Staff Software Engineer, Discord
Data Platform
$223-245.5k
+ Equity
Voice, video and text communication platform
Be an early applicant
Voice, video and text communication platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$223-245.5k
+ Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
Discord's mission is to help friends and communities come together to hang out and explore their interests.
Role
Who you are
- 7+ years of experience in software engineering with a focus on distributed systems or data infrastructure
- Expertise in designing, building, and optimizing data pipelines (batch and real-time) using tools like Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow/Dagster, or similar
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, Rust, or similar
- Solid experience with database systems (SQL and NoSQL) and strong knowledge of data modeling principles
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes), and microservices architecture
- Understanding of data governance, security, and monitoring best practices
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to independently tackle complex technical challenges
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of working across teams
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
Desirable
- A strong passion for Discord and gaming
- Full-stack development or product engineering experience
What the job involves
- We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join our dynamic team
- As a member of the Data Platform team, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining our data infrastructure and services
- You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data engineers, data scientists, software engineers, and product managers, to deliver modern and bleeding-edge solutions that drive business insights and innovation
- Design, implement, and maintain scalable data infrastructure to process, store, and serve petabytes of data efficiently
- Work on real-time and batch data pipelines, ensuring they are reliable, performant, and ergonomic for stakeholders
- Identify and resolve bottlenecks in our data ecosystem, driving innovations that improve platform scalability and developer productivity
- Partner with data scientists, data engineers, product managers, and other engineering teams to understand customer needs and deliver effective data solutions
- Drive data governance, quality, and security to ensure the integrity and reliability of our data systems
- Guide and mentor engineers on the team while setting a high bar for technical excellence
- Explore emerging technologies and industry best practices to keep Discord’s data platform at the forefront of innovation
Our take
Discord is an industry giant in the chat app space. The free platform has rapidly become one of the most popular services in the sector since being founded in 2015. It counts over 150 million active users in 19 million communities, successfully expanding beyond its original focus on video game players to become a broader social networking app and public forum.
Discord's userbase has grown rapidly as remote work has become the norm and a new generation of internet users has come online, attracted to its youthful presentation and plethora of gaming and social tools. It has since fended off takeover bids from Microsoft and interest from other giants such as Amazon and Twitter, and has grown into a profitable company, funded by optional subscription fees and commissions from sales through the platform.
Discord’s remarkable growth, however, is not without obstacles. The company faces competition from deep-pocketed giants like Facebook, and regulatory concerns from those worried about the platform’s relatively light chat moderation. However, the company has the resources and expertise to adapt. For example, the acquisition of harassment detection software company Sentropy will go a long way towards placating the concerns of critics, as will the 2024 acquisition of teen app Gas used to give anonymous compliments to friends. All of these purchases are part of Discord's move to expand out of its mostly gaming-focused customer base.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
Sep 2021
$500m
SERIES H
Dec 2020
$100m
SERIES H
Total funding: $979.3m
Company benefits
- Comprehensive medical insurance including Health, Dental and Vision
- Mental health resources and quarterly wellness stipends
- 16+ paid holidays, 4 weeks of PTO + use-what-you-need sick days
- Paid parental leave (plus fertility, adoption and other family planning benefits)
- Flexible long-term work options (remote and hybrid)
- Volunteer time off
- A diverse slate of Employee Resource Groups
- Plus commuter contributions and other perks for office-based employees
Company values
- Autonomy
- Mastery
- Purpose
- Compassion
Company HQ
Potrero Hill, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Jason Citron
(CEO)Started out as a programmer at Papaya Studio, Stormfront Studios and Doublefine Productions. Also founded OpenFeint, a global mobile social gaming company.
Worked as a Software Engineer at Casamba and then Kabam. Was Lead Software Engineer at GREE International, and founded social network Guildwork.com in 2009.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 21 more jobs at Discord