Senior iOS Video Player Engineer - Remote

Senior iOS Video Player Engineer - Remote
Kake is a remote-first company and a people-first global community of senior engineers. Kake engineers are behind some of the world's most innovative products (Brands you've heard!), from Fortune 500 to fast-growing companies. We believe it's not where your table is, but what you bring to the table that matters. Our community spans 45,000+ engineers across 55+ countries; join a culture where great people stay, grow, and thrive (and love eating kake!).
We're looking for Senior iOS Video Player Engineers with deep, production-level experience in live video streaming, skilled in delivering high-quality playback experiences across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. It's a great fit for people who enjoy owning playback reliability end-to-end and thrive in a mature, high-scale streaming ecosystem.
What you'll build and own
Design, build, and maintain live video playback functionality for iOS and tvOS applications.
Optimize HLS playback using AVPlayer, with a strong focus on startup time, buffering behavior, latency, and playback stability.
Troubleshoot and resolve complex playback issues in live streaming environments, including errors, stalls, and drift from the live edge.
Tune playback performance at scale to ensure reliable, high-quality viewing experiences.
Use video analytics and QoE metrics to diagnose issues and improve real-world playback performance.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure playback quality and reliability across devices.
Contribute to best practices and continuous improvement initiatives across streaming projects.
Core Requirements
6+ years of iOS development experience with deep expertise in Swift and Objective-C.
Proven experience building and maintaining video players and live playback components for iOS/tvOS.
Strong hands-on experience with HLS and AVPlayer, including tuning and troubleshooting playback behavior for live streaming.
Demonstrated ability to debug and optimize playback performance, including rebuffering, startup time, and playback stability.
Familiarity with video streaming protocols, live playback concepts (latency, live edge, drift), ABR logic, and DRM integration.
Experience using video analytics or QoE metrics (e.g., Mux, Conviva) to diagnose and improve real-world playback performance.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
Ability to work independently in a remote, fast-paced environment.
Nice-to-Have
Background working in large-scale sports live streaming environments.
Experience with ad tech, especially in live streaming scenarios.
Comfortable working flexible hours to overlap with distributed teams across different time zones.
Additional
US Timezone Overlap: 6h-7h daily PST
Why Join Kake?
The icing on the Kake:
💰 Competitive Pay in USD: Work globally, get paid globally.
🌎 Fully Remote: Simply put, we trust you.
💜 Better Me Fund: We invest in your personal growth and passions.
🎂 Compassion is Badass: Join a community that invests in social good.
Ready for your piece of the Kake? Apply now!
Quick note: Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.