Principal/Senior Software Engineer - Mobile App Monetization (Ad Server)

PubMatic is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the design and development of scalable, low-latency, privacy-safe mobile app monetization systems. The role focuses on backend services, SSP-DSP integrations, traffic optimization, mobile ad formats, supply quality, attribution readiness, and operational reliability.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and implement scalable backend services powering mobile app monetization, extracting, transforming, and optimizing in-app behavioral data using on-device computation, data aggregation, and differential privacy techniques so that publishers can still deliver targeted ads and measure performance without accessing persistent, individual user identities
• Build and optimize SSP-DSP integration workflows for mobile app inventory, including app bundle validation, device and geo signal handling, privacy-aware user signal processing, bid response handling, loss reason analysis, and DSP-specific troubleshooting
• Design mobile-specific traffic shaping and QPS optimization systems that prioritize high-value in-app inventory based on bid probability, win probability, spend potential, app quality, device signals, geo value, ad format, consent availability, and DSP buying behavior
• Improve runtime handling for Mobile App ad formats such as rewarded video, interstitial, native, banner, app-open, playable, and in-app video, including format eligibility, creative compatibility, response validation, tracking, completion, and reward-callback correctness
• Build capabilities that improve buyer/DSP compatibility for MApp inventory, ensuring buyers receive well-represented, privacy-compliant, format-compatible, attribution-ready, and supply-quality-aware mobile app requests
• Develop systems and diagnostics to improve Mobile App supply quality, including app bundle validation, app store metadata checks, app-ads.txt, sellers.json, SupplyChain object validation, app spoofing detection, invalid traffic indicators, device/geo inconsistency checks, and low-quality partner supply detection
• Support privacy-aware and attribution-ready Mobile App advertising, including ATT/IDFA handling, AAID availability, consent enforcement, COPPA/child-directed treatment, SKAN readiness, MMP signal passing, click/impression tracking, and privacy-safe fallback when user-level identifiers are unavailable
• Partner with MApp SDK and OpenBid/S2S integration teams to define signal-quality standards, request-field expectations, placement/ad-unit semantics, tracking requirements, and partner feedback loops for Mobile App supply
• Build publisher-facing and buyer-facing diagnostics for MApp inventory, including missing-field reports, app quality signals, buyer no-bid diagnostics, fill and eCPM diagnostics, tracking mismatch analysis, attribution readiness, and supply-path quality insights
• Work with DSP Partnerships and Marketplace Quality teams to improve buyer confidence in PubMatic’s MApp supply by addressing format compatibility, attribution readiness, privacy eligibility, fraud risk, supply transparency, and app inventory quality
• Collaborate with Product, Data Science, Publisher teams, DSP Partnerships, Marketplace Quality, MApp SDK, OpenBid/S2S integrations, and SRE to define and execute the roadmap for differentiated Mobile App advertising capabilities
• Champion operational excellence for Mobile App advertising systems through strong observability, reason codes, structured logs, dashboards, alerts, safe rollouts, latency protection, production debugging, and cross-team incident response

Requirements:

• Five plus years of backend engineering experience, with a proven track record of building high-scale, low-latency systems, preferably in mobile app advertising, SSP, DSP, ad exchange, mediation, mobile SDK, app-install, or programmatic AdTech domains
• Strong knowledge of mobile app inventory signals, including app bundle, app store URL, SDK version, placement type, rewarded indicator, device ID, IDFA, AAID, IDFV, OS version, carrier, connection type, geo, consent status, and ad format metadata
• Familiarity with mobile ad formats such as rewarded video, interstitial, native, banner, app-open, playable, and in-app video ads, including how each format impacts pricing, buyer demand, creative rendering, tracking, and user experience
• Strong understanding of mobile performance advertising concepts such as app-install campaigns, CPI, CPA, ROAS, retention, lifetime value, post-install events, retargeting where allowed, and buyer outcome optimization
• Experience or strong familiarity with mobile attribution and measurement ecosystems, including MMPs, AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular, Firebase, SKAdNetwork, Android attribution changes, click tracking, impression tracking, and delayed/aggregated conversion signals
• Strong knowledge of mobile privacy and compliance constraints, including Apple ATT, IDFA availability, Android Advertising ID, SKAdNetwork, Google Privacy Sandbox for Android, COPPA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, TCF, GPP, and do-not-sell/share flags
• Practical knowledge of mobile supply quality and fraud prevention, including app bundle spoofing, SDK spoofing, device spoofing, geo mismatch, VPN/proxy traffic, click injection, click spam, invalid traffic, app-ads.txt, sellers.json, and SupplyChain object validation
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with a collaborative mindset, strong ownership, and ability to work cross-functionally with Product, Data Science, DSP Partnerships, Publisher teams, Marketplace Quality, and SRE
• Should have a bachelor's degree in engineering (CS / IT) or equivalent degree from well-known Institutes / Universities
• Hands-on experience with mobile monetization SDKs, client-server ad request flows, mediation logic, in-app bidding, server-side bidding, waterfalls, or unified auction systems
• Contributions to open-source AdTech projects such as Prebid Mobile, RTBkit, OpenRTB tools, header bidding libraries, or mobile SDK/ad-serving frameworks
• Familiarity with industry-standard ML model-serving infrastructure designed for real-time inference in high-QPS, low-latency environments
• Understanding of mobile user acquisition, performance DSPs, app-install campaigns, MMP integrations, and attribution platforms
• Experience working with incrementality measurement, retargeting systems, audience segmentation, cohort-based optimization, or privacy-safe targeting for mobile performance marketing
• Exposure to privacy-preserving user ID solutions such as UID2.0, RampID, publisher first-party IDs, hashed identifiers where allowed, and frameworks such as SKAdNetwork for iOS post-ATT monetization
• Experience with cross-format mobile monetization strategies, including combining rewarded video, interstitial, native, banner, app-open, playable, and video monetization within the same app session
• Familiarity with real-time analytics pipelines used to measure mobile monetization KPIs such as bid rate, win rate, fill rate, eCPM, revenue, QPS efficiency, timeout rate, attribution feedback, buyer spend, and yield efficiency
• Publications, patents, internal platform leadership, or speaking engagements in mobile monetization, AdTech infrastructure, RTB optimization, privacy-safe advertising, or ML for AdTech