---
title: 'Backend Engineer - Media Streaming at SoundCloud'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/backend-engineer-media-streaming-soundcloud-berlin-5vnz9tabkyn1'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-15'
---

# Backend Engineer - Media Streaming at SoundCloud

- **Company:** SoundCloud
- **Location:** Berlin, Germany
- **Posted:** 2026-10-06
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-15
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/soundcloud71/jobs/8870374002

## Job description

SoundCloud empowers artists, tastemakers and fans to connect and share through music. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is a creator-first platform helping artists build and grow their careers by providing them with the most advanced tools, services, and resources. With over 4x the music catalog of every other major streaming platform, spanning 40+ million artists across 190+ countries, SoundCloud is where emerging artists find their sound, hidden gems are discovered, and music culture is shaped in real time.

SoundCloud is looking for a software engineer to join our Media Streaming Team, with a mission to operate a media streaming platform at global scale, delivering the best possible audio experience to creators, listeners, and partners alike. We are handling petabytes of data and gigabytes per second of traffic. You will join a tightly-knit team where you will help shape how millions of people experience music.

[Read about engineering at SoundCloud](https://developers.soundcloud.com/blog)

Key Responsibilities:

- Contribute to building, scaling and maintaining backend APIs and services that serve millions of users
- Collaborate closely with Android, iOS, web, and full-stack engineers to deliver seamless end-to-end media experiences
- Ensure performance, scalability, and maintainability of SoundCloud’s services
- Debug complex issues across systems, ensuring a consistent experience for users globally
- Participate in architecture discussions, code reviews, and roadmap planning
- Be part of on-call rotation to ensure the reliability and availability of SoundCloud’s systems

Experience and Background:

- 4+ years of experience in building and operating large-scale backend or distributed systems
- Proficiency in Go
- Hands-on experience with infrastructure as code (IaC) using Terraform
- Experience with cloud-native environments such as AWS or GCP
- Experience with microservices, SQL/NoSQL databases, and container technologies
- You care about the craft of software engineering: continuous delivery, defensive programming, automated testing, clean code principles
- You have a strong sense of ownership and are comfortable navigating ambiguity in fast-moving environments
- You bring a humble attitude, an eagerness to help your colleagues, and a desire to do whatever it takes to make the team succeed

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience designing APIs and backend services consumed by multiple client platforms
- Experience with Scala or other functional programming languages
- Knowledge of API communication patterns (e.g., gRPC, GraphQL)
- Exposure to media streaming, playback, audio engineering or adjacent domains
- Familiarity with audio/video codecs, streaming protocols (HLS, DASH), and transport container technologies
- Experience using AI-assisted development tools and a strong intuition for their strengths, weaknesses, and emerging opportunities

About us:

- We are a multinational company with offices in the US (New York and Los Angeles), Germany (Berlin), and the UK (London)
- We provide a flexible work culture that offers the opportunity to collaborate and connect in person at our offices as well as accommodating work from home
- We are deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of our organization and fostering a community where everyone’s voice, perspective and experience is respected and heard.
- We believe a strong team is made by investing in employees through mentorship, workshops and enrichment opportunities

Benefits:

- Interested in a gym membership, photography course or book? We have a Creativity and Wellness benefit!
- Employee Equity Plan
- Generous professional development allowance
- Flexible vacation and public holiday policy where you can take up to 35 days of PTO annually
- Various snacks, goodies, and 2 free lunches weekly when at the office

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SoundCloud

SoundCloud is for everyone. Diversity and open expression are fundamental to our organization; they help us lead what’s next in music by understanding and empowering our creators and fans, no matter their identity. We acknowledge the challenges in the music industry, and strive to influence an inclusive culture where everyone can contribute respectfully and thrive, especially the historically marginalized communities that many of our creators, fans and SoundClouders identify with. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment at SoundCloud for everyone, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, migration background, national origin, age, disability status, or care-giver status.

At SoundCloud you can find your community or elevate your allyship by joining a Diversity Resource Group. Diversity Resource Groups are employee-organized groups focused on supporting and promoting the interests of a particular underrepresented community in order to build a more inclusive culture at SoundCloud. Anyone can join, whether you share the identity or strive to be an ally.

## About SoundCloud

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: SoundCloud is an artist-first, fan-powered music streaming and sharing platform that connects a global community of creators and listeners.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Privately Held)
- **Headquarters**: Berlin, Germany (with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London)
- **Founded**: 2007
- **Founders**: Alexander Ljung, Eric Wahlforss

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Music Streaming, Audio Entertainment, Social Community
- Target customers: B2C (artists and fans), with a two-sided ecosystem serving both creators (independent and established) and listeners.
- Mission or purpose statement: "Empower artists and fans to share and connect through music."

## Products & Services
- **SoundCloud (Platform)**: A free and paid music streaming service available on mobile, desktop, and Xbox devices. It offers one of the largest music libraries globally, with over 200 million audio tracks and 40 million+ creators.
- **SoundCloud for Artists**: A suite of tools, services, and resources to help artists upload, promote, share, and monetize their music. This includes audience growth and direct fan engagement features.
- **SoundCloud Go / Go+**: Paid subscription tiers that offer ad-free listening, offline playback, and access to a deeper catalog of full-length tracks.
- **Repost by SoundCloud**: A distribution and monetization service for independent artists.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). The company has raised **$550.2M in total funding** over 9 rounds.
- **Key Metric (Annual Revenue)**: Estimated at **$300.0 million** (per LinkedIn data). The company has approximately **900 employees**.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in the provided search results, but the company has raised significant venture capital. Key executives include Eliah Seton (CEO), Drew Wilson (COO, CFO), and Alexander Ljung (Chairman and Co-Founder).
- **Growth Signals**: Reports over **140 million monthly active users** (as of 2023). The platform hosts over **320 million music tracks** and operates in **64 countries**. It is widely recognized as the "leading voice of independence" in the music industry, having launched the careers of major artists like Billie Eilish and Post Malone.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Artist-First Ecosystem**: Unlike general streaming services, SoundCloud is purpose-built for independent creators, offering direct-to-fan engagement and discovery tools.
- **Massive & Unique Catalog**: Boasts "over 4x the catalog of any major platform," with a deep well of emerging and underground music that isn't available elsewhere.
- **Discovery Engine**: Known as a place where "discovery starts early," allowing fans to find new music and artists before they break into the mainstream.
- **Strong Community**: Positioned as the "world's most social music platform," fostering direct connections between artists and fans.

## Strategic Focus
- **Artist Empowerment**: Continuing to build tools and services that help artists build and monetize their careers.
- **Product Innovation**: Constantly evolving the platform with new features, driven by the Engineering, Product & Design (EPD) teams.
- **Global Expansion**: Operating in 190 countries and territories, with a focus on deepening its global community.
- **Two-Sided Growth**: Balancing the needs of both fans (discovery, social features) and creators (monetization, audience growth) within a single ecosystem.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Vibe**: Described as music and pet-friendly, with on-site industry events and snacks. The company emphasizes being "one team, one dream" and encourages employees to be their "authentic and true self."
- **Diversity & Inclusion**: Diversity is described as "in our DNA." The company has active Diversity Resource Groups (Clouds of Color, Women at SoundCloud, Women in Engineering, QueerClouders) and a dedicated DEI team.
- **Work Environment**: Hybrid model with four main office locations (Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, London) and numerous WFH offices.
- **Total Rewards & Perks**: Offers "flexible vacation up to 35 days" and a "Learning and Development benefit" with time and budget for professional growth (conferences, workshops, classes).
- **Engineering Culture**: The Engineering, Product & Design (EPD) team is positioned as the "backbone" and "leaders of innovation," with a focus on constant product updates and new features.
- **Open Roles (as of search date)**: Includes roles in Engineering (Lead Principal Software Engineer, Senior ML Engineer, Full Stack Engineer), Security (Principal Product Security Engineer), Sales (Associate/Strategist), and Executive (Business Partner to CEO).

## Sources
1. [SoundCloud About Us](https://soundcloud.com/company/about-us)
2. [SoundCloud Careers](https://soundcloud.com/company/careers)
3. [SoundCloud LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/soundcloud)
4. [SoundCloud Community Homepage](https://community.soundcloud.com/company/home)
5. [SoundCloud Job Board (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/soundcloud71/jobs/8559361002)

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