Senior Software Engineer - Safety Platform

Discord; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 196,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Discord is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Safety Platform team in the United States. You will own safety platform projects end-to-end, build critical safety infrastructure, and apply an adversarial mindset to security and scale.

You will collaborate with Trust & Safety, ML, and product teams, debug complex systems, and participate in on-call rotations. The role emphasizes mentorship and maintaining high-quality standards across platforms.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software development experience, backend focus.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Rust, or TypeScript.
• Experience building and operating production services at scale.
• Ability to own projects end-to-end and deliver results on time.
• Experience with distributed systems and cloud platforms (GCP/AWS).
• Strong debugging skills and navigating complex codebases.
• Observability tools, metrics, and monitoring.
• Excellent communication with cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Own complex safety platform projects end-to-end, from design through post-launch monitoring.
• Build and maintain critical safety infrastructure.
• Apply adversarial thinking to security, scaling, and abuse scenarios.
• Collaborate with Trust & Safety, ML, and product teams to define requirements.
• Debug and resolve issues in the codebase and adjacent systems; participate in on-call rotations.
• Break down projects into smaller work streams and manage stakeholders.
• Contribute to technical design discussions and write RFCs when needed.
• Help establish best practices and maintain quality through code reviews and mentorship.

Skills

Python

Rust

TypeScript

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms (GCP/AWS)

Debugging

Observability

Communication

Job description

Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.

The Safety Platform team is at the heart of keeping Discord safe for all users. We provide the infrastructure and services that enable scalable and reliable safety on Discord. We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer who is capable of handling ambiguous, complex, multi-milestone projects.

Our team developed Osprey , the open-source investigation and incident response tool that allows safety teams to understand what is happening on their platforms and take actions at scale. Osprey has since been open-sourced and donated to ROOST , reflecting our commitment to industry-wide safety improvements.

As a Senior Engineer on Safety Platform, you'll take full ownership of projects from identifying efficient solutions to gathering feedback and collaborating with cross-functional partners. You'll deliver lovable products while maintaining Discord's high quality bar, utilizing 80/20 thinking and a user-centric approach. You'll embody a growth mindset, diving into new code and technologies to deliver safety solutions that protect millions of users daily.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own complex safety platform projects end-to-end, from initial design through post-launch monitoring and iteration
• Build and maintain critical safety infrastructure
• Apply an adversarial mindset to your work, thinking through security, scaling, and abuse scenarios to protect Discord's users
• Collaborate with Trust & Safety, ML, and product teams to understand requirements and deliver effective safety solutions
• Debug and resolve issues within the team's codebase and adjacent systems, participating in on-call rotations
• Break down complex projects into smaller, prioritized work streams while managing stakeholders and dependencies
• Contribute to technical design discussions and documentation, writing RFCs when necessary
• Help establish best practices and maintain the team's quality bar through code reviews and mentorship

What you should have

• 5+ years of professional experience in a software development role, with a focus on backend services and infrastructure
• Strong programming skills in languages like Python, Rust, or TypeScript
• Experience building and operating production services at scale
• Demonstrated ability to own projects end-to-end and deliver results on time
• Experience with distributed systems concepts and cloud platforms (GCP/AWS)
• Strong debugging skills and ability to navigate complex codebases
• Experience with observability tools, metrics, and monitoring systems
• Excellent communication skills with ability to work effectively with cross-functional partners
• A quality-centered mindset with attention to the right details at every stage of development

Bonus Points

• A strong passion for Discord and gaming
• Experience tackling safety problems in collaboration with ML teams at large-scale social platforms

This position is US-based only. We are seeking candidates located in the Los Angeles area (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura Counties) or the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties). Relocation assistance may be available to the San Francisco Bay Area.

This role requires either one week per month in a Los Angeles co-working space, or two days per week at our San Francisco Bay Area office.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $196,000 to $245,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.

Why Discord?

Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!

Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.

Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.