Staff Backend Engineer, Video and Streaming

Knightscope, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Knightscope, Inc. in Sunnyvale is seeking a seasoned backend engineer to own the video and streaming backend powering Signals. You will take ownership from a third-party vendor to internal systems, shaping the highest-traffic backend for years.

You will lead architecture, drive SLOs and cost optimization, and collaborate with UI, ML, and operations teams to deliver a robust, scalable streaming platform on-site at our Sunnyvale HQ.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in backend engineering with architectural ownership.
• Experience with video streaming systems (WebRTC, HLS, RTMP).
• High-throughput real-time systems at scale.
• Strong distributed systems fundamentals.
• Production ownership of media pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Own the video and streaming backend for Signals end to end.
• Lead vendor knowledge transfer on video pipeline architecture and operations.
• Partner with the Video UI frontend team on end-to-end streaming experience.
• Partner with the ML/CV team on model serving for ICM 2.0.
• Establish SLOs, on-call rotation, and cost optimization for the video pipeline.

Skills

Video streaming

Backend architecture

Distributed systems

Staff-level ownership

Vendor/insourcing

Job description

About Knightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force: autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

About Knightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force: autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

Job Summary

You will own the video and streaming backend that powers Signals, taking it from a third-party vendor into internal ownership. This is the highest-traffic backend in the Signals platform, and the technical decisions you make here will shape Signals for years.

Location: ONSITE - Sunnyvale, CA

About The Role

You will own the video and streaming backend that powers Signals, taking it from a third-party vendor into internal ownership. This is the highest-traffic backend in the Signals platform, and the technical decisions you make here will shape Signals for years.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the video and streaming backend for Signals end to end.
• Lead vendor knowledge transfer on video pipeline architecture and operations.
• Partner with the Video UI frontend team on end-to-end streaming experience.
• Partner with the ML/CV team on model serving for ICM 2.0.
• Establish SLOs, on-call rotation, and cost optimization for the video pipeline.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years in backend engineering, including staff-level architectural ownership.
• Deep experience with video streaming systems (WebRTC, HLS, RTMP, or similar).
• High-throughput real-time systems at scale.
• Strong distributed systems fundamentals.
• Production ownership of media pipelines.

Nice to Have

• Security or surveillance video pipeline experience.
• Edge-to-cloud video ingest and processing architectures.
• Prior insourcing of a media backend from a third party.

Compensation And Benefits

Base Salary: $210,000 to $250,000 (DOE)

Equity: Stock options

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off

Location Requirement: Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ