Android Playback Engineering Lead - Streaming Quality

Netflix; Los Gatos (CA); On-site; USD 436,000 - 710,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Parental leave

Family-forming benefits

Stock options

Health plans

Job summary

Netflix is seeking an Engineering Manager for its Android playback team in Los Gatos to own streaming and playback foundations beyond the UI. You will lead a diverse group of engineers, set priorities, hire top talent, and partner with SoC vendors to ensure high-quality playback across devices.

The role requires strong Android expertise, a track record of shipping in production, and a human-centric leadership style focused on feedback, inclusion, and clear communication.

Qualifications

• You have 5+ years of building and leading engineering teams.
• You have a background in Android development, with enough depth to engage on architecture, performance, and testing decisions.
• You are familiar with the unique challenges of streaming video, including adaptive streaming, DRM, codecs, hardware and software decode, and player frameworks such as ExoPlayer.
• You use data to inform your decisions and have experience creating and interpreting A/B tests to measure the impact of changes.
• You know the Android device ecosystem first-hand, including the range of hardware capabilities across SoCs and OEMs, and what it takes to deliver consistent playback across many device generations and price points.
• You have run a team that operates a production-critical path, including on-call, incident response, and release management for a frequently shipping client.
• You proactively give and receive feedback and are not afraid to have difficult conversations.
• You are a human-centric leader who anchors on empathy and welcomes feedback.
• You have exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• You foster an inclusive team culture that enables team members of all backgrounds to succeed and thrive.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a diverse team of Android playback engineers who value inclusion, transparency, autonomy, and humility.
• Effectively identify, prioritize, and manage high-impact initiatives on the team's roadmap, balancing feature delivery against foundational investment.
• Hire and retain exceptional engineers, and hold a high bar for talent density on the team.
• Empower, challenge, and coach team members to grow their impact as individual technical leaders by providing them with context and continuous feedback.
• Interface with multiple internal and external partners, including the SoC vendors and OEMs who shape playback quality on Android.
• Own release readiness and operational excellence for the playback path on a weekly shipping client, including on-call and live event readiness.
• Exemplify the Netflix culture by understanding, advocating, and demonstrating its values.

Skills

Android development

Leadership

Data-driven decisions

AB testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Incident response

Communication

Team coaching

Tools

ExoPlayer

Job description

Netflix is seeking an Engineering Manager for its Android playback team in Los Gatos to own streaming and playback foundations beyond the UI. You will lead a diverse group of engineers, set priorities, hire top talent, and partner with SoC vendors to ensure high-quality playback across devices.

The role requires strong Android expertise, a track record of shipping in production, and a human-centric leadership style focused on feedback, inclusion, and clear communication.