Mobile SDK Developer

Kargo; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Kargo is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to ensure reliable in-app advertising across a fragmented ecosystem of devices and SDKs. The successful candidate will optimize performance and contribute to new integrations. Our ideal hire has substantial experience in mobile app advertising and debugging.

Located in New York, Kargo offers a salary between $150,000 and $185,000, alongside a dynamic work environment focused on innovation and collaboration.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong grasp of mobile advertising technologies.
• Hands-on debugging of in-app advertising stack.

Responsibilities

• Maintain reliable in-app advertising across devices and SDKs.
• Optimize performance and reduce latency in ad delivery.
• Collaborate with Business Development for new integrations.

Skills

Software engineering

Mobile app advertising technologies

Programmatic ecosystem

Debugging skills

Performace engineering fundamentals

Education

Bachelor’s in Computer Science or related

Job description

Who We Are

Kargo creates powerful moments of connection between brands and consumers to build businesses. Every day, our 600+ employees work to radically raise the bar on what agentic AI, CTV, eCommerce, social, and mobile can do to deliver unique ad experiences across the world’s most premium platforms. Taking a creative science approach to all we do, we continuously innovate solutions that outperform industry benchmarks and client expectations. Now 20+ years strong, Kargo has offices in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Sydney, Auckland, London and Waterford, Ireland.

Who We Hire

Techies who want to build the future. Creatives who want to design it better. Communicators to win business. Collaborators to build it. Data pros who turn numbers into insights. Product builders who turn ideas into innovations. Anyone eager to be on a team that doesn’t stop to ask what’s next, because they’re already building it.

Mission

This role exists to keep Kargo's in-app advertising reliable, performant, and revenue-ready across a fragmented ecosystem of devices, SDKs, mediation layers, and demand sources. It owns deep technical investigation across the full ad lifecycle — from bid response through rendering and measurement — and helps elevate in-app advertising into a first-class part of Kargo's platform. Without it, creative breaks silently across partners, integrations stall, and in-app revenue leaks through bugs no one can trace.

Outcomes — What Success Looks Like in 6–12 Months

• Faster issue resolution: Cut time‑to‑diagnosis for complex in-app failures spanning rendering, SDK behavior, mediation, and attribution, measurably reducing partner‑facing escalations.
• SDK reliability gains: Ship improvements to SDK and rendering infrastructure that improve render success rates and stability across iOS, Android, WebViews, and mediation partners.
• Performance improvements: Deliver latency and efficiency optimizations across the ad stack with quantifiable gains in load time or resource use.
• New integrations evaluated and landed: Partner with Business Development to assess and bring online [X] new vendor or demand integrations, with sound technical recommendations.
• Raised engineering quality: Strengthen code review, testing standards, and AI‑assisted workflows so production defects in the rendering path trend down quarter over quarter.

Skills — Core Technical Capabilities

Required

• 5+ years of software engineering with significant exposure to mobile app advertising technologies.
• Strong grasp of the mobile programmatic ecosystem — mediation, bidding, SDK integrations, OpenRTB, and ad rendering workflows.
• Hands‑on experience with mobile ad creative standards and cross‑platform behavior across SDKs, WebViews, and mediation partners.
• Proven ability to debug the full in‑app stack, from creative delivery through rendering and attribution.
• Performance engineering fundamentals: latency optimization, scalability, and system efficiency.
• Fluency with real‑device QA, inspection and proxy tooling, and production debugging techniques.

Preferred

• Working knowledge of the mobile privacy and measurement landscape and its impact on ad serving and attribution.
• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Competencies — Behaviors We Like to See

Systematic Debugging

• Isolates root cause across SDK, mediation, creative, and demand boundaries instead of patching symptoms.
• Reasons through ambiguous, multi‑party failures where the break could live in anyone's code.

Engineering Craft

• Builds for reliability and scale, treating rendering correctness and performance as features, not afterthoughts.
• Raises the bar through code review, testing discipline, and thoughtful use of AI‑assisted workflows.

Partner‑Facing Judgment

• Communicates technical findings clearly to Business Development, partners, and non‑engineers.
• Weighs integration opportunities on technical merit and long‑term maintainability, not just demand pressure.

Ownership Across Boundaries

• Drives production issues to resolution across engineering, product, and ops without dropping the thread.
• Takes in‑app advertising personally — treats its reliability and growth as their mandate.

Salary

$150,000 — $185,000 USD

Our Laurels

• AdAge Best Places to Work
• ThinkLA Partner of the Year
• Built In Best Places to Work
• Cynopsis 2025 Top Women in Media - Jeannine Shao Collins
• Martech Breakthrough Awards - Best Overall Adtech Company
• Digiday Media Awards Best Event
• Cynopsis Media Impact Awards-Best CTV Platform
• Martech Breakthrough Awards-CTV Innovation
• Adweek Media Plan of the Year Awards - Best Use of Insights

Follow Our Lead

• Big Picture: kargo.com
• The Latest: Instagram (@kargomobile) and LinkedIn (Kargo)

kargo is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and dignity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or family status, national origin, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, kargo will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.