Senior Software Engineer

About Sovrn

Every interesting company solves important problems for other people.  Sovrn is a Software and Data business that helps Open Web businesses be and remain independent.  We help them understand their business better, operate more efficiently, and make & keep more money.

• We believe in the freedom and free-flow of information.
• We believe the Open Web is the largest source of this information.
• We believe in helping Open Web businesses be and remain Independent.

Through Software products and Data solutions we help our customers:

• Understand their business better, so they can make better decisions
• Operate their business more efficiently, so they can invest in what matters most
• Make (and Keep) more money, so they control their own destiny

About the Job

We are looking for a Senior Engineer with extensive experience in developing and maintaining high-performance programmatic advertising platforms. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of ad tech ecosystems, real-time bidding, and programmatic advertising. As a Senior Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in architecting, designing, and implementing scalable solutions that drive revenue growth and enhance the overall customer experience. Sovrn is a leading player in the digital publishing industry, renowned for its cutting-edge solutions in Advertising, Commerce and Data. Sovrn’s Ad Exchange/SSP connects publishers with advertisers seamlessly, optimizing ad monetization strategies and delivering superior performance. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of digital advertising and are seeking a talented Senior Engineer to join our dynamic team.

What you’ll be doing:

• Architect, design, and develop scalable and high-performance components of the ad exchange/SSP platform, ensuring reliability, efficiency, and maintainability.
• Implement real-time bidding algorithms, auction mechanics, and ad serving logic to optimize revenue generation and ad delivery.
• Optimize platform performance through continuous monitoring, tuning, and performance profiling.
• Conduct code reviews, provide technical guidance, and mentor junior engineers to foster a culture of excellence and collaboration.
• Collaborate with other teams building into the platform to determine the best technical solutions
• Work in an agile environment and participate in conceptualizing and implementing platform features for our global web properties.
• Make data-driven decisions and assist team with designing high volume data ingest pipelines
• Evaluate ML and cloud based platforms and services as needed
• Identifying ways to optimize our handling of 100 billion daily transactions
• Get involved in all aspects of the technology landscape, including working with Kubernetes, building APIs, managing pipelines, supporting our AWS infrastructure and working with multiple databases
• Participate in design & peer code review process
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in ad tech, and incorporate them into the platform roadmap.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product managers, data scientists, and other engineers to define requirements, prioritize tasks, and deliver solutions.
• Demonstrate end-to-end ownership of projects and initiatives 
• Coaching junior engineers in engineering best practices

A successful candidate will have: 

• 5+ years of experience in software development
• Proficiency in programming languages: Java, Python, or C++.
• Proficiency with JavaScript frameworks such as React and Angular.
• Understanding of real-time bidding (RTB) protocols, ad serving technologies, and programmatic advertising.
• Experience with distributed systems, microservices architecture, and cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Terraform).
• Hands-on experience in designing and building APIs.
• Strong knowledge of both SQL (MySQL/RDS/Aurora, PostgreSQL, etc) and NoSQL data store technologies (Redis, Aerospike, Cassandra, etc.)
• Experience in Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and collaboration tools such as Jira.
• Advanced understanding of application security standards and best practices.
• Advanced knowledge of software operationalization, performance tuning, threading and modularization.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a passion for building scalable, high-performance software systems.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Ability to lead a team of junior and experienced engineers to a common technical goal
• A passion for teaching and mentoring
• Prior experience working with ad tech vendors, DSPs, or SSPs is a plus.

Location: Boulder, Colorado #LI-Hybrid

We understand that no candidate is perfectly qualified for any job. Experience comes in different forms; many skills are transferable; and passion goes a long way. Even more important than your resume is a clear demonstration of accountability impact, and the ability to thrive in a fluid and collaborative environment. We expect you to learn new things in this role, and we encourage you to apply if your experience is close to what we're looking for.

Sovrn Core Values: Candid, Customer Empathy, Learning, Scrappy, Second Order Thinking

Compensation and Benefits

In accordance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the approximate compensation range for this role in Boulder, Colorado is a base of $130,000 to $160,000, and eligibility for commissions compensation. Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidate’s relevant work experience, skills, certifications and geographic location. 

Sovrn offers a full slate of benefits from competitive salaries, stock options, medical, dental and vision coverage, short and long term disability, life insurance,11 paid holidays, flexible vacation, commuter benefits, a 401(k) plan and match, and a paid parental leave program.

Equal Opportunity Employer 

Sovrn is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, parental or pregnancy status, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodations will be made to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and will be provided as requested by candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. 

Recruitment Agencies

Sovrn does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Sovrn employees. Sovrn is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.