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Video Playback Engineer Jobs in Laurel, MD (NOW HIRING)

Senior Software Engineer - C# / WPF

Arlington, VA · On-site

$140K - $185K/yr

You'll own significant areas of a large WPF codebase that spans real-time video playback, AI ... Mentor junior engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and design feedback, raising the ...

Software Engineering Job Qualifications: Skills: JavaScript API, React.js, TypeScript, VueScan ... Experience with video playback technologies (e.g. HTML5 video, Vidstack, vidoe.js, HLS, DASH) nice ...

The Software Engineer develops, maintains, and enhances complex and diverse software systems (e.g ... Experience with video playback technologies (e.g. HTML5 video, Vidstack, vidoe.js, HLS, DASH) nice ...

The Software Engineer develops, maintains, and enhances complex and diverse software systems (e.g ... Experience with video playback technologies (e.g. HTML5 video, Vidstack, vidoe.js, HLS, DASH) nice ...

The Software Engineer develops, maintains, and enhances complex and diverse software systems (e.g ... Experience with video playback technologies (e.g. HTML5 video, Vidstack, vidoe.js, HLS, DASH) nice ...

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Showing results 1-20

Video Playback Engineer information

See Laurel, MD salary details

$30.2K

$87.5K

$138.3K

How much do video playback engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for video playback engineer in Laurel, MD is $87,549.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $64,400.00 and $107,600.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a video playback engineer?

A Video Playback Engineer is a technology professional who specializes in the development, optimization, and maintenance of video streaming and playback systems. They work on ensuring seamless delivery of video content across various platforms and devices, addressing issues like buffering, latency, and compatibility. Their responsibilities often include working with video codecs, streaming protocols, content delivery networks (CDNs), and player technologies to provide high-quality viewing experiences. Video Playback Engineers may also collaborate with software developers, QA teams, and content providers to troubleshoot and enhance video performance.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a video playback engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Video Playback Engineer, you need expertise in video codecs, streaming protocols, and a solid background in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as FFmpeg, HLS/DASH streaming, and media playback libraries, as well as experience with video delivery platforms, is common. Strong problem-solving, attention to detail, and effective communication are critical soft skills for collaborating across engineering and product teams. These skills ensure the reliable, high-quality video experiences users expect and enable efficient troubleshooting and innovation in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

What are some common challenges faced by video playback engineers, and how can applicants prepare to address them?

Video Playback Engineers often encounter challenges related to ensuring smooth streaming across a wide range of devices and network conditions. Applicants should be prepared to troubleshoot compatibility issues, optimize video quality and latency, and implement adaptive bitrate streaming techniques. Staying current with evolving video codecs and industry standards is also crucial. Collaboration with front-end developers, QA teams, and content delivery network providers is common, so strong communication and problem-solving skills are important for success in this role.

What is the difference between Video Playback Engineer vs Video Software Engineer?

AspectVideo Playback EngineerVideo Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related; experience with multimedia frameworksBachelor's or higher in Computer Science or Software Engineering; programming skills in C++, Python
Work EnvironmentMedia companies, streaming platforms, multimedia device manufacturersSoftware development firms, tech companies, multimedia application developers
Employer & Industry UsageFocus on optimizing video playback, decoding, and renderingDeveloping multimedia software, codecs, and applications

While both roles involve multimedia and video technologies, Video Playback Engineers specialize in ensuring smooth video playback and decoding, often working closely with hardware and media frameworks. Video Software Engineers develop broader multimedia applications and codecs, focusing on software development across various platforms. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify career paths and job expectations in the multimedia industry.

What job categories do people searching Video Playback Engineer jobs in Laurel, MD look for?

The top searched job categories for Video Playback Engineer jobs in Laurel, MD are:

Infographic showing various Video Playback Engineer job openings in Laurel, MD as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 90% Full Time, 7% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $87,549 per year, or $42.1 per hour.

Software Development Engineer, Prime Video Ads

Arlington, VA


Amazon
IT Services • 10K+ employees

7.4

Company rating: 7.4 out of 10

Based on 7,122 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

6th of 39 rated national retailers

Good employer

Recommended by students

Paid breaks


Full-time

Re-posted 7 days ago


Job description

Are you interested in shaping the future of movies and television for Prime Video customers. Do you want to define the next generation of how and what Amazon customers are watching. Prime Video is one of the leading digital video services on the Internet today, and we're just getting started.
PV Ads team owns services that integrate with ad decision systems

We launched Prime Video's Ads offering and are continuing to launch new products and features for our customers. In the past we have helped launch Thursday Night Football and CBS All Access (with ads) on Prime Video. The team is chartered to design large-scale systems that power live streams with ads viewed by a massive audience daily - including our biggest live events, which scale up to 31 million concurrent viewers (CCU).

You will help bring customers' streaming video experience to a new level.
As an engineer, you will have the opportunity to work on challenging problems in the low-latency/high-throughput domain of dynamic ad insertion. The systems you design and build will be in the core path of video delivery to Prime Video customers worldwide, operating at a scale where a single live event can reach tens of millions of concurrent viewers with zero tolerance for disruption. We leverage Amazon Web Services (AWS) technologies including AWS CloudFront, EC2, S3, DynamoDB, Lambda, SNS, SQS and internal AWS incubator technologies.
You will need to have an established background in developing customer-facing experiences, a strong technical ability, great communication skills, a motivation to achieve results in a fast-paced environment, a high level of creativity and great analytical reasoning skills.
Key job responsibilities
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with critical, 24x7 systems
- Experience with high throughput, multi-threaded systems
- Experience developing web services, or other large scale distributed systems, that have been successfully delivered to customers
- Experience building video advertising products would be a nice to have, but is not required.
- Prior experience managing tier-1 services would be a nice to have, but is not required
Prime Video Ads team's mission is to build a seamless ad delivery, playback and reporting experience across all supported PV devices

We do this by building highly scaled, low latency services that fetch, ingest, stitch and deliver ads using industry leading video ad serving technologies.
PV Ads team owns services for ad ingestion, ad stitching and integrates with ad decision systems. Its services handle dynamic transcoding and ad insertions as part of video playback.
The team is chartered to design large scale systems to power the live and vod streams with ads viewed by a massive audience daily, and you will help bring customers streaming video view experience to a new level.
The systems you design and build will be in the core path of video delivery to Prime Video customers worldwide

You will need to have an established background in developing customer-facing experiences, a strong technical ability, great communication skills, a motivation to achieve results in a fast-paced environment, a high level of creativity and great analytical reasoning skills.


Amazon logo

About Amazon

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Amazon.com, Inc., commonly known as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company. It was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and initially started as an online marketplace for books. Since then, Amazon has expanded its operations and become one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Amazon's primary business is its online retail platform, where customers can purchase a vast array of products, including electronics, clothing, books, home goods, and much more. The company offers a convenient and user-friendly shopping experience, with features such as fast shipping, customer reviews, and personalized recommendations. In addition to its e-commerce platform, Amazon has diversified its business into various other areas. One of its notable ventures is Amazon Web Services (AWS), a comprehensive cloud computing platform that provides services such as storage, compute power, and database management to individuals and businesses. AWS has become a leader in the cloud computing industry, powering many websites and applications worldwide. Amazon has also developed its own consumer electronics, including the popular Amazon Kindle e-reader, Fire tablets, Fire TV streaming devices, and the Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers. The Alexa voice assistant, integrated into these devices, allows users to interact with their devices using voice commands, perform tasks, and access information. Furthermore, Amazon has expanded into media and entertainment. It operates Prime Video, a streaming service that offers a wide range of movies, TV shows, and original content. Amazon Music provides a platform for streaming and purchasing digital music, while Audible offers audiobooks and other audio content. The company's commitment to customer satisfaction and convenience is demonstrated by its membership program, Amazon Prime. Prime members receive various benefits, including free two-day shipping, access to streaming services, exclusive deals, and more.

Industry

It services, book publishers, retail, real estate, computer and electronic product manufacturing and software development

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Seattle, WA, US


What Amazon employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

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