Staff Backend Engineer (Streaming and AI Infrastructure)

Role Overview As part of our Application Infrastructure org, this is a team building Coupang’s next-generation Real-Time Streaming & AI Platform that powers the end customer website and mobile apps. We are looking for a visionary Staff Software Engineer to lead the architectural design of a platform capable of processing over 100k+ events per second with sub-second, end-to-end latency. This system will serve as the central nervous system for Coupang, enabling real-time product and customer data and instant personalization. What You Will Do Architect for Velocity: Lead the end-to-end design of a distributed streaming engine. Build the best team and help them grow by setting the gold standard for high-throughput, low-latency architectural integrity. Define Extreme Performance: Design for 5-6 nines (99.9999%) at a throughput of 100k+ events/sec. Dive deep into JVM tuning, memory management, and network I/O to ensure sub-second latency across global clusters. AI-Driven Streaming: Integrate AI/ML models directly into the stream processing path. Implement predictive scaling and intelligent load balancing to ensure seamless, real-time platform responsiveness. Solve Hard Problems: Address challenges related to distributed consistency, at times exactly-once processing guarantees, and backpressure management. Be data-driven to validate architectural decisions against massive, bursty traffic patterns. Basic Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, math, or a closely related field 4 years of experience in backend software development Proficiency in Java and the Spring Framework Experience working in cloud environments, particularly AWS Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining highly available, distributed systems Preferred Qualifications Expert-level experience in Cassandra, TiDB, or DynamoDB Expert-level proficiency in Java and the Spring Framework Experience with high-volume messaging systems (e.g., Kafka, SQS) 10+ years of professional software development experience building backend infrastructure that supports global-scale, real-time traffic Performance expertise: Proven track record of optimizing JVM applications for ultra-low latency (≤100ms p99) and high concurrency AI integration: Experience or strong architectural vision for using AI/ML to automate system-level functionality, such as real-time anomaly detection in data streams Distributed systems expert: Deep understanding of the CAP theorem, consensus algorithms, and building fault-tolerant systems from the ground up Benefits Annual bonus 0-20% of base salary Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA) Long-term/Short-term disability Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 401(k) plan with company match 18-21 days paid time off per year based on tenure 12 paid holidays Paid parental leave Electric car charging station (free) Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or gender (including pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, transgender status), national origin, age, disability, medical condition, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, marital status, military or veteran status, use of a trained dog guide or service animal, political activities or affiliations, citizenship, or any other characteristic or class protected by law or regulation in the locations where we operate. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation in the recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr Coupang