Staff Software Engineer

Max is where storytelling takes center stage and where creatives find a home with the support and resources to do their best work, no matter the genre or format. Whatever the viewer wants to watch is front and center and more of what they crave is easily discovered. It is where our exclusive Max Originals and iconic entertainment brands thrive, with HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., DC, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and more delivering the greatest array of series, movies, and specials for audiences of all ages. HBO Max originally launched in the United States in May 2020 and introduced a lower priced, advertising-supported tier in June 2021. It rolled out globally across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021, followed by its first European launches in the Nordics and Spain later that year. In May 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery introduced Max, an enhanced streaming platform, in the U.S. HBO Max is currently available in 46 countries and there are plans for the continued global expansion of Max in 2024.

What We Do

Studio & Industry Engagement (SIE) serves the audience of decision-makers who engage with several lines of business in the company. We are a team with unparalleled capabilities for managing exclusive access to content and information. We use these capabilities to provide the solutions for WBD to deliver marketing materials and screening experiences to internal teams, third-party clients, and the press, driving the global monetization and success of WBD's content

What You'll Do

The SIE group is hiring a Staff Software Engineer (Architect) to lead development and operational support for our primary Content Management System (CMS) and Platform used to power multiple applications with the ability to stream content securely and many other features.

As the Staff Software Engineer (Architect), you will assume a technical leadership role on the team and work with Product, DevOps and alongside other Architects and Engineers of various skill levels to deliver on product initiatives and operational execution. This position entails designing the overall structure and blueprint of several complex software systems, making high-level design decisions to ensure scalability, maintainability, and performance, while collaborating with development teams to implement those designs, requiring a deep understanding of both technical and business requirements. With your deep technical knowledge, you will lead conversations for planning, development, discovery and offer expert recommendations for tools, strategies, and best practices to help support delivery of best-in-class solutions and experiences. You will also perform hands-on development and troubleshooting as needed.

Key Responsibilities:

• System Architecture Design:
  
  
  • Defining the overall system architecture, including components, interfaces, data flows, and communication protocols to meet project needs
• Technical Leadership:
  
  
  • Guiding development teams on architectural best practices, technology selection, and design decisions. Contribute to peer reviews, and code quality efforts across the platform through thoughtful code reviews and ensure code standards.
• Requirement Analysis:
  
  
  • Translating business requirements into technical specifications and identifying potential architectural challenges. Including being able to estimate time and cost for development.
• Design Documentation:
  
  
  • Creating detailed architectural diagrams, design documents, and technical specifications for the system.
• Performance Optimization:
  
  
  • Identifying and addressing performance bottlenecks within the system architecture.
• Collaboration:
  
  
  • Working closely with developers, testers, project managers, and stakeholders to ensure alignment with architectural vision.
• Proof-of-Concept Development:
  
  
  • Building prototypes or proof-of-concept applications to validate design concepts.

What You'll Need (Required Skills)

• 9+ years' back-end or full-stack experience
• 4+ years' cloud architecture design experience
• Highly detailed oriented, self-motivated, forward-thinking and ability to adapt
• Strong Programming Skills:
  
  
  • Broad understanding of multiple programming languages. We already have specific languages in use but looking for polyglots that can help design in whatever language is best.
• Software Design Patterns:
  
  
  • Understanding of design patterns and their application in different scenarios
• Architectural Styles:
  
  
  • Knowledge of various architectural styles like microservices, event-driven, layered, etc.
• Modeling Tools:
  
  
  • Proficiency with modeling tools for system visualization
• Monitoring Tools:
  
  
  • Understanding of engineering best practices for web vitals, performance, analytics and accessibility.
• System Integration:
  
  
  • Experience integrating different software components and systems
• Database Design Patterns
  
  
  • Experience with database types, design and data modeling
• Communication and Collaboration:
  
  
  • Excellent communication skills to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Technical Knowledge:
  
  
  • Experience with AWS services, cloud platforms, frameworks, containerization, API's and SDKs.

What's Nice to Have

• Experience with Java and C#
• Knowledge of Operations, CI/CD, and DevOps
• Expertise with content management systems (CMS)
• Experience with Content Delivery Network (CDN) (Edgio, Akamai and Cloudflare)
• Knowledge of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technological usage & implementation
• Understanding of streaming technologies (media file formats, containers, transcoding, etc.)

How We Get Things Done...

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

Championing Inclusion at WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.

If you're a qualified candidate with a disability and you require adjustments or accommodations during the job application and/or recruitment process, please visit our accessibility page for instructions to submit your request.

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, skill set, experience, and/or performance. Base pay is just one component of Warner Bros. Discovery's total compensation package for employees. Pay Range: $126,350.00 - $234,650.00 salary per year. Other rewards may include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. In addition, Warner Bros. Discovery provides a variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance coverage, an employee wellness program, life and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, paid holidays and sick time and vacation.

If you're a qualified candidate with an arrest or conviction record, please know that your application will be considered in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.