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Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving
full-timeLos Gatos

Summary

Location

Los Gatos

Type

full-time

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About this role

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

We launched a new ad-supported tier in November 2022 and are building an in-house world-class ad tech ecosystem to offer our members more choices in consuming their content. Our new tier allows us to attract new members at a lower price point while also creating a compelling path for advertisers to reach deeply engaged audiences.

Our Team

The Ads Platform Engineering teams build advertising systems and integrations that power the delivery of ads using our world-class content delivery ecosystem. We use a number of Netflix investments and innovations to power our ads - unique mix of client and server-side ad insertions, state of the art content delivery system, ad encoding recipes, content understanding and metadata. We deliver ads in a manner that’s thoughtful of our member’s viewing experience and drive great outcomes for advertisers. We also ensure that advertiser brand safety is ensured during serving, members only see the most appropriate ads for them.

This Ad Serving team is dedicated to building and maintaining a robust, scalable, and efficient infrastructure that forms the backbone of Netflix's advertising ecosystem. Our mission is to ensure seamless and reliable delivery of ads across all platforms, devices, and user environments. We aim to support Netflix's revenue growth (advertising initiatives) by enabling the effective monetization of content, delivering exceptional outcomes for advertisers, enhancing the viewing experience for our members, and driving strategic value for Netflix. 

This role is part of the company's strategic initiative to build a world-class advertising ecosystem following the launch of their ad-supported tier. We are looking for highly motivated engineers working in the advertising space who are excited to join us on this journey.

The Role

Architect and build the distributed backend systems that enable real-time dynamic ad insertion (DAI) for live events. This is a technically challenging role focused on achieving ultra-low latency, large-scale performance, and end-to-end reliability. You will work at the intersection of large-scale streaming, advertising, and cloud infrastructure, ensuring seamless ad serving for tens of millions of concurrent viewers during live events, while maintaining an exceptional member experience.

What You’ll Do

  • Architect, design, and implement distributed systems for serving ads in live events 

  • Develop and operate the ad-insertion logic, including ad decisioning, pod construction, and manifest manipulation for server-side ad insertion (SSAI).

  • Build in-event tooling, monitoring dashboards, and alerting systems to ensure platform reliability and operational visibility during live events.

  • Drive operational excellence by leading capacity planning, managing incidents, and conducting thorough post-mortem reviews.

  • Ensure observability, scalability, and fault tolerance for ad systems adapting to unpredictable traffic spikes.

  • Maintain expertise in ad-tech standards (VAST, VMAP, SCTE-35) and emerging streaming technologies.

Skills and Experience We're Seeking

  • 7+ years of experience, 4+ years of experience in the Ads domain

  • Experience working with ads on Live content

  • Experience building ad servers, SSPs, or DSPs.

  • Experience building and operating highly-available distributed systems and backend services at large scale.

  • Strong communication and collaboration skills for effective work with internal and external stakeholders.

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities effectively.

Nice To Haves

  • Experience working in the CTV space and knowledge of its unique constraints

  • Experience with virtual ad technologies for live content, such as dynamic billboards, product placement, or in-stream overlays.

  • Experience designing and launching programmatic ad solutions for live events, including hybrid pods that combine programmatic and pre-sold inventory.

  • Familiarity with building end-to-end ML model deployment and inference infrastructure for low-latency real-time ad systems in live content environments.

  • Strong understanding of advertising concepts: publisher policies, frequency caps, and targeting.

Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

Other facts

Tech stack
Distributed Systems,Ad Insertion,Monitoring,Operational Excellence,Scalability,Fault Tolerance,Ad-Tech Standards,Communication,Collaboration,Live Content,Ad Servers,Backend Services,Dynamic Environment,Programmatic Ad Solutions,Machine Learning,Advertising Concepts

About Netflix

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

Team size: 10,001+ employees
LinkedIn: Visit
Industry: Entertainment Providers
Founding Year: 1997

What you'll do

  • Architect and build distributed backend systems for real-time dynamic ad insertion during live events. Ensure seamless ad serving for millions of concurrent viewers while maintaining a high-quality member experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does a Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving do at Netflix?

As a Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving at Netflix, you will: architect and build distributed backend systems for real-time dynamic ad insertion during live events. Ensure seamless ad serving for millions of concurrent viewers while maintaining a high-quality member experience..

Why join Netflix as a Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving?

Netflix is a leading Entertainment Providers company.

Is the Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving position at Netflix remote?

The Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving position at Netflix is based in Los Gatos, California, United States. Contact the company through Clera for specific work arrangement details.

How do I apply for the Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving position at Netflix?

You can apply for the Distributed Systems Engineer 5 - Live Ad Serving position at Netflix directly through Clera. Click the "Apply Now" button above to start your application. Clera's AI-powered platform will help match your profile with this opportunity and guide you through the application process. You can also learn more about Netflix on their website.