Software Engineer (L5) - Video Algorithm Systems

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.

The Challenge:

At Netflix, we are passionate about delivering the best viewing experience to our members, no matter what they watch, where they watch, or how they watch. We care about video quality, whether you are home watching Our Planet on the latest 4K HDR TV, or viewing Stranger Things over a cellular network while commuting to work. This means that we need every bit of our video streams to count and our challenges include constantly improving on our video encoding and processing algorithms and workflows in a scalable, efficient manner.
 

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer in Video Algorithm Systems to help us address these challenges, as well as drive strategic research in the field.
 

As a Senior Software Engineer in Video Algorithm Systems:

• You will be responsible for designing and prototyping encoding algorithms and software workflows that can improve the quality or reduce the bandwidth requirements of our video streams. 

• You will study current workflow and codec implementations and find areas for improvement in quality and speed and take your innovations from paper to product by collaborating with other software engineers and scientists in the team. 

• You will have the opportunity to conduct research on next-generation image and video coding, collaborate with academic research groups and participate in research conferences. 

• You will get to work on exciting video encoding problems while knowing that you are making Netflix videos smoother, crisper and more engaging for millions of people worldwide.

• Los Gatos or Seattle hybrid preferred, or US remote only.

You are a Senior Software Engineer who:

• thrives in a fast-paced environment 

• works effectively with cross functional teams 

• constantly seeks to improve yourself and the team

• has excellent software development skills and a successful track record in Video Algorithms and Coding research or adjacent fields (Computer Graphics, Video Processing, Computer Vision, Video Quality) with publications, tech-blogs and/or contributions to products 

• has the ability to see areas for improvements in existing systems, and is capable of conceiving and executing solutions for such improvements 

• excited to apply your expertise to a product that touches millions of lives everyday

• Experience with large-scale distributed systems and cloud-computing 

• 5+ years experience in multimedia software development, with excellent debugging and problem solving skills.

• BS in Computer Science/Electrical Engineering or equivalent. MS or PhD a plus.

• Shown proficiency in C++ or Java and object-oriented programming.

• Strong background in image and signal processing, both algorithm design and implementation (for example: image scaling, deinterlacing, frame rate conversion, artifact detection etc.).

• Experience with large-scale distributed systems and cloud-computing 

• An understanding of video compression and processing, including codec standards such as H.264/AVC, HEVC and VP9.

• Experience with software performance optimization 

• Involvement in open-source multimedia projects (such as ffmpeg, x264, avisynth, webm)

• Experience with image and video quality assessment 

To learn more about our team, check out the following articles:

https://netflixtechblog.com/rebuilding-netflix-video-processing-pipeline-with-microservices-4e5e6310e359

https://netflixtechblog.com/the-making-of-ves-the-cosmos-microservice-for-netflix-video-encoding-946b9b3cd300

https://netflixtechblog.com/netflix-video-quality-at-scale-with-cosmos-microservices-552be631c113

https://netflixtechblog.com/hdr10-now-streaming-on-netflix-c9ab1f4bd72b

https://netflixtechblog.com/all-of-netflixs-hdr-video-streaming-is-now-dynamically-optimized-e9e0cb15f2ba

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/high-quality-video-encoding-at-scale-d159db052746

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/per-title-encode-optimization-7e99442b62a2

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/more-efficient-mobile-encodes-for-netflix-downloads-625d7b082909

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/optimized-shot-based-encodes-now-streaming-4b9464204830

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/the-end-of-video-coding-40cf10e711a2

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/performance-comparison-of-video-coding-standards-an-adaptive-streaming-perspective-d45d0183ca95

https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/vmaf-the-journey-continues-44b51ee9ed12 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Our compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; we do not have bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. To determine your personal top of market compensation, we rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. The range for this role is $170,000 - $720,000.

Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including 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. We also offer 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. See more details about our Benefits here.

Netflix is a unique culture and environment.  Learn more here.

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.

Job is open for no less than 7 days and will be removed when the position is filled.