Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Cognitiv; Bellevue (KY); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision plan

12 weeks paid parental leave

Unlimited PTO

Equity for all employees

Hybrid work model

Health & wellness stipend

401(k) & RRSP with employer match

Job summary

Cognitiv in Bellevue, WA is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to own design, delivery and reliability of our pixel-less ad targeting platform. You will shape backend services powering ContextGPT, collaborating with engineers and product teams to scale across partners and data sources.

Join a hybrid team with 3 days in office and 2 remote, helping drive system performance, reliability and engineering excellence in a fast-growing ad-tech company.

Qualifications

• Ownership, Drive & Agency: identify systemic problems and drive execution.
• System Design: design and deliver high-scale production services.
• Technical Proficiency: strong backend skills in .NET Core, Java, or Kotlin.
• Operational Mindset: focus on reliability, observability, maintainability.
• Curiosity & Communication: ask questions, explain tradeoffs clearly.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end design and delivery of backend services powering ContextGPT.
• Improve system observability, metrics, logging and incident prevention.
• Mentor teammates and uphold high-quality code reviews.
• Navigate ambiguity and balance long-term health with speed.

Skills

Ownership, Drive & Agency

System Design

Technical Proficiency

Operational Mindset

Curiosity

Communication

Tools

.NET Core

Java

Kotlin

AWS

RDS

ClickHouse

Datadog

CI/CD

Job description

Are you ready to revolutionize the advertising industry?

At Cognitiv, we are not just another AdTech company—we are industry trailblazers redefining media buying with our Deep Learning Advertising Platform. Since 2015, we have harnessed the power of cutting-edge deep learning technology and data science to transform how brands connect with their customers. Our mission? To bring intelligence to advertising and deliver unparalleled precision, relevance, and impact at scale.

With our innovative platform, advertisers enjoy unprecedented flexibility—whether it is activating Dynamic Deals through their preferred DSP, leveraging our managed service DSP, or utilizing our industry-first ContextGPT product. As a part of Cognitiv, you will be at the forefront of AI-driven advertising solutions, driving change and achieving remarkable growth in a rapidly evolving industry.

Now, we’re growing!

The Role
As a Senior Software Engineer, you will own the design, delivery, and reliability of the systems powering our next-generation, pixel-less ad targeting platform. You’ll translate complex requirements into scalable systems, navigating ambiguity and making the critical tradeoffs necessary to drive system performance and engineering effectiveness.

In this role, you’ll own the design and delivery of backend solutions that support ContextGPT integrations, helping the platform scale across new partners, supply sources, and capabilities. You’ll work closely with other engineers and cross-functional partners to solve complex technical problems, make thoughtful tradeoffs, and deliver reliable solutions that support product and business growth.

This position will be located in Bellevue with a hybrid work schedule of 3 days in office (Mon/Tue/Wed) and 2 days remote optional (Thursday/Friday).

Your Impact

In this role, success is measured by the reliability, scalability, and performance of our platform. You will:

• Lead Technical Design: Own the end-to-end design and delivery of .NET Core backend services and APIs that power ContextGPT, proactively accounting for scalability, performance, failure modes, and security as the platform grows across the ad-tech ecosystem.
• Elevate Reliability: Identify bottlenecks and improve system observability (metrics, logging, monitoring). You will lead blameless post-mortems and implement long-term systemic fixes to prevent incident recurrence.
• Drive Engineering Excellence: Strengthen the team through high-quality code reviews, technical mentorship, and the creation of exemplary technical artifacts (design docs, diagrams).
• Navigate Ambiguity: Exercise strong judgment to resolve unknowns and balance long-term system health with rapid development velocity.
• Collaborate on Direction: Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to align technical solutions with business priorities and roadmap requirements.

Required Experience & Capabilities

• Ownership, Drive & Agency : You identify systemic problems, create solutions without waiting for direction, and drive execution through influence rather than authority.
• System Design: Proven track record of designing, decomposing, and delivering high-scale production services or distributed systems.
• Technical Proficiency: Strong programming skills in .NET Core or another strongly typed backend language such as Java or Kotlin, with experience building APIs, services, or data pipelines.
• Operational Mindset: Deep understanding of system reliability, observability, and “up-front” design for maintainability.
• Curiosity: You’re naturally curious and eager to understand how things work. You ask thoughtful questions, dig into unfamiliar systems and problems, and look beyond the immediate task to identify root causes and opportunities for improvement.
• Communication: Clear ability to explain technical tradeoffs and decisions.

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Experience designing large-scale distributed systems serving high-throughput production workloads
• Deep experience building platform services or developer infrastructure used across multiple engineering teams
• AdTech or programmatic advertising experience
• Experience leading major partner integrations or platform expansion initiatives
• Startup or high-growth company experience
• Expertise with CI/CD, infrastructure automation, and engineering productivity tooling
• Hands‑on experience with .NET Core, AWS, RDS, ClickHouse, Datadog, or similar technologies

Salary: $160,000 - $210,000 USD + Equity

What We Offer

Compensation is based on experience, skills, and other factors. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards at Cognitiv—you’ll also receive equity and a comprehensive benefits package.

Highlights include:

• Medical, Dental and Vision plan for US employees & Extended Health Benefits for Canadian employees
• 12 weeks paid parental leave + 4 weeks WFH
• Unlimited PTO + Work-From-Anywhere August
• Career development with clear advancement paths
• Equity for all employees
• Hybrid work model & daily team lunch
• Health & wellness stipend + cell phone reimbursement
• 401(k) & RRSP with employer match
• Parking (CA, WA, Vancouver offices) & pre-tax commuter benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Comprehensive onboarding (Cognitiv University)
• …and more!

What You’ll Find at Cognitiv

• Festiv – We make work fun with cross-team games, events, and creative team bonding.
• Responsiv – You’ll be close to clients and leadership, influencing real outcomes.
• Inclusiv – Diversity and individuality are celebrated across all levels.
• Inventiv – We reward curiosity and embrace bold ideas.
• Transformativ – We support your growth with training, mentorship, and flexibility.
• Collaborativ – We operate across coasts, connected by purpose and teamwork.

Cognitiv is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all.

Note on AI Use: Cognitiv may use AI technology to assist with certain administrative aspects of the hiring process, such as note-taking, interview documentation, and reporting. However, every resume and application is reviewed directly by our recruiting team. AI tools are used solely for operational support and do not influence candidate evaluation or hiring decisions.