Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.
We're looking for a Senior Staff Engineer to join our Client Platform & Performance team to help lead the technical vision for Discord's client experience across all platforms, with a special focus on mobile performance in 2025.
You will report to our Director of Engineering, Client Platform & Performance, and play a critical role in shaping the technical foundation that powers Discord's user experience for millions of people worldwide. Our goal is to build products that our customers absolutely love - products that are functional, reliable, usable, and delightful, with performance as a core feature and an iterative approach to solving complex problems.
What you'll be doing:
- Lead technical direction and strategy for Discord's client platforms, with particular emphasis on mobile performance and React Native optimization to support international growth in 2026 and beyond.
- Architect and develop foundational client-side libraries spanning the entire application stack, ensuring scalability, reliability, and exceptional performance that feels instantaneous.
- Own engineering quality for client performance, developing systems and processes to ensure quality can be sustainably maintained across platforms.
- Mentor the next generation of technical leaders at Discord.
What you should have:
- 10+ years experience as a software engineer working on large, cross-platform software projects.
- You deeply understand mobile performance and React Native and are excited by the challenge of delivering an incredible product to 200 million users.
- Strong technical depth with JavaScript/TypeScript and React Native, with experience in C++ or other low-level languages for performance optimization.
- Exceptional problem-solving abilities, with a track record of diagnosing and resolving complex performance issues.
- Strong communication skills that foster clear technical discussions and help teams reach alignment, while integrating diverse perspectives into plans.
- Experience leading technical excellence across teams, establishing best practices for performance, accessibility, and quality.
Bonus Points:
- Active in the React and/or React Native communities, with contributions to open source or technical talks at conferences
- Experience optimizing applications for international markets with varying network conditions
- Experience with performance profiling and optimization tools
- Background in game development or game-adjacent technologies
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a 100% remote role. We are looking for someone to work in our San Francisco office at least 1 day per week.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $304,000 to $342,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
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