Seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead design and development of scalable, low-latency buy-side ad tech systems. Must have deep expertise in Golang, real-time bidding, campaign pacing, and optimization algorithms with experience in DSP/performance advertising. Responsibilities include architecting real-time bidding systems, leading bidder service development, designing campaign pacing and budget management algorithms, owning deal execution and bid shading systems, building data pipelines with Kafka/Flink/Spark, collaborating with ML teams, supporting programmatic protocols, ensuring data quality and compliance, performance tuning, mentoring engineers, and evaluating new technologies. Requires 8+ years software engineering experience, strong Golang skills, real-time bidding platform experience, knowledge of streaming systems, programmatic advertising standards, SQL and cloud platforms, and a bachelor's degree in engineering. Hybrid work schedule with 3 days in office and 2 remote. Benefits include paid leave, healthcare, commuter benefits, unlimited DTO, and more. Salary range $200,000 to $228,750 USD.
What you'll do
Architect, design, and build high-throughput, ultra-low-latency real-time bidding systems for buy-side advertising platforms
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Lead development of bidder services handling millions of QPS with strict latency and reliability SLAs using Golang/C/C++
Design and implement campaign pacing, budget management, and delivery optimization algorithms across multiple objectives (CPA, ROAS, CTR, CVR)
Own core systems for deal execution, auction participation, bid shading, and supply path optimization
Build and evolve real-time and near-real-time data pipelines for impressions, clicks, conversions, and attribution using Kafka, Flink, or Spark
Collaborate closely with ML engineers to productionize models such as bid optimization, contextual bandits, reach forecasting, and incrementality models
Integrate and maintain support for programmatic advertising protocols (OpenRTB, VAST, CTV-specific standards)
Drive architectural decisions around scalability, fault tolerance, data consistency, and latency optimization
Ensure data quality, governance, privacy, and compliance across the performance advertising stack
Conduct deep performance profiling, latency tuning, and debugging of distributed systems in production
Mentor engineers, set coding and design standards, and lead technical reviews across teams
Evaluate and introduce new technologies, auction strategies, and optimization frameworks to keep the platform competitive
Requirements
Eight plus years of software engineering experience, with significant depth in ad tech / performance advertising / building DSP bidder (Buy side)
Strong hands-on experience with Golang in building low-latency, high-scale backend systems
Proven experience designing and operating real-time bidding platforms, bidders, or ad serving systems
Deep understanding of campaign pacing, budget allocation, and performance optimization algorithms
Experience with streaming and distributed systems (Kafka, Flink, Spark Streaming)
Strong familiarity with OpenRTB, VAST, and programmatic advertising workflows
Solid knowledge of SQL, PostgreSQL and large-scale analytics platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery, or similar)
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes)
Strong foundation in data structures, algorithms, and distributed system design
Experience working cross-functionally with product, data science, analytics, and ML teams
Demonstrated ability to own systems end-to-end, influence architecture, and deliver at scale
Excellent communication skills with the ability to drive technical direction and mentor others
Bachelor’s degree in engineering (CS / IT) or equivalent degree from well-known Institutes / Universities
Paid leave programsPaid holidaysHealthcare, dental and vision insuranceDisability and life insuranceCommuter benefitsPhysical and financial wellness programsUnlimited discretionary time off (DTO) in the USReimbursement for mobileFully stocked pantriesIn-office catered lunches 5 days per week
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