Full-Time
Staff Software Engineer
Desktop Platform
Posted on 6/10/2025
Discord
1,001-5,000 employees
Voice, video, and text chat for communities
Compensation Overview
$248k - $279k/yr
San Francisco, CA, USA
In Person
Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties). Relocation assistance may be available.
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- 8+ years experience as a software engineer working on large, cross-platform desktop applications.
- Experience with desktop performance and excitement about delivering an incredible product to 200 million users.
- Expertise in Windows applications that interact with Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) and/or low-level graphics rendering.
- Strong technical depth with C++ and/or Rust.
- Exceptional problem-solving abilities, with a track record of diagnosing and resolving complex performance issues.
- Understanding of observability and monitoring and leveraging this to solve system issues.
- Build and maintain foundational components for Discord’s desktop clients, focusing on Discord’s In-Game Overlay.
- Interface directly with Windows operating system APIs to leverage platform-specific capabilities.
- Help drive engineering quality for desktop client performance, developing systems and processes to ensure quality can be optimized and sustainably maintained.
- Troubleshoot complex issues using advanced debugging tools and techniques.
- Support internal developers with desktop build environment and tooling.
- Active in the Electron community, with contributions to open source or technical talks at conferences.
- Experience with Objective-C++, JavaScript/TypeScript and/or Python.
- Excelling in undefined environments and getting excited about finding solutions to complex technical challenges.
- Comfortable reading and writing code in large existing codebases.
Discord provides a voice, video, and text chat platform that helps friends and communities connect and hang out online. It supports organizing conversations in servers, with channels for different topics, and offers features for voice and video calls, messages, and streaming. Discord works by letting users join communities (servers), participate in real-time chats, and share media and screens. It differentiates itself by not selling user data or running ads, and by offering a Nitro premium subscription that adds perks like higher quality streams and cosmetic customization. The company’s goal is to help people feel like they belong and can explore their interests through shared spaces and conversations.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Series H
Total Funding
$979.3M
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2015
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- In-game purchases create new revenue stream as developers adopt Discord's commerce layer.
- Nitro Rewards bundling drives subscription retention through brand partnerships and exclusive perks.
- 150M monthly active users across 19M servers provide massive platform for monetization expansion.
What critics are saying
- Gaming communities represent 70% of activity; AAA title migration to proprietary platforms threatens existence.
- Gas acquisition creates COPPA and GDPR liability; FTC enforcement risks €20M+ fines.
- Microsoft partnership dependency commoditizes Nitro; termination spikes churn before IPO launch.
What makes Discord unique
- Ad-free, data-respecting freemium model differentiates Discord from Meta and Telegram competitors.
- In-game commerce integration with Marvel Rivals expands monetization beyond subscription-only revenue model.
- Nitro Rewards partnerships with Xbox Game Pass and hardware brands enhance premium tier value.
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Benefits
Stay healthy - We take care of our team with comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans.
Parental perks - Spend some quality time with the next generation with parental leave, fertility, adoption, and surrogacy benefits.
Kick back - Stay refreshed with over 19 paid holidays, use-what-you-need sick days, and four weeks of PTO.
Commute easy - In a non-COVID world, get up to $270 per month for your commuting and parking needs.
The loadout - When we’re back in the office, enjoy daily catered lunches and snacks, a desk fund to make your space yours, and whatever you need for your computer setup, including a headphone allowance.
Wellness on us - Take advantage of a quarterly wellness allowance for your gym membership or other wellness activities. Virtual yoga every week!
Transgender benefits - Discord will reimburse up to $20,000 for any procedure related to transition.
Discord HQ - Our office is located in Potrero Hill, a little neighborhood in San Francisco near awesome coffee and food.
Relocation - Excellent relocation bonuses for new hires moving to San Francisco (once it’s safe to return).
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↑ 0%2 year growth
↑ 0%Discord has launched in-game purchasing tools, allowing users to buy digital game items directly within the app. The move comes as the company reportedly prepares for an initial public offering. Marvel Rivals is the first partner for the new shop feature, with its Discord server hosting over four million members. Players can purchase bundles, costumes and emotes without leaving Discord. The feature includes wishlist functionality, enabling users to gift in-game items via direct message. Currently available only on Discord's desktop app in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Oceania, the commerce layer represents a significant revenue diversification strategy. The feature provides game developers with an additional sales channel whilst keeping users engaged within Discord's ecosystem.
Many tech firms saw meager revenue growth, or even a decline, last year as the digital ad market stalled and businesses cut back spending on software. Messaging startup Discord was an exception. Discord, which makes money from subscription fees, lifted revenue 44% to $445 million last year, ...
Gas will remain a standalone app at Discord.
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The world of virtual communications continues to hold a central place in our socially-distanced lives, and today it looks like one of the companies reaping some of the spoils is also reaping some funding out of it. Discord, the chat and communications platform wildly popular with gamers and, increasingly, many others, has confirmed to us […]