---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer — Real-Time Ad Serving at Zeta Global'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-real-time-ad-serving-zeta-global-prague-8fr12p6p1kkg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Senior Software Engineer — Real-Time Ad Serving at Zeta Global

- **Company:** Zeta Global
- **Location:** Prague, Czech Republic
- **Posted:** 2026-04-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/zetaglobal/jobs/5841825004

## Job description

## WHO WE ARE

Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) is the AI-Powered Marketing Cloud that leverages advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and trillions of consumer signals to make it easier for marketers to acquire, grow, and retain customers more efficiently. Through the Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP), our vision is to make sophisticated marketing simple by unifying identity, intelligence, and omnichannel activation into a single platform – powered by one of the industry’s largest proprietary databases and AI. Our enterprise customers across multiple verticals are empowered to personalize experiences with consumers at an individual level across every channel, delivering better results for marketing programs. Zeta was founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley and is headquartered in New York City with offices around the world. To learn more, go to [www.zetaglobal.com](https://www.zetaglobal.com).

## THE ROLE

As a Senior Software Engineer on the LiveIntent Real-Time Ad Serving team, you will design, develop, and own the business logic that powers programmatic advertising at scale — ad selection, targeting, frequency capping, budget pacing, and delivery optimization.

The real-time platform is built on C++ and Lua: C++ provides the high-performance server framework, while Lua implements the business logic layer. You will work primarily in Lua, developing and evolving the features that directly serve LiveIntent's product — ensuring advertisers get the best outcomes and publishers maximize their revenue. While we're open to candidates with experience in any backend language, a willingness to work with Lua is essential — we provide time and the right environment to get up to speed.

You will collaborate closely with Product, working on features that directly impact LiveIntent's customers — from ad targeting and delivery to reporting and optimization. This is a hands-on engineering role where your code runs in production handling billions of daily transactions.

This is a hybrid/remote role based out of our Berlin, Germany or Prague, Czech Republic offices.

## ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

- Develop and optimize business logic in Lua for ad selection, targeting, frequency capping, and budget pacing
- Design, build, and maintain real-time services processing 200K+ requests per second with strict latency requirements
- Work closely with Product to deliver features that meet advertiser and publisher needs
- Ensure code quality through code reviews, automated testing, and continuous integration
- Participate in architecture discussions and influence the technical roadmap
- Participate in on-call rotation to support production systems

## DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS

- 5+ years of software engineering experience in backend development
- Deep understanding of computer science fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, performance optimization
- Experience building and operating distributed systems in production
- Exposure to the full software development lifecycle — from design to production and monitoring
- Strong commitment to code quality, automated testing, and documentation
- Proficient English (the interview process will be held in English)
- Experience with Lua or willingness to learn (we provide time and the right environment)
- Experience in online advertising / ad tech (RTB, programmatic, DSP/SSP) is a plus
- Proficiency in a systems-level language (C++, Go, Rust, or Java) is a plus
- Experience with MongoDB and real-time data processing is a plus
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS) at scale is a plus
- Experience with AI-assisted development tools and agentic workflows is a plus
- Experience with OpenRTB protocol and ad exchange integrations is a plus

## BENEFITS & PERKS

- Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage

## PEOPLE & CULTURE AT ZETA

Zeta considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Zeta discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

We’re committed to building a workplace culture of trust and belonging, so everyone feels invited to bring their whole selves to work. We provide a forum for employees to celebrate, support and advocate for one another. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion here:  https://zetaglobal.com/blog/a-look-into-zetas-ergs/

ZETA IN THE NEWS!

https://zetaglobal.com/press/?cat=press-releases

## About Zeta Global

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Zeta Global is an AI-powered marketing cloud platform that unifies identity, intelligence, and omnichannel activation to help enterprise brands acquire, grow, and retain customers.
- **Entity Type**: Public (NYSE: ZETA)
- **Headquarters**: New York, NY, USA
- **Founded**: 2007
- **Founders**: David A. Steinberg and John Sculley (former Apple CEO and Pepsi President)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Marketing technology (MarTech), Advertising technology (AdTech), Artificial Intelligence
- Target customers: Enterprise brands and scaled enterprises (defined as customers generating at least $100,000 in trailing twelve-month revenue); over 450 such customers across diverse verticals
- Mission or purpose statement: "Accelerate Brand Growth" by enabling brands to build repeatable and scalable programs that drive higher ROI on marketing investments

## Products & Services
- **Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP)**: The core omnichannel marketing platform that leverages proprietary AI and trillions of consumer signals. It unifies identity, intelligence, and activation into a single platform, enabling personalized experiences across email, social media, web, SMS, connected TV, video, and more.
- **Athena by Zeta™**: An agentic AI solution that puts AI at the center of every marketing decision, enabling automated workflows, spend optimization, and scaling of impact across the customer journey.
- **Data & Analytics**: A proprietary opt-in database of unique global identifiers, providing deterministic attribution, real-time intent data, and interest/intent audiences for precise targeting and measurable outcomes.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Publicly traded on NYSE; market cap fluctuates (latest data not specified in search results)
- **Key Metric**: Over 450 scaled enterprise customers; over 1,700 employees globally (as of investor relations page), with recent headcount exceeding 2,000 (as of life-at-Zeta page)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Co-founded by John Sculley (former Apple CEO); recent strategic partnership announced with Palantir (June 2026) to build unified data and AI infrastructure for marketing
- **Growth Signals**: Strategic partnership with Palantir; launch of Athena by Zeta™ for agencies; consistent expansion of enterprise customer base; global office presence across 12+ locations

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Identity Data**: One of the industry’s largest proprietary opt-in databases, providing a unique foundation for deterministic attribution and real-time intent targeting.
- **Unified Platform**: Combines identity, intelligence, and activation into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple point solutions and vendor silos—directly addressing a key pain point for CMOs.
- **AI-First Approach**: Leverages advanced AI and agentic AI (Athena) to automate and optimize marketing workflows, making sophisticated marketing simple and scalable.
- **Founding Leadership**: Co-founded by a former Apple CEO, bringing deep industry credibility and strategic vision.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI and Automation**: Deepening investment in agentic AI (Athena by Zeta) to automate marketing decisions and workflows, reducing manual effort for marketers.
- **Partnership Ecosystem**: Expanding strategic partnerships (e.g., Palantir) to build unified data and AI infrastructure, opening new capabilities for enterprise clients.
- **Agency Channel**: Bringing Athena by Zeta to agencies, extending the platform’s reach beyond direct enterprise customers.
- **Global Expansion**: Maintaining and growing a global footprint with offices in the US, India, Europe, and South America to serve multinational clients.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Values**: Emphasizes "Achieving the Impossible™" with virtues like "Curiosity Beats Certainty," "Fearless Exploration," "Always Learning," and "Humanize." The culture is described as collaborative, innovative, and supportive of individual growth.
- **Diversity & Inclusion**: Active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for LGBTQIA+, women, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian & Pacific Islander, Black community, neurodiverse employees, and sustainability-focused groups.
- **Work Policy**: Offers hybrid and remote work options, with in-office events and virtual engagement. Specific policies vary by role and location.
- **Benefits**: Competitive pay equity, 401k with company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, flexible time off, generous parental leave, wellness programs (Caravan app, gym discounts), commuter benefits, and adoption assistance. In the US, includes medical, dental, vision, STD/LTD, life insurance. EMEA offices offer pensions, work-from-home allowances, and lunch vouchers.
- **Career Growth**: Emphasizes "Always Learning" as a core virtue, with opportunities for mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and internal mobility. Hiring process includes a first chat with Talent, team interviews, and an onboarding program designed for connection.
- **Global Presence**: Opportunity to work in major hubs like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Paris, Prague, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and more.

## Sources
1. [Zeta Global Official Site](https://zetaglobal.com/)
2. [Zeta Global - Our Story and Mission](https://zetaglobal.com/about/our-story/)
3. [Zeta Global - Benefits and Hiring](https://zetaglobal.com/about/benefits-and-hiring/)
4. [Zeta Global - Investor Relations](https://investors.zetaglobal.com/overview/default.aspx)
5. [Zeta Global - Life at Zeta](https://zetaglobal.com/about/life-at-zeta/)
6. [Zeta Global - Careers Page (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/zetaglobal)

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