Senior Software Engineer
Open SelectAbout the role
Senior Software Engineer, Live Streaming & Real-Time Systems
Location: Los Angeles, CA (In person)
Salary: up to $150,000 + up to 4% equity
Industry: Gaming / Live Interactive Streaming
Who You'll Join
A live interactive mobile game show, rebuilt by a team who took a similar format to a $100M valuation within six months of launch. The twist this time is two-way: the host plays directly against the audience in real time. The beta season already proved it out, with 5,000 to 6,000 live concurrent viewers, 30,000 downloads, and national tech press coverage. The team is heading into a relaunch this autumn to grow that audience and set up its next funding round.
What You'll Do
Own the Unity front end and the real-time backend end to end.
Keep thousands of concurrent players in sync during live shows.
Solve for audio and video sync under real streaming load.
Set the architecture direction as the audience scales past beta numbers.
Partner with the founders and outgoing tech lead through the autumn relaunch.
Build toward full technical leadership as the team grows post-raise.
Who You Are
You have hands-on Unity experience and real-time infrastructure chops.
You have worked with tools like Azure SignalR or similar messaging systems.
Gaming experience is not required. Live video or collaboration tools translate well.
You own technical decisions as an IC, not just execute someone else's plan.
You have shipped something from zero to one before.
You are comfortable with early-stage risk in exchange for real equity upside.
Bonus: you are open to relocating to LA, with housing covered for three months.
Tech Stack
Unity, Azure, SignalR, real-time messaging and queues, live video and audio streaming infrastructure.
Why You'll Thrive
Join at the ground floor with founders who have already proven this model works.
Take real ownership of a live platform used by tens of thousands.
Work directly with the founders, not buried in a large team.
Equity reflects genuine early-stage upside, plus a clear path to CTO.
Relocation and three months of housing make the move to LA simple.
Responsibilities
- Own the Unity front end and the real-time backend end to end
- Keep thousands of concurrent players in sync during live shows
- Solve for audio and video sync under real streaming load
- Set the architecture direction as the audience scales past beta numbers
- Partner with the founders and outgoing tech lead through the autumn relaunch
- Build toward full technical leadership as the team grows post-raise
Qualifications
- Hands-on Unity experience and real-time infrastructure skills
- Experience with tools like Azure SignalR or similar messaging systems
- Ability to own technical decisions as an individual contributor
- Experience shipping a product from zero to one
- Comfortable with early-stage risk for equity upside
Benefits
- Equity reflecting genuine early-stage upside
- Clear path to CTO
- Relocation assistance with three months of housing covered
Skills mentioned
About Open Select
Open Select is a specialist engineering recruitment firm working with venture-backed startups across the US and UK. We focus on the hires that define a company's technical direction: full-stack engineers, first infrastructure and DevOps hires, early AI and ML engineers, and the core product and platform teams that set the foundations for everything that follows. Founded in London in 2011. Now operating across New York, San Francisco, and the UK. We work closely with founders, CTOs, and early engineering leaders at the point where hiring decisions matter most. Post-raise, pre-scale, from the first engineering hires through the teams that take a company from Series A to Series B. We are often involved before a formal search exists, advising on team structure, sequencing hires, and helping founders avoid the early mistakes that quietly cap engineering teams later on. What makes Open Select different: Depth, not volume. Carefully curated shortlists of engineers who fit the stage, the technical challenge, and the ambition. No padding, no time-wasters. True partnership. We operate as an extension of early teams, aligned to product goals and technical direction rather than placement targets. Early-stage specialists. We understand the ambiguity, the speed, and the stakes of Seed through Series B hiring in a way generalist recruiters do not. If you are a founder building a technical team, or an engineer looking to join a high-bar startup, we are always happy to connect.