ABOUT KICK

Kick is one of the fastest-growing live streaming platforms in the world. We are a global rival to established players, known for pushing boundaries and delivering cutting-edge viewer experiences. As we build a world-class ad platform from the ground up, we are seeking a brilliant, technically-minded professional to join us.
This is a pivotal moment in our journey. Our rapid growth is underscored by our recent milestone of over 1.1 billion hours watched last quarter, solidifying our position as a major force in the live streaming world. We are seeking a foundational team member who will be instrumental in the success of Kick Ads.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience
• 7+ years of hands-on experience in video streaming software engineering, focusing on scalable system design and development
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages and frameworks relevant to the role (Go, PHP and/or React).
• Strong understanding of code architecture and design principles.
• Excellent communication skills for effective collaboration across teams and stakeholders
• Positive attitude and eagerness to learn new technologies to grow as a full-stack engineer.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCES

• Experience managing ad servers
• Experience leading a support bridge in a live scale events
• Experience leading Incident Operations

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer with deep expertise in video streaming technologies to join our founding ad platform team. This role requires a candidate who has a proven history of working for a video streaming company and possesses a comprehensive understanding of the common causes of playback issues, such as buffering and failures. Your architectural insights and technical solutions will be crucial in optimizing the performance and cost-efficiency of our streaming infrastructure.
The successful candidate will be responsible for implementing Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) for both live and video-on-demand (VOD) streaming. This is a foundational position, and you will be a key contributor to our core video platform, building and optimizing the systems that power our global streaming experience.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as a subject matter expert, collaborating with engineering, product, and operations teams to diagnose and resolve complex video-related issues.
• Architect, develop, and deploy a robust Server-Side Ad Insertion system for our live and VOD platforms, ensuring seamless ad delivery and a high-quality viewer experience.
• Analyse and address video playback challenges such as startup latency and rebuffering. Implement technical solutions both in player and service architecture that improve Quality of Experience (QoE)
• Contribute to the design and evolution of our streaming architecture, from encoding and packaging to content delivery network (CDN) integrations and playback logic.
• Provide input on technology selection, best practices, and future product requirements for our video and ad platform
• Hands-on coding, testing, debugging, and troubleshooting to ensure code quality, scalability, and maintainability.
• Write efficient, scalable, and maintainable code, adhering to coding standards and best practices.
• Lead and independently complete medium-sized projects or components from start to finish.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and take initiative in technical discussions.
• Share knowledge and best practices with the team, fostering a collaborative and learning-oriented environment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, product managers, and engineering teams to effectively communicate technical concepts.