Back to jobs

Senior Software Engineer, Audio/Video Client

San Francisco Bay Area

Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.

This position will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties), or willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Power real-time conversations for 200+ million users worldwide. Discord's AV Client engineering team supports the ultra-low-latency media infrastructure that enables seamless voice and video communication across gaming, communities, and friendships. The team’s mission is to give our users an outstanding voice, video, and client experience across all of our platforms.

As a Senior Software Engineer on our AV Client team, you'll architect and optimize the cross-platform media stack that processes billions of minutes of audio/video daily. Your code will directly impact how millions of people connect – from casual voice chats to high-stakes esports tournaments where every millisecond matters. You'll architect user-facing solutions using modern C++ and Rust, optimize media pipelines, and debug issues that span network protocols, hardware drivers, and operating system quirks across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. Your work directly impacts metrics that matter - call connection success rates, audio quality scores, and the battery life of mobile users in voice channels for hours.

We're looking for engineers who love diving deep into technical rabbit holes and emerging with elegant solutions to seemingly impossible problems. If you're excited by the challenge of building systems that work flawlessly for hundreds of millions of users while pushing the boundaries of what's technically feasible, this is your opportunity to work on truly cutting-edge media technology.

What you'll be doing

  • Develop core libraries supporting high-quality, low-latency communications between hundreds of millions of users
  • Own Discord core audio and video functionalities across desktop, browser, and mobile
  • Continuously improve video quality and performance end to end
  • Design and run experiments to optimize call quality metrics
  • Debug complex audio/video issues across diverse hardware configurations
  • Work with customer support team troubleshooting real-world end-user audio/video issues

What you should have

  • 4+ years experience working on large, cross-platform software projects
  • Proficient in developing high-performance code using C++ or Rust
  • Intimate knowledge with Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS or game console development
  • Deep understanding of real-time constraints in media applications
  • Knowledge of performance metrics such as CPU, GPU and memory management
  • Enjoyment in coming up with pragmatic solutions to concrete problems using first principles thinking.
  • Experience running A/B tests on features, analyzing quality metrics and making data-driven optimization decisions

Bonus Points

  • Working experience with WebRTC, SDP, SRTP, DTLS
  • Experience working with common audio/video codecs such as Opus, VP8, H.264, etc
  • Knowledge of media quality measurement tools (PESQ, POLQA, VMAF, etc)
  • Experience with audio/video synchronization and jitter buffer management
  • Working experience with media pipeline on platforms supported by Discord
  • Experience with Chromium or Mozilla internals.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $196,000 to $220,500 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.

Why Discord? 

Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!

Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...

Demographic Questions for Discord

We’d like to know a little more about you. Answering is completely voluntary, but we'll be forever grateful since the information will help us evaluate and improve our recruitment, diversity and belonging efforts. Whether or not you choose to answer the questions will not affect your job application with us. Any information you submit here will be kept secure, pseudonymized, confidential and completely separate from your personal data and job application. By answering this survey, you consent to our processing of your responses for the purposes listed above. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. 

Self-identification categories:

  • Gender Identity: A person's internal perception of their gender and how they label themselves (may or may not correspond to gender assigned at birth).
  • Race/Ethnicity: A person’s racial or ethnic identity. 
  • Sexual Orientation: A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted.
  • Disability: A person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially, or occasionally, limits one or more of their major life activities. 
  • Military Service: A person who has spent time serving in any branch of the military (may be retired or active).
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Discord’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.