Senior Software Engineer (C++), Real Time Systems

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!

PRIMARY BUSINESS OBJECTIVE

In this role, you will own the performance and reliability of Cognitiv’s real-time bidding systems and be accountable for delivering measurable impact across latency, throughput, revenue capture, and system resiliency across a globally scaled platform.

This is a high-ownership role requiring sound judgment, initiative, and consistent execution within a well-defined foundation, with meaningful opportunity to own and shape decisions as the business evolves.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

You will be successful in this role if you:

• Own outcomes end-to-end within your scope, from problem definition through delivery and results


• Exercise strong judgment when tradeoffs exist, using available data, context, and clear principles


• Prioritize impact, speed, and quality while maintaining a high bar for rigor and execution


• Build trust through clarity, accountability, and follow-through


• Trusted to safely modify hot-path systems without introducing regressions.

Success benchmarks are set collaboratively with your manager, grounded in clear expectations, and reviewed regularly to stay aligned as priorities evolve.

KEY OUTCOMES AND PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

Success in this role is defined by consistent delivery of the following outcomes:

Outcome 1: Independent Ownership & Execution

• Independently designs, builds, and deploys improvements within the real-time bidding systems while maintaining <50ms P99 latency and production safety standards.

Result: Delivers production changes that pass performance validation, monitoring review, and on-call readiness with minimal oversight, operating as a fully functional contributor in the hot path.

Outcome 2: Identity Performance & Coverage

• Strengthens the identity graph and runtime resolution to improve match rates, reliability, and feature leverage in the bidding path.

Result: Expands identity coverage and improves resolution latency/accuracy, resulting in measurable improvements to bid participation rate, model eligibility, or revenue capture.

Outcome 3: Reliable & Scalable Platform Impact

• Improves system stability, latency adherence, and long-term scalability across the real-time platform.

Result: Maintains <50ms latency targets, reduces production risk, and contributes to platform changes that increase system capacity, stability, or deployment safety.

90-DAY SUCCESS BENCHMARKS

First 30 Days

• Build deep understanding of the RTS platform (Draco, routing, identity, event flow), latency budgets, and revenue impact of bidding decisions.


• Establish strong working relationships with engineering teammates and cross-functional partners (Product, Data Science, Core & Infra).


• Identify key risks, performance bottlenecks, reliability gaps, and identity-related constraints within owned systems.


• Document current-state latency (P95/P99), QPS success rates, failure modes, and architectural tradeoffs to create a clear performance baseline used by the team for future optimization decisions.

Evidence: You can clearly explain how a bid flows end-to-end and where performance and revenue risks exist.

By 60 Days

• Independently own a defined subsystem, feature, or performance/reliability improvement within the bidding or identity path.


• Deliver at least one meaningful improvement (performance, reliability, debuggability, or operational safety) verified through metrics or incident reduction.


• Confidently debug production issues with limited guidance.


• Propose measurable improvement targets based on observed system behavior and business context.

You are operating as a fully functioning contributor — shipping safely, participating meaningfully in design discussions, and no longer in “training mode.”

By 90 Days

• Fully own outcomes for a core service or domain area within RTS.


• Deliver consistent, high-quality execution aligned with strict <50ms latency and reliability standards without requiring close review for correctness.


• Proactively identify risks and implement improvements before customer or revenue impact.


• Contribute sound technical judgment in architectural and scaling discussions.

You have transitioned from onboarding to solid independent contributor, with early signs of A-level ownership — trusted to drive meaningful system improvements without close supervision.

Transition to Full Ownership

The first 90 days are designed to move you from context-building and guided execution into a fully independent, high-impact engineer within the real-time bidding platform. By the end of this period, you are no longer ramping — you are a reliable owner operating confidently in the hot path of revenue-critical systems.

By the end of this period, you are expected to:

• Operate with minimal day-to-day guidance while staying aligned with goals and priorities


• Own decisions and outcomes within your scope end-to-end


• Proactively identify risks, opportunities, and improvements


• Be recognized by peers and partners as a reliable owner and decision-maker


• Participates in on-call rotations and independently resolves production issues affecting revenue-critical paths.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES 

This role is responsible for:

• Driving measurable improvements in real-time bidding latency, stability, and auction success rates


• Making decisions that balance speed, quality, and long-term impact


• Partnering with Product, Data Science, Core and Infrastructure teams to remove blockers and deliver outcomes


• Continuously improving system performance, observability, and operational maturity through instrumentation, testing, and safe deployment practices

HOW PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED

Performance is evaluated based on:

• Outcomes delivered, consistency of execution, and ability to sustain impact under production load


• Ability to operate independently and unblock work


• Judgment in prioritizing tradeoffs, navigating complexity, and making high-quality decisions as scope and responsibility grow


• Impact on team and business results (performance metrics, reliability metrics, and revenue-impacting improvements)


• Feedback from cross-functional partners (if applicable: and external stakeholders)

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITIES

You are likely to succeed in this role if you have:

• Demonstrated experience building and operating high-scale, low-latency distributed systems (ideally sub-100ms request/response systems) with measurable impact on performance, reliability, or efficiency.


• Strong ownership mindset, taking services from design through production operation, on-call support, and long-term maintenance.


• Ability to operate effectively in fast-moving, high-scale environments, improving and evolving existing systems without sacrificing reliability.


• Clear communication skills, able to explain complex system behavior and tradeoffs to both technical and cross-functional stakeholders.


• Sound technical judgment and prioritization, balancing speed, correctness, and long-term scalability in revenue-critical systems.

Bonus Points:

• Experience in AdTech, RTB, exchanges, fintech, trading systems, search, or other high-QPS real-time platforms.


• Prior ownership of mission-critical systems with strict latency SLAs.


• Experience improving performance, observability, resiliency, or CI/CD maturity in distributed systems.

Salary: $160,000 - $220,000 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 & vision coverage (some plans 100% employer-paid)


• 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) with employer match


• Parking (CA & WA 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.