Staff Software Engineer

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery... the stuff dreams are made of.

Who We Are...

When we say, "the stuff dreams are made of," we're not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD's vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what's next...

From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.

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.

We are seeking a seasoned Staff Engineer to lead backend development efforts for our Global Consumer Identity & Authentication platform. This role is ideal for a technical leader who thrives in high-scale environments, is passionate about operational excellence, and enjoys mentoring others while driving architectural decisions. You will be instrumental in shaping the future of identity services across Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading efforts in tech debt reduction, platform modernization, or reliability improvements. Balancing trade-offs between speed, quality, and cost.
• Navigating ambiguity with data-driven and experience-informed choices.
• Architect and build scalable, secure backend systems using technologies such as AWS, container orchestration tools (such as ECS, Kubernetes), databases including PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, and MongoDB, and messaging systems like Kafka and SQS.
• Lead development of cloud-native services at global scale, with deep experience in multi-region deployments, failover strategies, and cost-optimized infrastructure. Proven ability to scale systems to handle millions of requests per day with high availability and low latency.
• Drive operational excellence through CI/CD, monitoring, and lead incident postmortems and root cause analyses with a focus on systemic improvements and learning culture.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering teams to deliver high-impact solutions.
• Mentor and guide engineers across levels, fostering a culture of technical excellence and growth.
• Explore and integrate intelligent automation and AI/ML capabilities to enhance platform security, scalability, and operational efficiency. Drive strategic initiatives that align with long-term business and technology goals.
• Own end-to-end delivery of complex features, ensuring performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Drive platform-first thinking by designing reusable, extensible components and services that accelerate development across multiple product teams. Champion internal developer experience (DevEx) and platform reliability as key pillars of engineering success.

• 7+ years of professional experience in backend software engineering, including leading key features of large-scale service development.
• Proven track record of designing and delivering resilient cloud-native systems.
• Familiarity with modern Java features including Vert.x and Spring Boot.
• Deep expertise in backend frameworks and distributed systems, with hands-on experience in AWS and EKS.
• Demonstrated expertise in secure system design, including authentication protocols (OAuth2, OpenID Connect), data protection strategies, and threat modeling. Experience acting as a security champion within engineering teams, advocating for secure coding practices and compliance with industry standards (e.g., OWASP, NIST).
• Experience with observability tools (Grafana, Prometheus, Telegraph), databases (PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, MongoDB), and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform).
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and lead cross-team initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
• Passion for continuous learning, innovation, and driving technical excellence.
• Leading efforts in tech debt reduction, platform modernization, or reliability improvements.
• Balancing trade-offs between speed, quality, and cost.
• Navigating ambiguity with data-driven and experience-informed choices.