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SoundCloud is seeking a Backend Engineer to join the Media Streaming Team, responsible for operating a global-scale media streaming platform serving millions of creators, listeners, and partners. The team handles petabytes of data and gigabytes per second of traffic, delivering best-in-class audio experiences across the platform's 40+ million artist catalog.
Key Responsibilities:
- Build, scale, and maintain backend APIs and services serving millions of users globally
- Collaborate with Android, iOS, web, and full-stack engineers to deliver seamless end-to-end media experiences
- Ensure performance, scalability, and maintainability of SoundCloud's services
- Debug complex issues across distributed systems to maintain consistent user experience worldwide
- Participate in architecture discussions, code reviews, and roadmap planning
- Participate in on-call rotation to ensure reliability and availability of systems
The role offers hybrid flexibility with offices in Berlin and London, as well as US locations (New York and Los Angeles). SoundCloud emphasizes a collaborative culture with mentorship, professional development, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Requirements:
- 4+ years of experience building and operating large-scale backend or distributed systems
- Proficiency in Go
- Hands-on experience with infrastructure as code (IaC) using Terraform
- Experience with cloud-native environments (AWS or GCP)
- Experience with microservices, SQL/NoSQL databases, and container technologies
- Strong commitment to software engineering craft: continuous delivery, defensive programming, automated testing, clean code principles
- Strong sense of ownership and comfort navigating ambiguity in fast-moving environments
- Collaborative mindset with humility and eagerness to support team success
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience designing APIs and backend services consumed by multiple client platforms
- Experience with Scala or other functional programming languages
- Knowledge of API communication patterns (gRPC, GraphQL)
- Exposure to media streaming, playback, audio engineering, or adjacent domains
- Familiarity with audio/video codecs, streaming protocols (HLS, DASH), and transport container technologies
- Experience using AI-assisted development tools with strong intuition for their strengths and weaknesses
