Staff Software Engineer, Data Platform

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 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.

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

• 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.

What you should have

• 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.

Bonus Points

• A strong passion for Discord and gaming.
• Full-stack development or product engineering experience.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $223,000 to $245,500 + 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!

Check out our inclusion, diversity and purpose efforts, company principles, or learn more about the Life @ Discord experience!