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Video Playback Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Roblox

Principal Software Engineer - Video

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$293K - $343K/yr

As a Principal Software Engineer on the Video team, you'll be responsible for building, operating, and evolving our video transcoding and playback platform and innovate on new uses for video in a 3D ...

Systemart LLC

Be Seen First

Live Video Streaming Support Engineer

Atlanta, GA · Remote

$70 - $73/hr

Staff Operational Support Engineer (L2) - Video Streaming Platforms Duration: 5 Months Location ... VOD playback * Ad insertion * DRM services * Real-time WebRTC services * Operate directly on ...

Fox

Software Developer

Los Angeles, CA

$349K - $384K/yr

Software Developer (Fox Cable Network Services, LLC; Los Angeles, California): Write performance ... video playback experience across different platforms and utilize innovations in browsers ...

FOX News Network, LLC

Software Developer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$349K - $384K/yr

Software Developer (Fox Cable Network Services, LLC; Los Angeles, California): Write performance ... video playback experience across different platforms and utilize innovations in browsers ...

Hermitage Infotech

OTT Test Engineer

Englewood, NJ

OTT Test Engineer Location: Englewood, NJ Test OTT applications (VOD & Live TV) on Smart TVs, Roku ... TV, Mobiles Validate video playback, UI, performance Test Live TV, VOD, and Content Metadata ...

Amazon

Senior iOS Engineer, Twitch

San Francisco, CA · Hybrid

$164K/yr

In this role, you will directly contribute to creating and refining core features, such as Video Playback, while architecting strategic solutions for internal developers Twitch is evolving its mobile ...

Hermitage Infotech

OTT Test Engineer

Englewood, NJ · On-site

OTT Test Engineer Location: Englewood, NJ Test OTT applications (VOD & Live TV) on Smart TVs, Roku ... TV, Mobiles Validate video playback, UI, performance Test Live TV, VOD, and Content Metadata ...

Apple

Software Engineer - Systems

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$187K - $272K/yr

... accelerated video playback. Study video decoder technical reference manuals and various codec ... Using C and C++ programming languages to implement real-time embedded applications Experience in HW ...

Apple

Software Engineer - Systems

Cupertino, CA

$187K - $272K/yr

... accelerated video playback. Study video decoder technical reference manuals and various codec ... Using C and C++ programming languages to implement real-time embedded applications Experience in HW ...

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All JobsVideo Playback Engineer Jobs

Video Playback Engineer information

See salary details

$30.5K

$88.3K

$139.5K

How much do video playback engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for video playback engineer in the United States is $88,303.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $65,000.00 and $108,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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 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 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.

More about Video Playback Engineer jobs
What cities are hiring for Video Playback Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Video Playback Engineer job openings:
What states have the most Video Playback Engineer jobs? States with the most job openings for Video Playback Engineer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Video Playback Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Video Playback Engineer jobs are:
Video Playback Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Video Playback Engineer job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 2% Internship, 4% Full Time, 24% Part Time, 6% Temporary, 61% Contract, and 3% Nights. Highlights an 92% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $88,303 per year, or $42.5 per hour.
Principal Software Engineer - Video

Principal Software Engineer - Video

Roblox

San Mateo, CA • On-site

$293K - $343K/yr

Full-time

Posted 3 days ago

Job description

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences- all created by our global community of developers and creators.
At Roblox, we're building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device.We're on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there.
A career at Roblox means you'll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.
As a Principal Software Engineer on the Video team, you'll be responsible for building, operating, and evolving our video transcoding and playback platform and innovate on new uses for video in a 3D world. If you enjoy working with C++ and C# or other backend language while building products for the passionate community of Roblox developers and users, you'll be right at home within our experienced team.
This is a hands-on role developing and operating a complex video processing pipeline with bursty traffic and for someone who takes great pride in being able to sleep in on Saturday mornings.
You Will:
  • Own our unique challenges of playing video in a 3D world while the video display size and CPU/GPU/RAM/network availability are changing.
  • Leverage AI coding tools to make yourself even more efficient and productive.
  • Evolve our video ingest, transcoding, processing, and streaming platform to serve the growing community of creators, working on our backend microservices platform, data pipelines, and the game engine.
  • Employ best programming practices to write code that is efficient, robust, resilient, understandable, observable, and scalable.
  • Play a crucial role improving the quality of video encoding and playback on a wide range of devices, from mobile to high-end platforms.
  • Invent new creative uses for video in a 3D world.
  • Work with teams all over Roblox, both engineering and non-technical, to bring product visions and proof of concepts to life.
  • Be responsible for paying close attention to even the smallest details, driving both easy and hard problems to complete conclusions.
You Have:
  • At least 8+ years of experience developing and deploying video systems
  • Deep experience with adaptive video playback systems and how to craft an encoding ladder for optimal user experience.
  • Knowledge of video quality metrics and how to use them to improve video quality in different scenarios.
  • Successfully deployed a multi-service distributed system at scale with low costs and high availability, and worked with infra and product teams to get the job done.
  • Familiarity with the challenges of working at scale, especially on constrained platforms like consoles and mobile devices
  • Experience in performance optimization, creating data pipelines that process millions of records, creating data visualizations, and alerting on critical telemetry.
  • Proficiency in C++ and C# or another backend language, with an understanding of parallel/concurrent programming concepts.
  • Knowledge within the video domain and you love to pick up new technologies as the landscape evolves.

For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits as described on this page.
Annual Salary Range
$293,800-$343,340 USD
Roles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional presence on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).
Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with qualifying disabilities or religious beliefs during the recruiting process.
For US based roles only, please note the Company may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories, or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time.

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