Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.
We are seeking an accomplished and experienced Staff Software Engineer to join our dynamic team. As a leader within our 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. This role reports to our Director of Engineering, Data Platform.
To learn more about Discord’s Data Platform, read our engineering blog — including how we built our modern data stack leveraging open-source tools!
What You'll Be Doing
- Define and execute the technical vision for Discord's data platform, enabling scalable, reliable, and performant data systems.
- Design, implement, and optimize data infrastructure to process and analyze petabytes of data across millions of users.
- Develop innovative data architectures to support analytics, machine learning, and operational insights.
- Build monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to ensure the health and performance of data services.
- Partner with data scientists, data engineers, product managers, and leadership to align technical solutions with business goals.
- Promote and drive best practices in data governance, security, and compliance across the organization.
- Provide technical leadership, mentor junior engineers, and foster a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies in data platform.
What You Should Have
- 8+ years of experience in software engineering with a focus on large-scale distributed systems or data infrastructure.
- Expertise in building and maintaining scalable data platforms, including data ingestion pipelines, stream processing, and batch processing systems.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, Rust, or similar.
- Proficiency with open source data projects and experience working with open source communities.
- Hands-on experience with modern data technologies such as Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow/Dagster, or similar.
- Deep understanding of database systems (e.g., SQL, NoSQL, columnar storage) and data modeling principles.
- Strong knowledge of cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes), and microservices architecture.
- Excellent communication skills with a demonstrated ability to collaborate and influence across teams and levels.
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
Bonus Points
- A strong passion for Discord and gaming.
- Open source contributions to data-related projects.
Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties).
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $248,000 to $310,000+ equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.
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What We Do
Discord is a voice, video and text app that helps friends and communities come together to hang out and explore their interests — from artists and activists, to study groups, sneakerheads, plant parents, and more. With 150 million monthly users across 19 million active communities, called servers, Discord has grown to become one of the most popular communications services in the world. Discord was built without selling ads or user data and instead, offers a premium subscription called Nitro that gives users special perks like higher quality streams and fun customizations.
Why Work With Us
Imagine a workplace that not only tolerates but celebrates the unique perspectives each and every person brings to it. One that is representative of the world we want to live, play and work in. Well, imagine no more. Just as Discord gives everyone the power to belong, we are building a workplace that is welcoming and inclusive from the inside out.
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