Backend Software Engineer; Python

Overview

Backend Software Engineer (Python) role at Scribd, Inc.

At Scribd (pronounced “scribbed”), our mission is to spark human curiosity. Join our team as we create a world of stories and knowledge, democratize the exchange of ideas and information, and empower collective expertise through our four products:
Everand, Scribd, Slideshare, and Fable.

We support a culture where our employees can be real and be bold; where we debate and commit as we embrace plot twists; and where every employee is empowered to take action as we prioritize the customer. Scribd Flex provides flexible work options in partnership with management, with a focus on intentional in-person moments to build collaboration, culture, and connection. Occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd employees, regardless of location.

We hire for GRIT: the ability to set and achieve goals, achieve results, contribute innovative ideas, and positively influence the team through collaboration and attitude.

We’re seeking a Software Engineer II with deep experience building event-driven, distributed, and scalable systems in Python. In this role, you’ll design and optimize large-scale data and service pipelines running on AWS, supporting Scribd’s content enrichment and metadata systems. You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams to design reliable backend services that integrate machine learning models and LLM-based components when needed. This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge generative AI and metadata enrichment problems at a truly global scale.

Our backend systems are primarily built in Python, leveraging AWS services such as Lambda, ECS, SQS, and Elasti Cache for event-driven and distributed processing. We also use Airflow, Spark, Databricks, Terraform, and Datadog for orchestration, data processing, and observability.

• Design and implement event-driven, distributed systems to extract, enrich, and process metadata from large-scale document and media datasets.
• Build and maintain scalable APIs and backend services for high-throughput content processing.
• Leverage AWS services (ECS, Lambda, SQS, Elasti Cache, Cloud Watch) to design and deploy resilient, high-performance systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver backend solutions that power ML-driven features.
• Optimize and refactor existing backend systems for scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Ensure system health and data integrity through monitoring, observability, and automated testing.

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience on Python or distributed systems development.
• Strong proficiency in Python (3+ years). Experience with Scala is a plus.
• Proven experience designing and building event-driven, distributed, and scalable systems.
• Hands-on experience with AWS services (ECS, Lambda, SQS, SNS, Cloud Watch, etc.).
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform.
• Solid understanding of system performance, profiling, and optimization.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent professional experience.
• Bonus:
  Familiarity with data processing frameworks (Spark, Databricks) and workflow orchestration tools.
• Bonus:
  Experience integrating ML or LLM-based models into production systems.

At Scribd, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package and is determined within a range. The salary ranges vary by location and level. In California, the typical range is $126,000 to $196,000. Outside California, the range is $103,500 to $186,500. In Canada, the range is $131,500 CAD to $174,500 CAD. We consider experience, skills, education, and business needs, and applicable equity and benefits are part of the package.

Are you currently based in a location where Scribd is able to employ you? Primary residence should be in or near one of the listed cities (US, Canada, Mexico) within a typical commuting distance.

• Benefits/perks listed may vary by location.
• Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Short-term/long-term…