Lead Software Engineer - CTV

Storytelling is, and will always be, the heart of what we do at Skydance.
Our vision is to build a thriving entertainment ecosystem where stories and worlds are imagined, brought to life and experienced. We create for every age and audience, anchored by the strength of our content and experiences and the depth of our connection with fans. We are creator-first, audience-focused, tech-forward, globally scaled.

Here, you’ll work with talented teams that move fast, think boldly and collaborate with purpose to deliver results. We aim high, champion the best ideas and win together, earning the trust of our employees, creators, partners and audiences every day.

If you’re energized by the opportunity to help build the next-generation global media and entertainment company powered by creativity and technology, we’d be thrilled to welcome you aboard. LET’S GO!

Location: On-site -  New York / Los Angeles / San Francisco / Ft. Lauderdale

Overview

You'll own the technical direction of Paramount's Smart TV applications across Samsung Tizen, LG webOS,
and other CTV platforms. These apps run on web-based runtimes with tight memory budgets, limited CPU, and
hardware that varies by model year and price point. You know these constraints and you know how to build
React applications that perform within them.

You'll lead a team of engineers, write code alongside them, and set the standard for how the team builds. You'll
coordinate with central video engineering, external platform partners, and Product/Design to ship features that
work on the biggest screen in the house.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for Paramount's Smart TV applications. Choose the patterns, own the architecture,
  make decisions the team can follow
• Build and maintain application components using React and TypeScript. This is a hands-on role. You ship
  code
• Lead a team of Smart TV engineers. Run code reviews, pair on hard problems, give feedback that raises
  the bar
• Architect around CTV platform constraints: web runtime limitations, memory ceilings, rendering
  performance on low-end hardware, and platform certification requirements for Tizen, webOS, and other
  targets
• Ship real-time personalization features on Smart TV applications — personalized recommendations,
  dynamic artwork, and ad engagement experiences built for CTV constraints
• Collaborate with central video engineering teams to integrate and optimize video players across platforms
• Work with external platform partners (Samsung, LG, and others) to develop, debug, and certify
  applications
• Plan and prioritize technical work. Scope projects, surface risks before they block the team, keep releases
  on track
• Write architecture docs, RFCs, and technical guides. Make decisions visible so the team doesn't have to
  guess
• Improve CI/CD pipelines, testing infrastructure, and build tooling for multi-platform Smart TV deployments
• Use AI development tools to move faster. Show the team what works and help them adopt it

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years writing software
• 3+ years building Smart TV or CTV applications on web-based platforms (Tizen, webOS, or similar)
• 2+ years leading a team or serving as a technical lead
• BS in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent work experience
• React and TypeScript at a level where you can design component architectures, not just use them
• State management with Redux and RTK. You've made decisions about store shape, middleware, and
  selector performance that held up at scale
• Client-side routing patterns (React Router or equivalent)
• Front-end fundamentals: HTML, CSS, modern JavaScript. You can debug layout and rendering issues on
  a TV runtime without guessing
• You've taken features from concept through delivery on CTV platforms, including certification and
  deployment
• CI/CD environments with DevOps and SRE principles
• RESTful API integration and data handling
• Performance profiling and optimization on resource-constrained devices. You know how to measure, not
  just improve
• You write and speak about technical decisions in a way that helps people act on them
• You use AI tools (Copilot, Claude, Cursor, or similar) and can point to specific ways they've changed how
  you work

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with multiple CTV platforms (Tizen, webOS, Vizio, Xbox, PlayStation, or others)
• You've built or maintained cross-platform CTV codebases that share React code across Tizen, webOS,
  and other targets
• Browser internals knowledge: rendering pipelines, compositing, layout thrashing, and how these behave
  on TV runtimes vs. desktop browsers
• Video player integration experience (Shaka, hls.js, or native platform players)
• You've rendered personalized or dynamically served content on memory-constrained CTV hardware
• You've worked with real-time event pipelines or recommendation APIs on client applications
• Observability tools: Conviva, New Relic, Datadog, Sentry, or similar
• Experience working in Agile frameworks across distributed teams and time zones
• Rapid proof-of-concept experience. You've built throwaway prototypes to answer hard questions fast
• You've introduced AI tools to a team and helped them stick. Not a demo. Actual adoption
• You care about UX enough to push back on Product and Design when something isn't right for the 10-foot
  experience
• You say "I don't know" when you don't know

What Good Looks Like

• Your team ships on time because you scoped the work correctly, not because anyone worked weekends
• Engineers on your team grow. They take on harder problems this quarter than last quarter. You can name
  what changed
• You open a Smart TV app codebase you've never seen, connect a Tizen emulator, and start diagnosing a
  rendering issue the same afternoon
• You know which React patterns cause jank on a 2020-era LG TV and which ones don't. You've written it
  down so the team knows too
• When a certification submission fails, you read the rejection, fix the issue, and update the team's checklist
  so it doesn't happen again
• You manage the relationship with platform partners. Samsung and LG engineers know your name and
  trust your team's submissions
• You write architecture decisions down. Six months later, a new engineer reads one and understands why
  you chose what you chose
• You push back when a plan has gaps. You suggest a better one. You do this without making people feel
  small
• You treat the build pipeline, test coverage, and error monitoring like product features
• You make the people around you better at their jobs. They'd say so if asked

#LI-VA1

Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service from Paramount Global, combines live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream Paramount Streaming’s other live channels: CBSN for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Hiring Salary Range: $156,800.00 - 235,200.00. 

The hiring salary range for this position applies to New York, California, Colorado, Washington state, and most other geographies. Starting pay for the successful applicant depends on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education.  The benefits available for this position include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) plan, life insurance coverage, disability benefits, tuition assistance program and PTO or, if applicable,  as otherwise dictated by the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement. This position is bonus eligible.  

Skydance is an equal opportunity employer (EOE)

We embrace the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit. In line with the laws of the country or region in which the role is based, this includes consideration without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, religion or belief, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, physical or mental disability, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, union status or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability, you may request a reasonable accommodation during the job application and/or recruitment process. You can request reasonable accommodations by calling 212.846.5500 or by sending an email to [email protected]. Only messages left for this purpose will be returned.