Experienced Distributed Systems Engineer – Data Platform Engineering (L4) | Build Enterprise-Scale Data Infrastructure | Remote-Friendly

• --

About arenaflex

At arenaflex, we are on a mission to engage the world and revolutionize how entertainment is envisioned, created, and delivered to a global audience. As a leading force in streaming entertainment, we currently stream content in over 30 languages across 190 countries, serving more than 220 million paid subscribers. We are also expanding into exciting new frontiers like gaming, podcasts, and live experiences.

The data systems teams at arenaflex play a pivotal role in enabling us to leverage data to delight our members in countless ways. We provide unified data platforms and tools for various business functions across the organization, empowering them to make critical, data-driven decisions. We do the heavy lifting to make it easy for our colleagues to work with data efficiently, securely, and competently. Our goal is to set the industry standard in building a world-class data infrastructure, as arenaflex paves the way to becoming the most popular and ubiquitous destination for global internet entertainment.

We are searching for talented distributed systems engineers to help advance and grow our infrastructure as we pursue our ambitious goal of reaching 500 million people worldwide. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that brings new perspectives as we tackle the next set of challenges. We welcome remote candidates from anywhere in the U.S. We value what you can do, regardless of your physical location.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Distributed Systems Engineer (L4) to join our Data Platform team. This is a fantastic opportunity to work on challenging problems at massive scale, architecting robust systems that power critical business operations for one of the world's most innovative entertainment companies. In this role, you will design, build, and maintain scalable data infrastructure that enables thousands of internal teams to derive insights and make data-driven decisions.

This position offers the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies and collaborate with brilliant minds across the organization. You will have the opportunity to contribute to open-source projects, participate in technical discussions, and shape the future of our data platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and build robust, scalable, and highly available distributed systems that form the backbone of arenaflex's data infrastructure


• Design and develop high-performance data platforms capable of processing petabytes of data with sub-millisecond latency


• Create and maintain RESTful web services that enable seamless data access and manipulation across the organization


• Implement fault-tolerant systems that gracefully handle failures and ensure data integrity


• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineers, product managers, and technical program managers to deliver impactful solutions


• Optimize system performance through profiling, benchmarking, and strategic architectural improvements


• Contribute to Netflix Open Source projects and engage with the broader open-source community


• Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning


• Participate in on-call rotations to ensure system reliability and quick incident response


• Document technical designs and architecture decisions for knowledge sharing and team alignment

Focus Areas and Teams

Database Access Platform

The Database Access Platform team builds and operates a flexible query gateway that facilitates data abstractions to work at sub-millisecond latencies while allowing arenaflex microservices to more efficiently store, consume, and manage their data. This team holds significant responsibility in enabling arenaflex microservices to meet their ever-growing and evolving data needs.

You will be passionate about distributed data systems technology, active in the open-source community, and believe in operating what we own. You will be part of a small team responsible for business-critical systems and committed to a culture of feedback and engineering excellence.

Data Platform Infrastructure

The Data Platform Infrastructure team serves as a platform for our own data platforms. Our shared infrastructure and tooling enable arenaflex to quickly iterate on providing cutting-edge data and analytics systems to the rest of the organization without building custom platforms for each new system. To achieve this, we create high-impact infrastructure, control, and deployment systems tailored to the needs of running our data systems at scale.

Many of our tools and systems are written in Python, making this an excellent team to consider if you enjoy working in multiple languages.

Data Ingestion and Processing

This team offers a self-service throughput-optimized pathway product to enable diverse client personas across arenaflex to meet their low-latency Data Ingestion and Processing requirements. They enable abstraction over complex streaming systems like Kafka and Flink, offer a graph-driven processing experience, and invest in operational automation, reliability, and tools for predictable data quality.

Big Data Compute

This team is responsible for providing the cloud-native platform for distributed data processing at arenaflex. They are critical to batch data processing in Data Platform. The team offers support for Spark, to ETL data into the petabyte-scale data warehouse and access that data using Spark and Presto/Trino. They also provide sub-second latency for a specific class of queries using Druid.

We are looking for exceptional talent with experience in Spark, Presto/Trino, Druid, Iceberg, and distributed database systems overall. Jobs in this group involve tackling very interesting and challenging problems of working with data at scale, building features and performance improvements, and working closely with open-source communities to shape the projects and make contributions.

Big Data Orchestration

This team offers the platform for scheduling, orchestrating, and executing big data jobs and workflows in a self-serve manner. These platforms include core services that have all ETL and ML responsibilities running on Big Data Systems at arenaflex. These fully distributed systems are constantly evolving for arenaflex scale with best-in-class technology.

We are moving towards event-driven and intelligent orchestration which would require minimal user input/intervention.

Essential Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience building large-scale distributed systems, features, or applications


• Strong proficiency in the design and development of RESTful web services


• Experience building and operating scalable, fault-tolerant, distributed systems


• Strong programming skills in Java or other object-oriented programming languages


• Comfort with multi-threading and concurrent programming challenges


• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field


• Solid understanding of data structures, algorithms, and system design principles


• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and distributed computing frameworks

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Computer Science or related field


• Experience with big data technologies such as Spark, Flink, Kafka, or similar frameworks


• Knowledge of database systems including relational, NoSQL, and NewSQL databases


• Familiarity with containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes


• Experience in the streaming media or entertainment industry


• Contributions to open-source projects or active participation in technical communities


• Experience with data pipeline orchestration tools such as Airflow, Prefect, or Dagster

Skills and Competencies Required for Success

• Problem-Solving Abilities: You enjoy solving real business needs at large scale by applying your programming and analytical problem-solving skills


• System Design Expertise: You have the ability to architect and build robust, scalable, and highly available distributed infrastructure


• Collaboration Skills: You excel at driving cross-functional initiatives and working collaboratively with engineers, product managers, and TPMs across teams


• Communication Skills: You can effectively communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders


• Ownership Mindset: You take end-to-end responsibility for your work and continuously strive for excellence


• Learning Agility: You are eager to learn new technologies and stay current with industry trends

Career Growth Opportunities and Learning Benefits

At arenaflex, we invest heavily in your professional development and career growth. As part of our team, you will have access to:

• Cutting-Edge Technology: Work with the latest distributed systems technologies and contribute to industry-leading open-source projects


• Professional Development: Opportunities to attend conferences, participate in technical training, and obtain certifications


• Career Advancement: Clear career paths with opportunities to grow into senior technical roles, technical lead positions, or management roles


• Mentorship Programs: Both receive mentorship from senior engineers and mentor junior team members


• Internal Mobility: Flexibility to explore different teams and roles across the organization


• Research and Innovation: Time and support for exploring new ideas and contributing to technical innovation

Work Environment and Company Culture

arenaflex is renowned for its unique culture that emphasizes freedom and responsibility. We believe in hiring the best people and then getting out of their way. Our work environment is characterized by:

• Remote-Friendly Culture: We welcome remote candidates and offer flexible work arrangements. We value what you can do, from anywhere in the U.S.


• Inclusive Environment: We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that brings new perspectives to solve challenges


• Collaboration Over Hierarchy: We value cross-functional collaboration and open communication at all levels


• Work-Life Balance: We respect your time and encourage a healthy balance between work and personal life


• Innovation Time: We encourage experimentation and innovation


• Transparency: We share information openly and maintain transparent communication across teams

Compensation and Benefits

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to support your well-being and professional growth:

• Competitive Salary: $26 per hour ($54,080 annually) with opportunities for growth based on experience and performance


• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance


• Retirement Plans: 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching


• Paid Time Off: Generous paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays


• Parental Leave: Extensive paid parental leave for new parents


• Stock Benefits: Equity compensation to share in arenaflex's success


• Learning Budget: Annual learning and development budget for courses, conferences, and certifications


• Wellness Programs: Access to wellness resources and fitness center discounts


• Free Streaming: Free arenaflex subscription and access to exclusive content

Join Our Team

This would be the most amazing opportunity if you enjoy:

• Solving real business needs at large scale by applying your programming and analytical problem-solving skills


• Architecting and building a robust, scalable, and highly available distributed infrastructure


• Driving cross-functional initiatives and working collaboratively with engineers, product managers, and TPMs across teams


• Sharing your experiences with open-source communities and contributing to arenaflex Open Source

If you are passionate about distributed systems, data engineering, and want to work on challenges that impact hundreds of millions of people worldwide, we want to hear from you! Apply now and be part of building the future of entertainment.

arenaflex is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.