Senior Backend Software Engineer

About the role

JOB DESCRIPTION

Insight Global is seeking a Sr. Backend Software Engineer (Ad Engineering) for a leading streaming and digital media client. We’re seeking a highly experienced backend engineer to design and scale the next generation of the advertising platform. This is a hands-on, high-impact role for someone with deep experience in programmatic advertising and the technical leadership skills to own complex systems from architecture through production. You’ll solve ambiguous technical problems, evaluate business and engineering tradeoffs, and collaborate as a peer-level partner with senior engineers and technical leadership. The ideal candidate can clearly explain what they built, why specific architectural decisions were made, how the system operated at scale, and the measurable impact of their work. The client is language agnostic. Much of our backend code is written in Golang, Ruby, and Node.js, with additional systems using C++ and Python. The services run on Kubernetes, and we practice continuous deployment. This is a fully remote role as well as a direct hire.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

8+ years of backend software engineering experience building large-scale distributed systems and microservices.

Deep, hands-on experience within the programmatic advertising ecosystem.

Experience building or owning core advertising technology, rather than working exclusively on publisher-side integrations.

Demonstrated ownership of complex system architecture and technical decision-making.

Strong examples of designing, scaling, and operating high-throughput, highly available systems.

Ability to evaluate and communicate business and technical tradeoffs.

Strong independent problem-solving skills, particularly in ambiguous environments.

Proficiency in Golang, Java, C++, Ruby, Node.js, Python, or a comparable backend language.

Experience with AWS or a similar cloud platform, distributed systems, microservices, Docker, and Kubernetes.

Strong communication skills with the ability to explain architecture, design alternatives, ownership, and system behavior in technical depth.

Strong knowledge of several of the following: Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI); VAST and video ad delivery; Ad serving and ad decisioning; DSP and SSP integrations; OpenRTB and programmatic auctions; Identity, targeting, measurement, or ad-event processing.

NICE TO HAVE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Experience building advertising systems for connected TV, OTT, or streaming media.

Knowledge of the end-to-end ad ecosystem across publishers, ad servers, SSPs, DSPs, identity providers, and measurement partners.

Experience with HLS or DASH manifest processing, live or on-demand video monetization, and ad-event data pipelines.

Experience leading major technical initiatives while remaining actively involved in implementation.

A record of mentoring engineers and elevating technical standards across a team.

Pay Transparency:

The expected Annual Salary for this position is up to $235,000/year.

Vacancy Status:

This Posting is for a current vacant role, and the successful candidate will be hired into an existing open position.

Artificial intelligence tools are used to assist in screening and assessing applicants for this position.