We're looking for a talented and experienced Senior Backend Engineer to lead the development and scaling of our Media Service. This is a critical role within our engineering team, as you will be responsible for building the infrastructure that handles all user-generated content (images and videos) on our social platform. You are passionate about building high-performance, scalable, and reliable systems, and you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. You're comfortable owning a complex service and working independently.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain our Media Service using Node.js and TypeScript.
• Implement efficient and scalable solutions for image and video processing (resizing, transcoding, format conversion).
• Integrate with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), primarily CloudFront.
• Optimize storage and retrieval of media assets using AWS S3 (and potentially other storage solutions).
• Implement content moderation techniques (potentially integrating with third-party services).
• Ensure the reliability and security of the Media Service.
• Write unit, integration, and end-to-end tests.
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to best practices.
• Work closely with other backend engineers and frontend engineers.
• Proactively identify and address performance bottlenecks.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends in media processing and delivery.
• Contribute to architectural decisions and help shape the technical direction of the Media Service.
• Understand the end-to-end flow of our application, especially as it relates to media.
• Think customer-centrically, ensuring a smooth and fast media experience for users.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in backend development, with a strong emphasis on Node.js and TypeScript.
• Proven experience building and scaling media-heavy applications. This is the most critical qualification.
• Experience with image and video processing libraries.
• Experience with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), especially CloudFront.
• Experience with cloud storage solutions (e.g., AWS S3).
• Strong understanding of RESTful API design.
• Experience with databases (MongoDB, PostgreSQL).
• Experience with testing frameworks.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of projects.

Bonus Points:

• Experience with content moderation tools and techniques.
• Experience with streaming video.