Distributed Systems Engineer 6 - Ad Serving Platform

Netflix is hiring a Distributed Systems Engineer 6 to own the technical direction of a platform pod inside the Ads Serving Platform engineering team, part of the Ad Serving & Decisioning org at Netflix Ads. The team runs the high-throughput, low-latency distributed systems behind real-time ad decisioning. This role is for a senior technical leader who wants to set the architectural bar and drive execution on hard problems in high-throughput systems optimization.

The position is based in the United States.

What you will do

• Technical direction: Help drive the overall technical direction of the ad-serving platform. Partner across engineering teams to ensure the ecosystem meets SLAs, SLOs, and uptime requirements.
• Low-latency distributed platform: Architect a concurrent platform optimized for high-throughput systems while monitoring, diagnosing, and mitigating tail latencies across core execution paths.
• Networking and performance engineering: Work with I/O-bound and CPU-bound workloads. Profile and tune network and system layers, and build automated performance-benchmarking frameworks within the CI/CD pipeline to identify latency regressions.
• Modular platform design: Build a modular architecture that enables other teams to build on top of the platform. Create entry points for external components like model-serving runtimes, budget/pacing systems, and programmatic demand engines that handle outbound networking and QPS management.
• Operational excellence and resiliency: Architect a system that is straightforward to operate and maintain. Maintain a high standard for distributed systems design and resiliency, ensuring graceful degradation during traffic spikes or live events.

What they are looking for

• Distributed systems experience: 10+ years of experience building distributed systems, core backend infrastructure, or high-throughput platforms.
• Low-latency systems engineering: Deep expertise writing clean, highly optimized code in systems languages (e.g., Java, Go, C++, or Rust) with a proven track record of handling high-transaction volumes.
• Concurrency and algorithmic design: Practical experience with multi-threaded systems design, concurrent programming, and algorithmic design for highly concurrent workloads (including lock-free data structures or lock contention mitigation).
• Networking and I/O optimization: Understanding of distributed system fundamentals, specifically managing I/O-bound and CPU-bound workloads, network protocols, and data partitioning strategies.
• Performance measurement and telemetry: Experience using profiling and diagnostic tools to measure system performance, analyze tail latencies, identify execution hotspots, and build telemetry or monitoring hooks.
• Architecture and collaboration: Ability to translate complex algorithmic requirements (such as business logic or data science models) into extensible platform components that support multiple teams.
• Modern development tooling: Comfort using modern development tools and LLM assistance to accelerate implementation while maintaining architectural oversight and code quality.

Pay and benefits

The compensation range for this role is $499,000.00 to $820,000.00 per year, and the range will vary based on location. Netflix's compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; there are no bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. Netflix determines your personal top of market compensation using market indicators and your specific job family, background, skills, and experience.

Benefits include Health Plans, Mental Health support, a 401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match, Stock Option Program, Disability Programs, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, Family-forming benefits, and Life and Serious Injury Benefits. Netflix also offers paid leave of absence programs. Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. Full-time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off.

About Netflix

Netflix launched a new ad-supported tier in November 2022 to offer members more choice in how they consume content. The tier allows Netflix to attract new members at a lower price point while creating a path for advertisers to reach engaged audiences. Netflix is an equal-opportunity employer and approaches diversity and inclusion seriously. If you want an accommodation or adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, send a request to your recruiting partner. The job is open for no less than 7 days and will be removed when the position is filled.