) for web and mobile platforms.
Significant experience in the Safety or Anti-Abuse domain with deep understanding of trust and safety challenges at scale.
Proven track record of owning large projects end-to-end with varying degrees of ambiguity, breaking down work into well-prioritized milestones with clear dependencies.
Demonstrated ability to make independent technical decisions that balance short-term needs with long-term sustainability and scalability.
Experience driving engineering excellence: setting quality standards, conducting thorough code reviews, and applying an adversarial mindset to identify security, performance, and scaling issues.
Strong communication skills with ability to provide high-quality technical feedback, drive alignment across stakeholders, and facilitate productive debates that lead to clear decisions.
Experience using metrics and dashboards (e.g., Datadog, Mode, Faros) to make data-driven decisions and monitor system health.
Ability to be a force multiplier for your team by mentoring others, establishing best practices, and helping teammates grow their skills.
Experience utilizing AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor to supercharge dev workflows
Bonus Points
Familiarity with databases such as Cassandra, Postgres, or ScyllaDB.
Experience with real-time streaming systems like Kafka or Pub-Sub.
Track record of building and operating native mobile features on iOS and Android.
Experience designing and implementing monitoring strategies and on-call/on-point processes for production systems.
Knowledge of lower-level languages such as Go, Rust, or Elixir.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $248,000 to $310,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests, and helps developers build and grow their businesses. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.
Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.
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Malta+356
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Mayotte+262
Mexico+52
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Moldova+373
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Discord has a highly engaged community of millions of daily active users who use the platform for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does: play video games. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming, and we are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to hang out before, during, and after playing games.
As a Staff Engineer on the Safety Experience team, you'll be a technical leader who autonomously delivers real business impact on large, ambiguous projects. You'll design and build product features and systems that prevent harmful activities at scale while ensuring regulatory compliance. This role requires both deep technical expertise and the ability to be a force multiplier for your team: driving engineering excellence, making solid technical decisions, and remaining a top code contributor. You'll work cross-functionally to shape the technical direction of safety initiatives that protect hundreds of millions of Discord users. This role reports to the Engineering Manager of Safety Experience.
What You'll Be Doing
Lead development of high-impact, user-facing safety products that deliver measurable results for Discord's users.
Own complex, multi-milestone projects end-to-end, identifying optimal solutions, navigating ambiguity and making independent technical decisions.
Design, build, and deploy robust production APIs, backend services, and data pipelines that enable safety features to scale efficiently.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, Policy, Data Science, ML, Legal, and Trust & Safety Operations to create solutions that are both impactful and lovable.
Drive engineering excellence by mentoring others and guiding the team through architectural challenges to ensure long-term scalability.
Respond rapidly to the ever-evolving abuse and compliance landscape with strategic thinking and swift execution.
What You Should Have
8+ years of relevant industry experience, with demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, high-impact work on complex projects.
Strong expertise in Python and back-end API frameworks (Flask, Django).
Strong front-end development skills with JavaScript (React, TypeScript) for web and mobile platforms.
Significant experience in the Safety or Anti-Abuse domain with deep understanding of trust and safety challenges at scale.
Proven track record of owning large projects end-to-end with varying degrees of ambiguity, breaking down work into well-prioritized milestones with clear dependencies.
Demonstrated ability to make independent technical decisions that balance short-term needs with long-term sustainability and scalability.
Experience driving engineering excellence: setting quality standards, conducting thorough code reviews, and applying an adversarial mindset to identify security, performance, and scaling issues.
Strong communication skills with ability to provide high-quality technical feedback, drive alignment across stakeholders, and facilitate productive debates that lead to clear decisions.
Experience using metrics and dashboards (e.g., Datadog, Mode, Faros) to make data-driven decisions and monitor system health.
Ability to be a force multiplier for your team by mentoring others, establishing best practices, and helping teammates grow their skills.
Experience utilizing AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor to supercharge dev workflows
Bonus Points
Familiarity with databases such as Cassandra, Postgres, or ScyllaDB.
Experience with real-time streaming systems like Kafka or Pub-Sub.
Track record of building and operating native mobile features on iOS and Android.
Experience designing and implementing monitoring strategies and on-call/on-point processes for production systems.
Knowledge of lower-level languages such as Go, Rust, or Elixir.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $248,000 to $310,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests, and helps developers build and grow their businesses. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.
Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.
244 results found
No results found
Afghanistan+93
Åland Islands+358
Albania+355
Algeria+213
American Samoa+1
Andorra+376
Angola+244
Anguilla+1
Antigua & Barbuda+1
Argentina+54
Armenia+374
Aruba+297
Ascension Island+247
Australia+61
Austria+43
Azerbaijan+994
Bahamas+1
Bahrain+973
Bangladesh+880
Barbados+1
Belarus+375
Belgium+32
Belize+501
Benin+229
Bermuda+1
Bhutan+975
Bolivia+591
Bosnia & Herzegovina+387
Botswana+267
Brazil+55
British Indian Ocean Territory+246
British Virgin Islands+1
Brunei+673
Bulgaria+359
Burkina Faso+226
Burundi+257
Cambodia+855
Cameroon+237
Canada+1
Cape Verde+238
Caribbean Netherlands+599
Cayman Islands+1
Central African Republic+236
Chad+235
Chile+56
China+86
Christmas Island+61
Cocos (Keeling) Islands+61
Colombia+57
Comoros+269
Congo - Brazzaville+242
Congo - Kinshasa+243
Cook Islands+682
Costa Rica+506
Côte d’Ivoire+225
Croatia+385
Cuba+53
Curaçao+599
Cyprus+357
Czechia+420
Denmark+45
Djibouti+253
Dominica+1
Dominican Republic+1
Ecuador+593
Egypt+20
El Salvador+503
Equatorial Guinea+240
Eritrea+291
Estonia+372
Eswatini+268
Ethiopia+251
Falkland Islands+500
Faroe Islands+298
Fiji+679
Finland+358
France+33
French Guiana+594
French Polynesia+689
Gabon+241
Gambia+220
Georgia+995
Germany+49
Ghana+233
Gibraltar+350
Greece+30
Greenland+299
Grenada+1
Guadeloupe+590
Guam+1
Guatemala+502
Guernsey+44
Guinea+224
Guinea-Bissau+245
Guyana+592
Haiti+509
Honduras+504
Hong Kong SAR China+852
Hungary+36
Iceland+354
India+91
Indonesia+62
Iran+98
Iraq+964
Ireland+353
Isle of Man+44
Israel+972
Italy+39
Jamaica+1
Japan+81
Jersey+44
Jordan+962
Kazakhstan+7
Kenya+254
Kiribati+686
Kosovo+383
Kuwait+965
Kyrgyzstan+996
Laos+856
Latvia+371
Lebanon+961
Lesotho+266
Liberia+231
Libya+218
Liechtenstein+423
Lithuania+370
Luxembourg+352
Macao SAR China+853
Madagascar+261
Malawi+265
Malaysia+60
Maldives+960
Mali+223
Malta+356
Marshall Islands+692
Martinique+596
Mauritania+222
Mauritius+230
Mayotte+262
Mexico+52
Micronesia+691
Moldova+373
Monaco+377
Mongolia+976
Montenegro+382
Montserrat+1
Morocco+212
Mozambique+258
Myanmar (Burma)+95
Namibia+264
Nauru+674
Nepal+977
Netherlands+31
New Caledonia+687
New Zealand+64
Nicaragua+505
Niger+227
Nigeria+234
Niue+683
Norfolk Island+672
North Korea+850
North Macedonia+389
Northern Mariana Islands+1
Norway+47
Oman+968
Pakistan+92
Palau+680
Palestinian Territories+970
Panama+507
Papua New Guinea+675
Paraguay+595
Peru+51
Philippines+63
Poland+48
Portugal+351
Puerto Rico+1
Qatar+974
Réunion+262
Romania+40
Russia+7
Rwanda+250
Samoa+685
San Marino+378
São Tomé & Príncipe+239
Saudi Arabia+966
Senegal+221
Serbia+381
Seychelles+248
Sierra Leone+232
Singapore+65
Sint Maarten+1
Slovakia+421
Slovenia+386
Solomon Islands+677
Somalia+252
South Africa+27
South Korea+82
South Sudan+211
Spain+34
Sri Lanka+94
St. Barthélemy+590
St. Helena+290
St. Kitts & Nevis+1
St. Lucia+1
St. Martin+590
St. Pierre & Miquelon+508
St. Vincent & Grenadines+1
Sudan+249
Suriname+597
Svalbard & Jan Mayen+47
Sweden+46
Switzerland+41
Syria+963
Taiwan+886
Tajikistan+992
Tanzania+255
Thailand+66
Timor-Leste+670
Togo+228
Tokelau+690
Tonga+676
Trinidad & Tobago+1
Tunisia+216
Turkey+90
Turkmenistan+993
Turks & Caicos Islands+1
Tuvalu+688
U.S. Virgin Islands+1
Uganda+256
Ukraine+380
United Arab Emirates+971
United Kingdom+44
United States+1
Uruguay+598
Uzbekistan+998
Vanuatu+678
Vatican City+39
Venezuela+58
Vietnam+84
Wallis & Futuna+681
Western Sahara+212
Yemen+967
Zambia+260
Zimbabwe+263
Responsibilities
- Lead development of high-impact, user-facing safety products
- Own complex, multi-milestone projects end-to-end
- Design, build, and deploy robust production APIs and backend services
- Collaborate cross-functionally with various teams
- Drive engineering excellence by mentoring others
- Respond rapidly to the evolving abuse and compliance landscape
Qualifications
- 8+ years of relevant industry experience
- Strong expertise in Python and back-end API frameworks
- Strong front-end development skills with JavaScript
- Significant experience in the Safety or Anti-Abuse domain
- Proven track record of owning large projects end-to-end
- Strong communication skills
Benefits
- Equity
- Comprehensive benefits package