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Social Media, Internet, Technology

Senior Software Engineer, Media Creation

RemoteRemoteContractSenior$190,000–$267,000 /yrPosted 2 months agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

  • Go
  • Python
  • Ruby
  • Java
  • C++
  • GraphQL
  • REST
  • HTTP
  • gRPC
  • Thrift

Nice to have

  • video editing
  • AI generation
  • background data fetching
  • media streams

Role summary

Reddit is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build the next generation of media creation tools. This role involves defining backend architecture for video and image content capture, editing, and publishing. You will work cross-functionally to execute product strategy, own backend infrastructure, build APIs, and contribute to the full development cycle. The ideal candidate has 3+ years of experience in large-scale distributed systems and 5+ years in a general-purpose programming language (Go, Python, Ruby, Java, C++), with experience in API design (GraphQL, REST, gRPC, Thrift) and distributed caching/storage (Redis). Preferred qualifications include experience with media processing, SQL, and event-driven architectures.

Reddit is a community of communities. It’s built on shared interests, passion, and trust, and is home to the most open and authentic conversations on the internet. Every day, Reddit users submit, vote, and comment on the topics they care most about. With 100,000+ active communities and approximately 130 million daily active unique visitors, Reddit is one of the internet’s largest sources of information. For more information, visit www.redditinc.com.

We are seeking a product-minded Senior Software Engineer to help us build the next generation of media creation tools at Reddit. In this role, you will define the backend architecture that powers how Redditors capture, edit, and publish engaging video and image content. You will tackle complex technical challenges to support our media product strategy and deliver high-quality media experiences globally.

Key Responsibilities

  • Work cross-functionally with product, design, and other engineering counterparts to execute on product and business strategy and build novel products and features that our users will love.
  • Own backend infrastructure for media creation, building fast, maintainable APIs that seamlessly integrate with our frontend clients to provide a magical, real-time creator experience.
  • Contribute to the full development cycle: technical design, development, test, experimentation, analysis, and launch.
  • Participate with a team of thoughtful, fast-moving, and motivated engineers.
  • Contribute to standards that improve developer workflows, recommend best practices, and help mentor junior engineers on the team to grow their technical expertise.
  • Move fast while balancing quality. We can’t afford extensive processes, and we also can’t afford show-stopping bugs.
  • We need someone who can balance speed with quality while quickly building brand-new products.
  • Qualifications

  • BS degree in Computer Science, a similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience.
  • 3+ years of industry experience in large-scale distributed systems.
  • 5+ years of hands-on, professional software development experience in one or more general purpose programming languages (Go, Python, Ruby, Java, C++).
  • Experienced with GraphQL, REST, HTTP, gRPC, Thrift basics, and the ability to design and implement maintainable APIs.
  • Experienced with distributed caching layers, and distributed large scale data storage systems like Redis.
  • Strong organizational skills, the ability to prioritize tasks and to deliver projects on schedule.
  • Excellent communication skills. You collaborate effectively with teams in a fully remote environment and discuss complex topics with technical and non-technical audiences.
  • What Will Set You Apart

  • Proven track record of strong product thinking, with experience translating complex user workflows (like video editing timelines or AI generation tools) into robust backend state management.
  • Experience building asynchronous media processing pipelines and scalable event-driven microservices.
  • Familiar with background data fetching.
  • Strong data analysis skills using SQL.
  • Hands-on expertise with tools like FFMPEG, GPAC and similar media frameworks for processing, modifying, and manipulating media streams.
  • Benefits:

  • Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Income Replacement Programs
  • 401k with Employer Match
  • Global Benefit programs that fit your lifestyle, from workspace to professional development to caregiving support
  • Family Planning Support
  • Gender-Affirming Care
  • Mental Health & Coaching Benefits
  • Flexible Vacation & Paid Volunteer Time Off
  • Generous Paid Parental Leave
  • Pay Transparency:

    This job posting may span more than one career level.

    In addition to base salary, this job is eligible to receive equity in the form of restricted stock units, and depending on the position offered, it may also be eligible to receive a commission. Additionally, Reddit offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) program with employer match, generous time off for vacation, and parental leave. To learn more, please visit https://www.redditinc.com/careers/.

    To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base salary ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including, skills, depth of work experience and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.

    The base salary range for this position is:$190,000—$267,000 USD

    In select roles and locations, the interviews will be recorded, transcribed and summarized by artificial intelligence (AI). You will have the opportunity to opt out of recording, transcription and summarization prior to any scheduled interviews.

    During the interview, we will collect the following categories of personal information: Identifiers, Professional and Employment-Related Information, Sensory Information (audio/video recording), and any other categories of personal information you choose to share with us. We will use this information to evaluate your application for employment or an independent contractor role, as applicable. We will not sell your personal information or disclose it to any third party for their marketing purposes. We will delete any recording of your interview promptly after making a hiring decision. For more information about how we will handle your personal information, including our retention of it, please refer to our Candidate Privacy Policy for Potential Employees and Contractors.

    Reddit is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to building a workforce representative of the diverse communities we serve. Reddit is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during the interview process, please let your recruiter know.

    Sample Reddit interview questions

    • 1

      Design a system for real-time recommendation engine.

      system designmedium
    • 2

      Design a system for real-time fraud detection in financial transactions.

      system designmedium
    • 3

      Design a scalable load balancer for distributed systems.

      system designmedium
    • 4

      Explain the system components that make typing indicators and read receipts work across a distributed network

      system designmedium
    • 5

      Build a distributed logging service for large-scale systems.

      system designmedium

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