09/21/2026 updated
100 % available
Staff Software Engineer - Video Streaming
SAINT PETERSBURG, USA
Only remote
Bachelor's degree in Computer ScienceAbout me
I'm Grant Howard, a video streaming engineer with 8+ years of experience. I combine expertise in player SDKs, streaming infrastructure, and ad monetization to build seamless viewing experiences across mobile, web, and connected TVs for millions of viewers.
Apple TVLive Event SupportFFmpegHttp-StreamingLive BroadcastData StreamingTransmission SystemsVideo CodecVideo EditingWebRTCOpen Broadcaster SoftwareAudio StreamingBackendMPEG-DASHLow Latency
Video Streaming & OTT Platforms
Expertise in HLS, Low-Latency HLS, MPEG-DASH, CMAF, and MPEG-TS for live and on-demand streaming across OTT platforms including iOS, Android, Roku, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Fire TV, and Apple TV. Deep knowledge of adaptive bitrate streaming, DRM (Widevine, FairPlay, PlayReady), and broadcast-grade streaming reliability.
Video Player SDK Development
Extensive experience building cross-platform video player SDKs using AVFoundation, AVPlayer, ExoPlayer, Android Media3, HLS.js, and Shaka Player. Development of unified player SDKs supporting multiple platforms including tvOS, Android TV, and connected TV devices.
Advertising Technology Integration
Proficiency in integrating Google Ad Manager, Google IMA SDK, Google Ad Exchange, VAST 4.x, VMAP, SIMID, OMID, and OpenRTB programmatic advertising workflows. Experience with SSAI, CSAI, SCTE-35, ad pods, companion ads, and header bidding.
Streaming Infrastructure & Encoding
Hands-on experience with FFmpeg, GStreamer, AWS MediaLive, AWS MediaPackage, and AWS MediaTailor for live transcoding, ABR ladder generation, and VOD processing. Optimization of encoder configurations using x264, x265, and NVENC for live sports and broadcast channels.
Programming Languages
Proficiency in C++, C, Kotlin, Java, Swift, Objective-C, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Go, and Bash for developing media processing services, player SDKs, and backend systems.
Cloud & DevOps
Experience with AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack for deploying and monitoring streaming infrastructure. Automated deployment pipelines and CI/CD workflows for streaming services.
Live Streaming Protocols
Knowledge of SRT, RTMP, RTSP, RTP, UDP, TCP/IP, WebRTC, and ONVIF for live stream ingest, transport, and delivery. Experience building IP camera and surveillance streaming solutions.
Database & Backend Systems
Experience with PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and MySQL for streaming management systems. Development of RESTful APIs using Java, Spring Boot, and related backend technologies.
Experience
Professional experience5 - 10 years
Freelancer since2019
Languages
EnglishNative speaker
Project history
Lead development of AI-powered video playback technologies for premium OTT platforms serving millions of monthly viewers across Web, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Fire TV. Designed next-generation Apple Platform Playback architecture using AVFoundation, AVPlayer, AVPlayerItem, AVAsset, and AVPictureInPictureController. Developed Android playback modules using ExoPlayer and migrated the player framework to Android Media3. Built a unified player SDK supporting iOS, Android, tvOS, Android TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Fire TV. Integrated Google Ad Manager, Google IMA SDK, Google Ad Exchange, VAST 4.x, VMAP, SIMID, OMID, and OpenRTB programmatic advertising workflows. Implemented advanced HLS playlist handling including alternate audio, subtitles, timed metadata, DRM license acquisition and live DVR support. Built AI-assisted playback analytics to detect buffering anomalies, startup failures and adaptive bitrate inefficiencies using real-time telemetry.
Developed large-scale live and VOD streaming infrastructure for broadcasters, sports organizations and OTT media platforms. Designed live streaming pipelines supporting SRT, RTMP, RTSP, RTP, UDP and MPEG-TS ingest. Built highly available Low-Latency HLS, MPEG-DASH and CMAF packaging workflows. Developed FFmpeg and GStreamer processing pipelines for live transcoding, ABR ladder generation and VOD processing. Implemented SCTE-35 cue message detection supporting SSAI advertisement insertion. Integrated AWS MediaLive, MediaPackage and MediaTailor into cloud-based broadcast workflows. Optimized encoder configuration using x264, x265 and NVENC for live sports and 24/7 broadcast channels. Built IP camera and surveillance streaming solutions using ONVIF, RTSP, WebRTC and H.264/H.265 video delivery.
Developed software components for enterprise broadcast and OTT delivery systems supporting both live television and on-demand media services. Developed C++ services responsible for video ingest, transcoding orchestration and media workflow automation. Built HLS and DASH packaging services for VOD and live streaming platforms. Optimized MPEG-TS multiplexing and segment generation. Developed metadata services supporting EPG, subtitles and multilingual audio tracks. Integrated PostgreSQL, Redis and Elasticsearch into streaming management systems. Collaborated with DevOps teams building CI/CD pipelines for streaming services.