Backend Software Engineer (Python)

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Overview

The ML Data Engineering team powers metadata extraction, enrichment, and content understanding across all Scribd brands. We process hundreds of millions of documents, billions of images, and deliver high-quality metadata to enable content discovery and trust for millions of users worldwide. Our systems operate at massive scale, supporting diverse datasets like user-generated content (UGC), ebooks, audiobooks, and more. We work at the intersection of machine learning, data engineering, and distributed systems, collaborating closely with applied research and product teams to deploy scalable ML and LLM-powered solutions in production.

Role Overview

Were seeking a Software Engineer II with deep experience building event-driven, distributed, and scalable systems in Python. In this role, youll design and optimize large-scale data and service pipelines running on AWS, supporting Scribds content enrichment and metadata systems. Youll work closely with cross-functional teams to design reliable backend services that integrate machine learning models and LLM-based components when needed. This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge generative AI and metadata enrichment problems at a truly global scale.

Tech Stack

Our backend systems are primarily built in Python, leveraging AWS services such as Lambda, ECS, SQS, and ElastiCache for event-driven and distributed processing. We also use Airflow, Spark, Databricks, Terraform, and Datadog for orchestration, data processing, and observability.

Key Responsibilities

Design and implement event-driven, distributed systems to extract, enrich, and process metadata from large-scale document and media datasets.

Build and maintain scalable APIs and backend services for high-throughput content processing.

Leverage AWS services (ECS, Lambda, SQS, ElastiCache, CloudWatch) to design and deploy resilient, high-performance systems.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver backend solutions that power ML-driven features.

Optimize and refactor existing backend systems for scalability, reliability, and performance.

Ensure system health and data integrity through monitoring, observability, and automated testing.

Requirements

5+ years of professional software engineering experience on Python or distributed systems development.

Strong proficiency in Python (3+ years). Experience with Scala is a plus.

Proven experience designing and building event-driven, distributed, and scalable systems.

Hands-on experience with AWS services (ECS, Lambda, SQS, SNS, CloudWatch, etc.).

Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform.

Solid understanding of system performance, profiling, and optimization.

Bachelors degree in Computer Science or equivalent professional experience.

Bonus: Familiarity with data processing frameworks (Spark, Databricks) and workflow orchestration tools.

Bonus: Experience integrating ML or LLM-based models into production systems.

Compensation

At Scribd, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package and is determined within a range. Our pay ranges are based on the local cost of labor benchmarks for each specific role, level, and geographic location. San Francisco is our highest geographic market in the United States. In the state of California, the reasonably expected salary range is between $126,000 to $196,000. In the United States, outside of California, the range is between $103,500 to $186,500. In Canada, the range is between $131,500 CAD to $174,500 CAD. The salary range is scoped to the level for this job; higher or lower levels may have different ranges. This position is eligible for equity and a comprehensive benefits package.

Working at Scribd

Are you currently based in a location where Scribd is able to employ you? Employees must have their primary residence in or near listed cities, including surrounding metro areas. United States: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. Canada: Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver. Mexico: Mexico City.

Benefits, Perks, And Wellbeing At Scribd

Benefits/perks listed may vary depending on location.

Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees

12 weeks paid parental leave

Short-term/long-term disability plans

401k/RSP matching

Onboarding stipend for home office peripherals

Learning & Development allowance

Quarterly wellness and connectivity stipends

Mental Health resources

Free Scribd product subscriptions

Referral Bonuses

Book Benefit

Sabbaticals

Company-wide events and team engagement budgets

Vacation & Personal Days, Paid Holidays, Flexible Sick Time, Volunteer Day

Inclusive Employee Resource Groups and AI Tools access

Equal Opportunity Scribd is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply and believe diversity of perspectives drives the best ideas. If you need adjustments in the interview process, email .

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. #J-18808-Ljbffr