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The Washington Post

Senior Backend Software Engineer, Ad Engineering LLM Systems

Sorry, this job was removed Sorry, this job was removed at 06:37 p.m. (PST) on Monday, Jun 23, 2025
In-Office
2 Locations
In-Office
2 Locations

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Job Description

The Washington Post is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to join its Ad Engineering and Monetization team. We work with the product, business intelligence and advertising teams to develop innovative software that maximizes revenue through our digital advertising business, which helps fund the best journalism in the world.

It’s an exciting time to join this team. There are tremendous changes occurring in the digital advertising and publishing ecosystem, and this team is on the front lines of navigating that change. You’ll get the opportunity to work on a large portfolio of diverse software ranging from custom ad experiences and content management platforms to AI-driven targeting software and operational tools.

In this position you would be owner and expert around a number of LLM-focused technology that enables our targeting and sales operations. We are looking for opinionated engineers with a clear set of ideas around best practices and purposes for LLMs within sales, marketing and advertising. 

Motivation

  • You like to work on different projects in a nimble development environment with a team that likes to move fast and deliver impact on a short time frame.

  • You love to collaborate with non-technical colleagues to help figure out creative solutions to a wide range of problems.

  • You are an independent, self-motivated problem solver that thrives in an environment where flexibility and creativity are paramount.

  • You are energized working with front-end and back-end technologies.

  • You have an eye for detail and a passion for quality.

Responsibilities

  • Participate in all stages of software development - from brainstorming and prototyping to designing, implementing, testing and support.

  • Establish and enforce engineering best practices and coding standards across a variety of projects.

  • Work directly with Product Managers, Designers, Advertising Operations and other stakeholders to translate business requirements into highly performant applications.

  • Architect, build and deploy applications on AWS.

  • ​​Occasionally influence other teams to accept technology processes or products, requiring detailed explanations or interpretations.

  • Communicate with parties within and outside the department, and occasionally with external parties such as customers and vendors.

  • Establish, document, maintain and build on best practices with LLM systems inside our organization. 

Qualifications

  • 5+ years experience building and delivering highly-performant, customer-facing applications

  • Proficiency in modern JavaScript development principles, especially strongly typed systems and architectures. 

  • Hands on experiencing developing, deploying and maintaining systems using AWS services such as ECS, EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda

  • Experience with DevOps technologies like Docker and CI/CD systems such as Jenkins, AWS code pipeline

  • Experience developing in the digital advertising ecosystem using Prebid, Google Ad Manager, and Prebid Server platforms preferred. 

  • Experience writing unit tests and integration tests to ensure code quality

  • Experience with LLM-based text processing pipelines and ChatGPT-style APIs for AI-powered user experiences. 

  • Experience working with sales teams is a plus. 

  • Experience working on text analysis, especially with regard to safety, is a plus.

The Washington Post’s policy for employees is five days per week in the office, with exceptions for newsgathering and general business travel.

Compensation and Benefits

Wherever you are in your life or career, The Washington Post offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits for every step of your journey:

  • Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

  • Company-paid pension and 401(k) match

  • Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave

  • Nine paid holidays and two personal days

  • 20 weeks paid parental leave for any new parent

  • Robust mental health resources

  • Backup care and caregiver concierge services

  • Gender affirming services

  • Pet insurance

  • Free Post digital subscription

  • Leadership and career development programs

Benefits may vary based on the job, full-time or part-time schedule, location, and collectively bargained status.

The salary range for this position is:

119,700.00 - 199,300.00 USD Annual

The actual salary within this range will depend on individual skills, experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements. This position may be eligible for a bonus or incentive program, and a member of the Talent Acquisition team will discuss bonus payment terms and conditions during the interview process.

The Post strives to provide its readers with high-quality, trustworthy news and information while constantly innovating. That mission is best served by a diverse, multi-generational workforce with varied life experiences and perspectives. All cultures and backgrounds are welcomed. 

The innovation doesn’t end in the Newsroom – dozens of teams power The Washington Post.  We are now hiring the next innovator – how will you Impact Tomorrow?

#washpostlife

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