Senior iOS Video Player Engineer - Remote

Kake; Lisboa; Remote; EUR 134,000 - 161,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive USD pay

Fully remote

Growth fund

Job summary

Kake, a remote-first company and a global community of senior engineers, is seeking a Senior iOS Video Player Engineer to own live playback capabilities on iOS and tvOS. You will optimize HLS playback with AVPlayer, debug complex streaming issues, and collaborate with distributed teams to ensure reliable, high-quality viewing experiences in a high-scale environment.

Ideal candidates have 6+ years of iOS development, deep Swift/Objective-C expertise, and experience with QoE metrics and live

Qualifications

• 6+ years of iOS development experience.
• Deep expertise in Swift and Objective-C.
• Proven experience building video players and live playback on iOS/tvOS.
• Strong knowledge of HLS and AVPlayer.
• Ability to debug and optimize playback performance.
• Familiarity with video streaming protocols and live edge concepts.
• Experience with QoE metrics (e.g., Mux, Conviva).
• Excellent written and verbal English; able to work remotely.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain live video playback functionality for iOS and tvOS apps.
• Optimize HLS playback focusing on startup time, buffering, latency, and stability.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex playback issues in live streaming environments.
• Tune playback performance at scale to ensure high-quality viewing experiences.
• Use video analytics and QoE metrics to diagnose issues and improve performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure playback quality across devices.
• Contribute to best practices and streaming project improvements.

Skills

iOS development

Swift

Objective-C

Video players

Live playback

HLS

AVPlayer

Playback performance

QoE metrics

English

Remote work

Tools

AVPlayer

HLS

Mux

Conviva

Job description

Kake is a remote-first company and a people-first global community of senior engineers. Kake engineers are behind some of the world’s most innovative products (Brands you’ve heard!), from Fortune 500 to fast-growing companies. We believe it’s not where your table is, but what you bring to the table that matters. Our community spans 45,000+ engineers across 55+ countries; join a culture where great people stay, grow, and thrive (and love eating kake!).

Senior iOS Video Player Engineers with deep, production-level experience in live video streaming, skilled in delivering high-quality playback experiences across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. It's a great fit for people who enjoy owning playback reliability end-to-end and thrive in a mature, high-scale streaming ecosystem.

What you’ll build and own

• Design, build, and maintain live video playback functionality for iOS and tvOS applications.
• Optimize HLS playback using AVPlayer, with a strong focus on startup time, buffering behavior, latency, and playback stability.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex playback issues in live streaming environments, including errors, stalls, and drift from the live edge.
• Tune playback performance at scale to ensure reliable, high-quality viewing experiences.
• Use video analytics and QoE metrics to diagnose issues and improve real-world playback performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure playback quality and reliability across devices.
• Contribute to best practices and continuous improvement initiatives across streaming projects.

Core Requirements

• 6+ years of iOS development experience with deep expertise in Swift and Objective-C.
• Proven experience building and maintaining video players and live playback components for iOS/tvOS.
• Strong hands-on experience with HLS and AVPlayer, including tuning and troubleshooting playback behavior for live streaming.
• Demonstrated ability to debug and optimize playback performance, including rebuffering, startup time, and playback stability.
• Familiarity with video streaming protocols, live playback concepts (latency, live edge, drift), ABR logic, and DRM integration.
• Experience using video analytics or QoE metrics (e.g., Mux, Conviva) to diagnose and improve real-world playback performance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to work independently in a remote, fast-paced environment.

Nice-to-Have

• Background working in large-scale sports live streaming environments.
• Experience with ad tech, especially in live streaming scenarios.
• Comfortable working flexible hours to overlap with distributed teams across different time zones.

Additional

• US Timezone Overlap: 6h–7h daily PST

Why Join Kake?

• Competitive Pay in USD: Work globally, get paid globally.
• Fully Remote: Simply put, we trust you.
• Better Me Fund: We invest in your personal growth and passions.
• Compassion is Badass: Join a community that invests in social good.

Quick note: Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.