Senior Android Video Player Engineer

Senior Android Video Player Engineer
- Remote Kake is a remote-first company and a people-first global community of senior engineers. Kake engineers are behind some of the world’s most innovative products (Brands you’ve heard), from Fortune 500 to fast-growing companies. We believe it’s not where your table is, but what you bring to the table that matters. Our community spans 45,000+ engineers across 55+ countries; join a culture where great people stay, grow, and thrive (and love eating kake). We’re looking for Senior Android Video Player Engineers with deep, production-level experience in live video streaming, skilled in delivering high-quality playback experiences across Android and Android TV. It's a great fit for people who enjoy owning playback reliability end-to-end and thrive in a mature, high-scale streaming ecosystem. What you’ll build and own
• Design, develop, and optimize Android video player frameworks and SDKs for live streaming.
• Customize and extend ExoPlayer components, ABR logic, and player builders to improve playback performance.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex playback issues in live streaming environments, including buffering, latency, and rebuffering.
• Work with dynamic manifests (MPD/M3U8) and adaptive bitrate logic to ensure smooth playback across network conditions.
• Integrate and maintain ad technologies (IMA, DAI, SSAI) within the player framework.
• Use QoE analytics integrations to diagnose issues and improve real-world playback performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure playback quality and reliability across devices.
• Contribute to best practices and continuous improvement initiatives across streaming projects. Core Requirements
• 7+ years of Android development experience with deep expertise in Kotlin and Java.
• Proven experience building and maintaining video players and live playback components for Android/Android TV.
• Strong hands-on experience with ExoPlayer, including customization and performance optimization for live streaming.
• Demonstrated ability to debug and optimize playback performance, including rebuffering, latency, and playback stability.
• Familiarity with streaming protocols (DASH, HLS), adaptive bitrate workflows, and ad integrations (IMA, SSAI, DAI).
• Experience using video analytics or QoE metrics (e.g., Conviva, Mux, Hydrolix) to diagnose and improve real-world playback performance.
• Proficiency with Jetpack Compose, Kotlin Coroutines, and Flows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to work independently in a remote, fast-paced environment. Nice-to-Have
• Previous work in a broadcasting or OTT environment.
• Background working in large-scale sports live streaming environments.
• Comfortable working flexible hours to overlap with distributed teams across different time zones. Why Join Kake? The icing on the Kake:
• 💰 Competitive Pay in USD: Work globally, get paid globally.
• 🌎 Fully Remote: Simply put, we trust you.
• 💜 Better Me Fund: We invest in your personal growth and passions.
• 🎂 Compassion is Badass: Join a community that invests in social good. Ready for your piece of the Kake? Apply now Quick note: Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.