Role OverviewAs 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. You will build a system that doesn't just meet industry standards but sets them, ensuring 5-6 nines availability while leveraging AI to optimize data flows and automate complex system behaviors.
What You Will Do- Architect for Velocity: Lead the end-to-end design of a distributed streaming engine. You will 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% availability) at a throughput of 100k+ events/sec. You will 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 we Wow the Customer through seamless, real-time platform responsiveness.
- Solve Hard Problems: Address challenges related to distributed consistency, at times, exactly-once processing guarantees, and backpressure management. You must 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.
- Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining highly available, distributed systems in cloud environments (AWS).
- Experience with high-volume messaging systems (e.g., Kafka, SQS)
- Extensive Experience: 10+ years of professional software development experience building backend infrastructure that supports global-scale, real-time traffic.
- Performance Expert: Proven track record of optimizing JVM applications for ultra-low latency (
- AI Integration: Experience or a 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.
Pay & Benefits Our compensation reflects the cost of living across several US geographic markets. At Coupang, your base pay is one part of your total compensation.
The base pay for this position ranges from $152,000/year to $282,000/year. Pay is based on several factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills and experience.
General Description of All Benefits - Annual bonus is 0-20% of the base salary
- Medical/Dental/Vision/Life, AD&D insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HAS)
- Long-term/Short-term Disability
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program
- 401K Plan with Company Match
- 18-21 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) a year based on the tenure
- 12 Paid Holidays
- Paid Parental leave
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
- MTV- [Free] Electric Car Charging Station
General Description of Other Compensation "Other Compensation" includes, but is not limited to, bonuses, equity, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established salary or wage scale.
Recruitment Process and Others Recruitment Process - Application Review - Phone Interview - Onsite (or Virtual Onsite) Interview - Offer
- The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances.
- Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage.
Details to Consider - This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled.
- Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process.
