Descript is building the next-generation AI-powered platform and web application for easy and fast creation of audio and video content, and is looking to solve unique technical challenges and hard problems in building a revolutionary way to record, transcribe, edit, and mix audio and video on the web
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional backend software engineering experience
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (GCP, AWS), modern data storage systems (S3, GCS, PostgreSQL, Dynamo/Bigtable), Linux, and data infrastructure (Airflow, Beam, Spark)
- Expertise in modern backend languages and technologies, such as Python, Typescript/Node.js, Go, or similar
- Deep understanding of system design principles, performance optimization, and infrastructure automation (e.g., Temporal, Kubernetes, Docker)
- Solid CS fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, databases (Postgres, BigQuery), and familiarity with monitoring and observability tools (metrics and distributed tracing)
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and optimize scalable backend infrastructure to process, store, and serve real-time media processing pipelines and AI inference workloads efficiently
- Collaborate closely with Product, AI Research, and Engineering teams to ensure our platform meets the evolving needs of advanced audio and video workflows
- Build cutting edge model training and evaluation infrastructure
- Evaluate, integrate, and optimize third-party AI vendor solutions, collaborating closely with Product Engineering and AI Research teams to enhance our AI capabilities and accelerate feature delivery
- Make high-impact architectural decisions that balance short-term goals with long-term scalability, while mentoring teammates and championing engineering best practices
Other
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, along with good judgment in technical decision-making
- Generous healthcare package, catered lunches, and flexible vacation time
- Local to the Mission District of San Francisco, CA, and able to join us at the office when needed
- 5+ years of experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
