At Zeta Global, identity is at the core of our marketing cloud. The Identity team builds and operates backend services that power the Zeta Identity Graph - collecting, resolving, and maintaining billions of behavioural, demographic, and transactional signals. These services enable people-based marketing at scale, ensure trust and transparency in how identity data is managed, and provide critical APIs and event streams consumed across Zeta’s platform. Our systems support more than 235 million consumer profiles and process billions of events monthly, requiring services that are highly available, low-latency, and built to scale.
We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer who brings strength in both backend distributed systems and data engineering. In this role, you’ll design APIs and event-driven services, scale our systems to handle rapidly growing data volumes, and modernize our platform for resilience, transparency, and performance.
You Will:
- Design and build backend services and APIs for identity resolution, graph transparency, and integrations.
- Develop and optimize event-driven pipelines and workflows processing billions of signals.
- Deploy and operate cloud-native services on EKS/Kubernetes, leveraging Helm for repeatable deployments.
- Ensure reliability, observability, and scalability across services and data pipelines.
- Collaborate across engineering, product, and data teams to deliver end-to-end identity solutions.
- Mentor engineers and influence architecture and roadmap decisions.
You Have:
- 7+ years of experience in backend and/or data engineering at scale.
- Strong skills in Python, Java, or Scala, with expertise in APIs, distributed systems, and event-driven design.
- Hands-on experience with Kafka (or similar), Spark/Hive/Flink, and workflow schedulers (Airflow/Luigi).
- Proficiency with Kubernetes (EKS preferred) and deployment practices (Helm, service meshes).
- Solid knowledge of SQL, data modelling, and cloud platforms (AWS).
- Familiarity with columnar / NoSQL databases (Aerospike, Snowflake, HBase, Scylla, Elasticsearch)
- Knowledge of performance optimization and resilience patterns (caching, retries, fault tolerance).
- Familiarity with CI/CD and automated testing practices for backend services.
- Strong communication skills and a track record of driving technical direction and mentoring teams.
Bonus Skills:
- Experience with large-scale or multi-tenant distributed systems.
- Exposure to real-time streaming frameworks (Flink, Storm).
- Knowledge of open table formats (Iceberg, Hudi, Delta Lake).
- Background in security, compliance, or privacy related to identity systems.
Company Summary:
Zeta Global is a NYSE listed data-powered marketing technology company with a heritage of innovation and industry leadership. Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur David A. Steinberg and John Sculley, former CEO of Apple Inc and Pepsi-Cola, the Company combines the industry’s 3rd largest proprietary data set (2.4B+ identities) with Artificial Intelligence to unlock consumer intent, personalize experiences and help our clients drive business growth.
Our technology runs on the Zeta Marketing Platform, which powers ‘end to end’ marketing programs for some of the world’s leading brands. With expertise encompassing all digital marketing channels – Email, Display, Social, Search and Mobile – Zeta orchestrates acquisition and engagement programs that deliver results that are scalable, repeatable and sustainable.
Zeta Global is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ancestry, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, medical condition, disability, veterans status, or any other basis protected by law.
Zeta Global Recognized in Enterprise Marketing Software and Cross-Channel Campaign Management Reports by Independent Research Firm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleykohan/2024/06/19/amazon-partners-with-zeta-global-to-deliver-gen-ai-marketing-automation/
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/05/06/zeta-global-ceo-david-steinberg-talks-ai-in-focus-at-milken-conference.html
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240904622808/en/Zeta-Increases-3Q%E2%80%9924-Guidance
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zeta-global-opens-ai--data-labs-in-san-francisco-and-nyc-300945353.html
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zeta-global-recognized-in-enterprise-marketing-software-and-cross-channel-campaign-management-reports-by-independent-research-firm-300938241.html
We invite you to explore this opportunity to be a part of the Zeta family……
Should you need any assistance or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Skills Required
- Minimum 5 years of software engineering experience
- Fluency in Python or solid experience in Scala, Java
- Proficient with relational databases and Advanced SQL
- Expert in usage of services like Spark and Hive
- Experience with web frameworks such as Flask, Django
- Experience in adequate usage of any scheduler such as Apache Airflow
- Experience in adequate usage of cloud services (AWS) at scale
- Experience in agile software development processes
What the Team is Saying
Zeta Global Compensation & Benefits Highlights
How does Zeta Global ensure its pay and bonus plans are competitive?
Zeta Global supports competitive compensation through a mix of base pay, equity, performance incentives, financial benefits and employee feedback-informed rewards. The company’s total rewards approach connects compensation with ownership, financial planning and benefits that support employees’ broader well-being.
- Competitive pay and incentives: Zeta lists competitive pay, equity, performance bonuses and an employee stock purchase plan as part of its compensation and total rewards offerings. Employees also describe compensation as a strength. A software engineer said Zeta offers “good compensation,” “best appraisals and pay raise” and a “supportive work environment,” while a director cited “compensation” as one of the strengths of the company.
- Equity and ownership: Zeta offers company equity and an employee stock purchase plan, giving employees ways to participate in the company’s growth. Its broader financial benefits also include a 401(k) with company match, monthly financial workshops, commuter benefits and insurance coverage, reinforcing compensation as part of a larger financial wellness package.
- Performance-oriented rewards: Employee reviews describe Zeta’s compensation as tied to performance and growth. One employee said, “Zeta pays well,” while another said compensation is “within industry range and revised every year.” A finance analyst cited “great incentives,” and a director described Zeta as a place to “shape your career” with room to move up. (Comparably; Glassdoor reviews; Indeed reviews)
- Benefits that strengthen total rewards: Zeta’s rewards package extends beyond pay through health, dental and vision insurance, mental health benefits, pet insurance, flexible time off, parental leave, adoption assistance, fertility and family-building support, travel assistance for reproductive health procedures, volunteer days and wellness resources. The company also says it uses wellness surveys and employee feedback to shape benefits updates, including expanded parental leave and adoption assistance.
- External signals:
- Compensation sentiment: Employees on external review sites describe Zeta’s compensation as “good,” “great” and competitive, with reviews citing pay raises, incentives, benefits and performance-based earning potential. (Glassdoor reviews; Indeed reviews; Comparably)
- Benefits signals: External profile data lists company equity, performance bonuses, an employee stock purchase plan and a home-office stipend for remote employees.
- Financial wellness: Zeta’s benefits include 401(k) matching, financial workshops, insurance coverage and employee stock purchase participation.
Bottom line: Zeta Global’s compensation approach combines competitive pay, performance incentives, equity, stock purchase access and broad benefits, giving employees both near-term rewards and longer-term financial participation in the company’s growth.
Zeta Global Insights
What We Do
Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) is the AI Marketing Cloud that leverages advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and trillions of consumer signals to make it easier for marketers to acquire, grow, and retain customers more efficiently. Through the Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP), our vision is to make sophisticated marketing simple by unifying identity, intelligence, and omnichannel activation into a single platform – powered by one of the industry’s largest proprietary databases and AI. Our enterprise customers across multiple verticals are empowered to personalize experiences with consumers at an individual level across every channel, delivering better results for marketing programs. Zeta was founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley and is headquartered in New York City with offices around the world.
Why Work With Us
At Zeta, people have the freedom to think creatively, take initiative, and grow. We value curiosity, innovation, and teamwork, empowering everyone to use AI and technology in smarter ways to drive impact for clients, consumers, and each other while shaping the future together.
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Zeta Global Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
