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# Senior Backend Systems Engineer - Real Time Video & Telemetry Streaming

- **Company:** Overland Ai
- **Location:** Seattle, WA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $180,000.0 - $230,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Systems Engineering, C++ (Programming Language), Cloud Computing, Encodings, Computer Engineering, Network Congestion, Software Design Documents, Network Address Translation, Fault Tolerance, FFmpeg, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Python (Programming Language), Networking Basics, Prometheus, Software Engineering, Software Requirements Analysis, Data Streaming, System Programming, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), Video Encoding, WebRTC, Datadog, Multithreading, Real Time Systems, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Grafana, Backend, Build Management, Information Technology, Front End Software Development, Decoding, Stream Processing, Stream Control Transmission Protocol
- **Published:** October 29, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=35e3ffade8e748b3

## About the Role

* 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong focus on backend, systems, and networking.
 * Expert-level Python skills.
 * Expert-level skills in at least one systems programming language: C++, Go, or Rust.
 * Deep experience designing and shipping real-time video and/or telemetry streaming systems in production. Relevant areas include teleoperation of drones or unmanned ground vehicles and cloud game streaming (e.g., Stadia, GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming).
 * A clear understanding of how to design streaming systems for intermittent or degraded links, including packet loss, jitter, reordering, latency spikes, and full disconnects.
 * Solid knowledge of networking fundamentals: UDP/TCP, congestion control, NAT traversal, and the trade-offs between reliable and unreliable delivery.
 * Hands-on experience with video encoding and decoding (e.g., H.264, H.265/HEVC, AV1) and the latency and quality trade-offs that come with them.
 * Experience profiling and optimizing performance-critical, concurrent, or multithreaded code.
 * A track record of owning complex technical systems from design through deployment and operation.
 * A BS in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience., * Experience in defense, aerospace, autonomous vehicles, or other safety-critical fields.
 * Experience with WebRTC internals, including media and data channels, SRTP, SCTP, ICE/STUN/TURN, and congestion control algorithms.
 * Experience with other real-time transports such as QUIC, RTP/RTCP, SRT, or custom UDP-based protocols.
 * Experience streaming over cellular, satellite, or tactical/mesh radio networks.
 * Experience with GStreamer, FFmpeg/libav, or similar media frameworks.
 * An understanding of safety considerations in teleoperation system design.
 * Experience building network emulation and test setups including custom impairment tooling.
 * Experience with observability tooling (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry) for real-time systems.
 * Strong written communication skills, with experience writing design documents and leading cross-team technical discussions.

## Description

Overland AI has secured funding from prominent defense tech investors including 8VC and Point 72, and built trusted partnerships with DARPA, the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. Backed by eight-figure contracts across the Department of Defense, we are strengthening national security by iterating closely with end users engaged in tactical operations., * Design and build low-latency pipelines for video, telemetry, and feedback streaming between remote vehicles and operator stations.

 * Design transport and session protocols that hold up on intermittent, high-latency, lossy, or asymmetric links. This includes graceful degradation, fast reconnection, prioritizing traffic, and adapting bitrate.
 * Tune sensor-to-glass latency, jitter, and throughput across encoding, packetization, transport, and decoding.
 * Build test and simulation tools that reproduce real network conditions, such as packet loss, link handover, congestion, and full outages.
 * Add instrumentation and observability so you can measure stream health, latency budgets, and link quality in the field.
 * Work with the robotics, autonomy, frontend, and hardware teams to define interfaces and system requirements.
 * Mentor other engineers, lead technical design reviews, and help set engineering standards across the team.