Staff Software Engineer

About the role

Storytelling is, and will always be, the heart of what we do at Skydance.

Our vision is to build a thriving entertainment ecosystem where stories and worlds are imagined, brought to life and experienced. We create for every age and audience, anchored by the strength of our content and experiences and the depth of our connection with fans. We are creator-first, audience-focused, tech-forward, globally scaled.

Here, you'll work with talented teams that move fast, think boldly and collaborate with purpose to deliver results. We aim high, champion the best ideas and win together, earning the trust of our employees, creators, partners and audiences every day.

If you're energized by the opportunity to help build the next-generation global media and entertainment company powered by creativity and technology, we'd be thrilled to welcome you aboard. LET'S GO!

We are the now and the next. The power behind the people building the future. We are born from the spirit of innovation. We are created from the idea that people around the world want more, need more, deserve more. We are the home of the global digital revolution. We are CNN.

CNN Growth

What you will do

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will be a technical leader on a newly forming team. You will stay deeply hands on while helping set technical direction, raise engineering standards, and guide architectural decisions across the team.

You will work across the stack to design scalable systems, influence technical approaches, and ensure high quality delivery. You will collaborate closely with your engineering manager and peers to unblock teams, reduce risk, and drive clarity in ambiguous problem spaces.

You will also play a key role in evaluating third party solutions, integrating vendor platforms, and helping the team make sound build vs buy decisions that balance speed, quality, and long term maintainability.

The daily

• Design, build, and maintain production systems and user facing applications
• Lead technical design and architecture discussions for features and systems
• Write high quality, well tested code and set a strong example for engineering excellence
• Partner with engineering managers on technical strategy, planning, and execution
• Collaborate with product, design, data, and other engineers to translate requirements into scalable solutions
• Evaluate and integrate third party services and vendor platforms
• Identify performance, reliability, and security risks and drive improvements
• Participate actively in code reviews and raise the overall quality bar for the team
• Mentor and support engineers through technical guidance and knowledge sharing
• Help improve developer experience, tooling, and engineering practices

• Our tech stack
• Our teams primarily work with JavaScript across modern web architectures, supported by Node, Python, and AWS. We integrate internal platforms, third party services, and cloud infrastructure, and value pragmatic, maintainable technology choices.
• Technologies include JavaScript,, Node, Python, Svelte, Sass, AWS services, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and observability tools.

Requirements

• 8-10 years of professional experience building and maintaining production software systems
• Strong proficiency in JavaScript, including modern ES6+ patterns, and experience with Node
• Experience designing and developing scalable APIs and web applications
• Solid understanding of system design, performance optimization, and application security
• Experience working with AWS services, CI/CD pipelines, and observability tools
• Strong communication skills and ability to clearly explain technical concepts to varied audiences
• Proven ability to deliver high quality software in an agile, fast paced environment
• Experience collaborating closely with cross functional partners
• Passion for building user focused products that deliver measurable impact

Nice to have

• Experience bringing products to global markets
• Experience with growth experimentation frameworks or A/B testing
• Familiarity with modern frontend frameworks such as Svelte, Vue, or React
• Experience integrating identity, authentication, payment, or subscription APIs
• Understanding of cloud infrastructure and automation practices
• Experience contributing to CMS or publishing platforms
• Background in media, streaming, or direct to consumer applications

About you

• You enjoy staying hands on while influencing technical direction and decision making
• You take ownership of complex problems and help bring clarity to ambiguous spaces
• You are a strong collaborator who elevates those around you
• You care deeply about code quality, reliability, and long term maintainability
• You are excited to help shape how CNN builds for growth and scale

#LI-Hybrid

Some Important Details

If you're a qualified candidate with a disability and you require adjustments or accommodations during the job application and/or recruitment process, please visit our accessibility page for instructions to submit your request.