Key skills
iOS developmentlive video streamingHLSAVPlayervideo analyticsplayback performance optimizationiOS app architecturescollaboration skillsCSwiftObjective-CAnalyticsiOSCI/CDCommunicationCollaboration
About this role
Kake is a remote-first company that provides top-tier engineering talent for innovative companies. They are seeking a Senior iOS Video Player Engineer with deep experience in live video streaming to enhance playback experiences across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Responsibilities:
- Design, build, and maintain live video playback functionality for iOS and tvOS applications (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV)
- 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
- Work closely with backend and video pipeline teams to align player behavior with streaming infrastructure
- Collaborate with product and design partners to deliver smooth, consistent playback experiences across Apple devices
- Use video analytics and QoE metrics to diagnose issues and improve real-world playback performance
Requirements:
- 7+ years of iOS development experience with deep expertise in Swift and Objective-C
- Proven experience building and maintaining video players or live playback components for iOS/tvOS
- Strong hands-on experience with HLS and AVPlayer, including tuning and troubleshooting playback behavior, especially 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
- Strong understanding of iOS app architectures (MVVM, Clean Architecture) and CI/CD pipelines
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills across engineering, design, and product teams
- Background working in sports large-scale streaming environments
- Experience with ad tech, especially in live streaming scenarios