Senior Software Engineer - Video Platform

REMOTE (UTC-5 TO UTC+2) | FULL-TIME VIDEO PLATFORM ENGINEER COMPENSATION (BASE + EQUITY): Salary is location-dependent: United States: $150k–$180k USD Rest of World: $80k–$130k USD, depending on location and experience We use location-based salary ranges aligned to local markets and offer meaningful equity upside across all regions. THE PITCH We're building the video and rendering platform that powers Slate's collaborative video editor. Our systems handle everything from real-time preview rendering to final export encoding, running sophisticated pipelines across web browsers, iOS devices, and native runtimes through WebAssembly. This role sits at the intersection of systems programming, graphics rendering, and cross-platform development. You'll work on FFmpeg integrations, WebAssembly compilation pipelines, a Skia-based rendering engine, and iOS native integrations. If you're excited about building the full stack of video and graphics infrastructure across web and native platforms, this is your opportunity. WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO BUILD THE VIDEO PROCESSING ENGINE Design and implement encoding, decoding, and transcoding workflows that handle diverse video formats efficiently. You'll work extensively with FFmpeg for video processing operations, optimize builds for size and performance, and troubleshoot codec-specific issues across web and native platforms. DEVELOP THE CROSS-PLATFORM RENDERING ENGINE Work on our Skia-based rendering engine that runs across browsers and native runtimes. You'll build and optimize graphics pipelines using WebGPU, Metal, and WebGL, targeting both WASM builds and arm64 native platforms. PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF BROWSER-BASED VIDEO Develop and maintain our WebAssembly infrastructure by compiling C/C++ codebases using Emscripten, optimizing for browser execution, and managing memory constraints. You'll leverage the WebCodecs API for hardware-accelerated encoding/decoding where available, with smart fallback handling. INTEGRATE ACROSS PLATFORMS Build and maintain our iOS integrations using Swift, ensuring video and rendering capabilities work seamlessly on mobile. You'll also integrate TypeScript APIs into our Angular web application to surface platform capabilities to users. OBSESS OVER PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY Profile and optimize video and rendering workloads, reduce processing latency, minimize memory footprint, and improve throughput across our pipeline. Build observability into our systems to understand real-world performance and debug issues across the full stack. WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT CRAFT Collaborate closely with editor engineers to integrate video and rendering capabilities into the user-facing product. We value clear communication, thoughtful problem-solving, and code that will be maintainable in two years. YOU'D BE A GREAT FIT IF... YOU'RE STRONG ACROSS MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS: We're looking for engineers with depth in at least two of these areas: - C++ and rendering: Experience with graphics engines, Skia, or GPU programming (WebGPU, Metal, WebGL) - C++ and video processing: Deep FFmpeg knowledge, codec expertise, real-time video pipelines - TypeScript and web platform: WebCodecs, WebAssembly integration, Angular or similar frameworks - Swift and iOS: Native iOS development, platform integration, media frameworks The ideal candidate combines C++ systems experience with either web platform knowledge (our current highest priority) or iOS integration skills. Exceptional candidates with pure C++ depth across both video processing and rendering will also thrive here. YOU HAVE THE EXPERIENCE: - 5+ years of professional programming experience - Strong proficiency in C or C++, with additional depth in TypeScript or Swift - Experience with video processing (FFmpeg, GStreamer, libav) or graphics rendering (Skia, OpenGL, Metal) - Working knowledge of video codecs (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1) and container formats - Understanding of cross-platform development targeting web and native runtimes YOU'VE DONE WORK LIKE THIS BEFORE: - Built for WebAssembly using Emscripten or similar toolchains - Worked on real-time video processing, streaming, or graphics rendering - Optimized for memory-constrained or GPU-accelerated environments - Integrated native code with web or mobile platforms - Built or maintained observability for complex systems YOU WORK THE WAY WE WORK: - You use, or want to use, AI tools to move faster - and take responsibility for the output - Comfortable with asynchronous communication and clear documentation - Able to context-switch across problem spaces (video, rendering, iOS, web) TECH STACK Video Processing: C/C++, FFmpeg, WebAssembly, Emscripten, WebCodecs Rendering: Skia, WebGPU, Metal, WebGL, arm64 Web: TypeScript, Angular, Node.js iOS: Swift Infrastructure: Observability tooling, performance monitoring THE DETAILS Location: Remote, anywhere from EST (UTC-5) to UTC+2 Reporting to: Video Engineering Lead Our thoughts on AI: We believe that AI assisted software engineering is the future of our industry. We also believe humans will have a fundamental role in responsibly scaling the use of AI to move exponentially faster while keeping the quality bar high. COMPENSATION: - Equity options - Unlimited PTO (we actually take it) - $200/month wellness stipend - Health insurance stipend - Home office budget ABOUT SLATE Slate is the creative workspace for brand social teams. We help teams create and ship on brand content fast with an all in one editor, built in asset management, and seamless creative file workflows, backed by hands on support from people who have done the job. Teams across top sports leagues and global brands like Amazon and Hoka use Slate every day to elevate their social presence. Note: We do not sponsor work visas. Slate is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of background, identity, or experience.