Lead Software Engineer - Android

Storytelling is, and will always be, the heart of what we do at Skydance.

Our vision is to build a thriving entertainment ecosystem where stories and worlds are imagined, brought to life and experienced. We create for every age and audience, anchored by the strength of our content and experiences and the depth of our connection with fans. We are creator-first, audience-focused, tech-forward, globally scaled.

Here, you’ll work with talented teams that move fast, think boldly and collaborate with purpose to deliver results. We aim high, champion the best ideas and win together, earning the trust of our employees, creators, partners and audiences every day.

If you’re energized by the opportunity to help build the next-generation global media and entertainment company powered by creativity and technology, we’d be thrilled to welcome you aboard. LET’S GO!

Position Title: Lead Software Engineer - Android

Location: US - In Office (Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco)

Paramount is seeking a Lead Software Engineer - Android to develop cohesive solutions to complex content-based technical challenges. This role is responsible for the full software development lifecycle, from understanding product goals and engineering roadmaps through solution design, architecture, implementation, delivery, and ongoing maintenance.

This role sits at the intersection of deep Android platform engineering and AI-native development: daily use of AI agents and coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot) and hands-on collaboration with ML and data science teams on client-facing features.

The ideal candidate will partner closely with product and engineering teams to define requirements, align technical solutions with business objectives, provide accurate engineering estimates, and contribute to platform architecture initiatives focused on optimization, performance, and scalability.

This individual will also lead and mentor engineers throughout the development process, establishing standards for code quality, tooling, metrics, reporting, and quality engineering collaboration to ensure a quality-first approach.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Drive the architectural direction and design of Android applications.

• Establish best practices for coding, testing, deployment, and maintainability.

• Champion new tools, frameworks, and processes to improve innovation and development efficiency.

• Create architectural diagrams and technical specifications to support high-quality software delivery.

• Lead architecture discussions for feature development and software engineering best practices.

• Drive application performance, playback optimization, stability improvements, and profiling efforts.

Application Development

• Design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, integrate, and enhance Android applications using modern technologies and industry best practices.

• Ensure application performance, responsiveness, reliability, and quality.

• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues through effective debugging and root-cause analysis.

AI-Integrated Development

• Leverage AI-powered development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, or similar solutions throughout the software development lifecycle.

• Partner with technical leadership to establish best practices for safe and effective AI adoption within engineering teams.

• Drive initiatives that incorporate LLM and machine learning capabilities into product experiences, including search, discovery, personalization, and content understanding.

Mentorship

• Mentor mid-level and senior engineers by sharing technical expertise and supporting professional growth.

• Conduct code reviews to maintain high standards of code quality, consistency, and maintainability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, QA teams, and engineering partners to define and deliver solutions.

• Coordinate with backend teams and API services to ensure seamless integration and feature delivery.

Process Improvement

• Continuously improve development processes, engineering standards, and team productivity.

• Stay current on Android technologies, frameworks, and industry trends, recommending adoption where appropriate.

Ownership and Accountability

• Partner with the Android Engineering Manager on technical strategy and execution.

• Ensure applications remain highly responsive, scalable, and performant.

• Proactively prevent and mitigate production incidents.

• Enable engineering teams to successfully deliver mission-critical features and enhancements.

• Identify technical risks and bottlenecks and propose effective mitigation strategies.

Required Skills

Android Development Expertise

• Expert-level proficiency in Kotlin and Java.

• Strong understanding of Android SDK and Android platform ecosystems.

• Deep knowledge of architectural patterns and modern Android development approaches, including:

  • MVVM

  • MVI

  • Clean Architecture

  • Jetpack Compose

  • Material Design

• Experience with Android Studio and Gradle.

• Strong understanding and implementation of software design patterns.

System Design & Architecture

• Proven ability to design scalable, high-performing, and secure Android applications.

• Experience integrating complex RESTful APIs and third-party libraries.

Testing & Quality Assurance

• Extensive experience writing unit, UI, and automated tests using frameworks such as JUnit and Espresso.

• Experience implementing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins and GitHub Actions.

Performance Optimization

• Experience identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks, including memory leaks, rendering issues, and network inefficiencies.

• Proficiency with Android performance analysis tools, including Android Profiler and LeakCanary.

Leadership & Communication

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to engineers, stakeholders, and executive audiences.

• Demonstrated success mentoring and developing high-performing engineering teams.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 7+ years of professional software development experience, including 6+ years focused on Android development.

• Demonstrated success leading and delivering large-scale Android projects in production environments across multiple Agile/Scrum teams.

• Proven track record of architectural ownership and technical decision-making.

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills with the ability to facilitate business and technical discussions.

• Strong focus on software quality and user experience.

• Ability to translate business objectives into technical requirements and solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience developing applications for Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and related platforms.

• Experience publishing applications to the Google Play Store and/or Amazon Appstore.

• Experience working remotely with globally distributed and cross-functional teams.

• Experience with multi-module Android architectures.

• Experience supporting accessibility technologies such as JAWS, VoiceOver, ZoomText, and keyboard-only navigation.

• Familiarity with WCAG accessibility standards and accessibility-focused development practices.

• Experience implementing accessibility features such as:

  • TalkBack support

  • contentDescription and labelFor attributes

  • Dynamic text scaling

  • Responsive UI design

  • Accessibility announcements

AI Literacy

• Daily hands-on experience with AI coding assistants such as Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or equivalent tools.

• Strong prompt engineering skills and ability to critically evaluate AI-generated code before production use.

• Working knowledge of:

  • Large Language Models (LLMs)

  • Embeddings

  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

  • Prompt engineering

• Experience building or prototyping ML- or LLM-powered product features, including search, ranking, personalization, content understanding, or in-app AI experiences.

• Strong understanding of responsible AI practices, including privacy, intellectual property considerations, attribution, and human-review requirements.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience with video streaming technologies, including HLS and MPEG-DASH.

• Experience working with ExoPlayer.

• Knowledge of Widevine DRM.

Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service from Paramount Global, combines live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream Paramount Streaming’s other live channels: CBSN for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Hiring Salary Range: $156,800.00 - 235,200.00.

The hiring salary range for this position applies to New York, California, Colorado, Washington state, and most other geographies. Starting pay for the successful applicant depends on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education. The benefits available for this position include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) plan, life insurance coverage, disability benefits, tuition assistance program and PTO or, if applicable, as otherwise dictated by the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement. This position is bonus eligible.

What We Offer:

• Attractive compensation and comprehensive benefits packages. Check out our full list of benefits here.
• Generous paid time off.
• Complimentary subscriptions to HBO Max, Paramount+, and other Skydance streaming services and digital news products.
• Robust employee engagement opportunities, including access to exclusive screenings and events, speaker series, volunteer activities and more.

Skydance is an equal opportunity employer (EOE)

We embrace the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit. In line with the laws of the country or region in which the role is based, this includes consideration without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, religion or belief, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, physical or mental disability, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, union status or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability, you may request a reasonable accommodation during the job application and/or recruitment process. You can request reasonable accommodations by calling 212.846.5500 or by sending an email to [email protected]. Only messages left for this purpose will be returned.