Who We Are
Kargo creates powerful moments of connection between brands and consumers to build businesses. Every day, our 600+ employees work to radically raise the bar on what agentic AI, CTV, eCommerce, social, and mobile can do to deliver unique ad experiences across the world's most premium platforms. Taking a creative science approach to all we do, we continuously innovate solutions that outperform industry benchmarks and client expectations. Now 20+ years strong, Kargo has offices in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Sydney, Auckland, London and Waterford, Ireland.
Who We Hire
Techies who want to build the future. Creatives who want to design it better. Communicators to win business. Collaborators to build it. Data pros who turn numbers into insights. Product builders who turn ideas into innovations. Anyone eager to be on a team that doesn't stop to ask what's next, because they're already building it.
Mission
Kargo's systems move fast and operate at scale — this role exists to make sure they hold up under both. The Staff Software Engineer owns technical direction across backend services and shared platform capabilities, translating ambiguous business needs into durable architecture and reliable execution. Without this role, complexity compounds silently and engineering teams lose the leverage they need to ship with confidence.
This is a hybrid role requiring onsite presence 4 days per week.
Outcomes — What Success Looks Like in 6–12 Months
Architecture is driving alignment, not slowing it down. Service boundaries, interfaces, and design patterns are clearly defined across multiple systems, and teams reference shared standards rather than solving the same problems independently.Major initiatives ship with operational integrity. At least one cross-team technical initiative moves from discovery through production rollout with strong observability, documented tradeoffs, and a clean post-launch record.Platform health is measurably improved. Structural weaknesses are identified and addressed — whether through targeted refactors, new reference implementations, or infrastructure investments — and the impact is visible in reliability or performance metrics.Engineering effectiveness goes up across teams. Tooling improvements, testing strategy, and documentation contributions reduce friction in the development cycle, and other engineers can point to concrete ways this role made their work easier.Senior engineers are growing into broader ownership. At least two engineers have expanded their scope or technical influence, with this role serving as a deliberate catalyst for that growth.Skills — Core Technical Capabilities
Required
Deep proficiency in Go (or comparable systems/compiled language) with production experience building and operating large-scale distributed systemsStrong systems design fundamentals: APIs, service architecture, concurrency, data modeling, fault tolerance, and performanceHands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS in production environmentsOperational instincts across monitoring, debugging, incident response, and systemic follow-throughDemonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-team technical initiatives from problem definition through production rolloutStrong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholdersPreferred
Familiarity with RTB, SSP, or auction systems — or other performance-sensitive distributed platforms where latency, throughput, and cost must be actively balancedExperience building shared internal platforms or frameworks adopted across multiple engineering teamsCompetencies — Behaviors We Like to See
Translates Ambiguity Into Direction
Takes loosely defined product or business problems and produces clear, actionable technical plans without waiting for full clarityKnows when to move fast, when to invest, and when to hold — and can articulate the reasoning to engineers and stakeholders alikeRaises the Bar Without Holding Court
Leads design reviews and technical discussions that bring teams to strong decisions without relying on formal authority or slowing down momentumEstablishes reusable patterns and reference implementations that other engineers actually adopt because they're genuinely usefulOperates With Production Discipline
Treats observability, incident management, and post-launch iteration as first-class parts of the engineering process, not afterthoughtsIdentifies systemic risk early and makes sound calls on whether to patch, refactor, or redesignGrows the People Around Them
Actively invests in the development of senior engineers, helping them take on broader technical ownership and influenceStays close enough to the code to lead by example and make high-leverage contributions when it countsIn accordance with applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency laws, the anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, education, and skills.
U.S Salary Range $180,000—$230,000 USDOur Laurels
AdAge Best Places to Work ThinkLA Partner of the YearBuilt In Best Places to Work Cynopsis 2025 Top Women in Media - Jeannine Shao CollinsMartech Breakthrough Awards - Best Overall Adtech CompanyDigiday Media Awards Best EventCynopsis Media Impact Awards-Best CTV PlatformMartech Breakthrough Awards-CTV InnovationAdweek Media Plan of the Year Awards - Best Use of InsightsFollow Our Lead
Big Picture: kargo.comThe Latest: Instagram (@kargomobile) and LinkedIn (Kargo)Kargo is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and dignity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or family status, national origin, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.
Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Kargo will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.
Read LessWho We Are
Kargo creates powerful moments of connection between brands and consumers to build businesses. Every day, our 600+ employees work to radically raise the bar on what agentic AI, CTV, eCommerce, social, and mobile can do to deliver unique ad experiences across the world's most premium platforms. Taking a creative science approach to all we do, we continuously innovate solutions that outperform industry benchmarks and client expectations. Now 20+ years strong, Kargo has offices in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Sydney, Auckland, London and Waterford, Ireland.
Who We Hire
Techies who want to build the future. Creatives who want to design it better. Communicators to win business. Collaborators to build it. Data pros who turn numbers into insights. Product builders who turn ideas into innovations. Anyone eager to be on a team that doesn't stop to ask what's next, because they're already building it.
Mission
The Solutions Engineer is the technical authority that gets new advertising surfaces live on the Kargo platform — from first partner conversation to scaled, revenue-generating integration. This role sits at the intersection of engineering, partnerships, and product, owning the custom code, SDK work, and troubleshooting that turns novel ad environments into reliable inventory. When this role is firing, Kargo is expanding into new surfaces faster than competitors can follow.
This is a hybrid role requiring onsite presence 4 days per week.
Outcomes — What Success Looks Like in 6–12 Months
New partner integrations ship on time and at quality — A consistent track record of taking partners from technical kickoff to live integration with minimal escalations, rework, or post-launch fire drillsCustom integration solutions are scalable, not one-offs — Code, SDKs, and integration patterns developed for new surfaces are documented and reusable; the next integration takes less time than the lastTechnical troubleshooting is fast and self-sufficient — Complex ad-serving issues, latency problems, and discrepancies across web, mobile, and emerging surfaces are diagnosed and resolved independently without heavy reliance on core engineeringPartner-facing technical credibility is a competitive differentiator — Partners cite Kargo's technical support as best-in-class; integration timelines are shorter and friction is lower than alternativesDocumentation is comprehensive and actively maintained — API specs, integration guides, and best practices exist for all active surfaces and are current enough that internal teams can execute without ad-hoc tribal knowledgeSkills — Core Technical Capabilities
Required
5+ years in a technical ad tech role — integrations, solutions engineering, or technical account management — with hands-on implementation experience, not just oversightDeep fluency in the programmatic ecosystem — SSPs, DSPs, ad servers (Google Ad Manager), VAST/VPAID, header bidding/Prebid — and how these components interact in non-standard environmentsAdvanced JavaScript proficiency for custom integration logic and non-standard DOM manipulation; strong HTML and CSS for ad rendering and placement in overlay and interstitial contextsREST API experience — designing against, debugging, and integrating via REST endpoints and JSON data structures for both client-server and server-to-server communicationProven partner-facing communication skills — can translate complex technical concepts clearly for both engineering counterparts and non-technical business stakeholders without losing accuracyMethodical debugging and troubleshooting approach across web, mobile, and desktop environments using standard web tools and platform-specific log analysisPreferred
Experience integrating non-traditional or emerging ad surfaces — gaming, CTV, desktop applications, or other environments outside standard display and videoFamiliarity with IAB standards, privacy compliance frameworks, and technical audit/QA processes for ad deliveryCompetencies — Behaviors We Like to See
Technical Ownership in Novel Territory
Comfortable building integrations into environments that don't have a playbook yet; figures it out methodically rather than waiting for guidanceTakes end-to-end responsibility for integration quality — from scoping to launch to post-live stability — without needing a project manager to hold the threadPartner-Facing Credibility
Earns trust with technical and non-technical partner stakeholders quickly; sets realistic expectations and follows through consistentlyManages partner complexity and competing timelines without drama — keeps integrations moving even when requirements shift mid-streamCross-Functional Fluency
Works fluidly across product, BD, and sales to scope feasibility and surface blockers early; translates between business intent and technical reality in both directionsBrings useful signal back from the field — partner feedback, integration friction, emerging surface patterns — that informs product and platform decisionsDocumentation as a Force Multiplier
Writes integration guides and API specs that other engineers can actually use — clear, complete, and maintained as surfaces evolveTreats knowledge transfer as a core deliverable, not an afterthought; actively reduces single points of failure in partner knowledgeIn accordance with applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency laws, the anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, education, and skills.
U.S Salary Range $160,000—$180,000 USDOur Laurels
AdAge Best Places to Work ThinkLA Partner of the YearBuilt In Best Places to Work Cynopsis 2025 Top Women in Media - Jeannine Shao CollinsMartech Breakthrough Awards - Best Overall Adtech CompanyDigiday Media Awards Best EventCynopsis Media Impact Awards-Best CTV PlatformMartech Breakthrough Awards-CTV InnovationAdweek Media Plan of the Year Awards - Best Use of InsightsFollow Our Lead
Big Picture: kargo.comThe Latest: Instagram (@kargomobile) and LinkedIn (Kargo)Kargo is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and dignity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or family status, national origin, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.
Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Kargo will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.
Read Less