Senior Software Engineer, Data Platform - Libson
Summary
Senior engineer on Discord's founding Lisbon hub team, building the next-generation Data Platform — data ingestion, transformation, and serving infrastructure that processes petabytes across millions of users, owned end-to-end from design to production. Core stack includes Python/Java/Rust/Go and BigQuery, Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow, or Dagster.
Discord has a highly engaged community of millions of daily active users who use the platform for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does: play video games. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming, and we are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to hang out before, during, and after playing games.
Discord is opening an engineering hub in Lisbon, our first dedicated one outside of our San Francisco HQ. And we’re building it from the ground up. As a member of our founding team, you’ll help set the direction for teams across Core Technology, advancing work that keeps Discord reliable for millions of people around the world, helps our engineers move faster, and protects our platform at scale. You’ll also help shape the culture of the hub so it feels unmistakably Discord while developing a distinctly Lisbon identity of its own.
We're looking for someone who gets excited about building data infrastructure at massive scale and cares deeply about the gaming communities we serve. Someone with passion for building lovable products for Discord users and Discord engineers. We’re building the next generation Data Platform that powers decisions for one of the most vibrant platforms in the world.
If you're the kind of Software Engineer who lights up when talking about distributed systems, cares deeply about user privacy, grounding decisions in data, and wants your work to directly impact millions of gamers worldwide, we want to talk to you.
To learn more about Discord’s Data Platform, read our engineering blog, including how we built our modern data stack leveraging open-source tools!
What You'll Be Doing
- Build and maintain data infrastructure processing petabytes of data across millions of users
- Write clean, well-tested code for data ingestion, transformation, and serving systems
- Own projects end-to-end. From design through deployment and production support
- Collaborate with data scientists, engineers, and product teams to deliver solutions that power Discord's insights
- Apply 80/20 thinking to challenge requirements, cut unnecessary complexity, and deliver the optimal solution at the right time
- Mentor teammates through code reviews, RFCs, and shared technical knowledge that makes the whole team better
What You Should Have
- 5+ years of software engineering experience with strong programming skills in Python, Java, Rust, Go, or similar
- Hands-on experience building or operating data infrastructure like pipelines, streaming systems, orchestration, or data warehousing at scale (BigQuery, Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow, Dagster, or similar)
- Proven track record of delivering complex, multi-phase projects autonomously. You've owned the hard ones and handled edge cases, failure modes, and scale before they became problems.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills, including with XFN partners. You write clear technical documents, drive alignment, and bring people along on technical decisions
- Growth mindset. You’ve failed, learned, and shipped something better because of it
Bonus Points
- Passion for Discord and gaming
- Familiarity with data governance, privacy compliance, or cost optimization in large-scale data environments
Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to the Lisbon Area and attend the office 3-4 days a week.
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, and helps developers build and grow their businesses. 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.
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 7 questions · 1 written answer
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (4)
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Pick from a list (2)
- Are you legally authorized to work in Portugal for our Company?
- Are you currently located in Portugal?
Written answers (1)
- Why do you want to work at Discord?