Senior Director of Safety Engineering

Discord is your place to talk. Whether you're part of a school club, gaming group, worldwide art community, or just a handful of friends that want to spend time together, over 150 million people across the world use Discord every day to connect, hang out, and talk.

 

We are excited to be hiring a Senior Director of Safety Engineering to lead and oversee our Safety Engineering team here at Discord. You will play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our users. Your days will be spent collaborating with other teams to develop new and innovative safety features, proactively identifying and mitigating potential safety risks and issues, and pushing the organization to be the most effective it can be. The ideal candidate for this role will have prior experience in a Safety related field, in-depth knowledge of large online platforms, frameworks, policies, and procedures. If you are passionate about creating a safe and welcoming environment for hundreds of millions of Discord users and committed to protecting their well-being, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity! You will report to the VP of Engineering.

What you'll be doing

• Lead and oversee the Safety Engineering team, where ensuring the safety and well-being of our users is our top priority. You will provide strategic guidance and technical expertise to the team. 
• Collaborate with Discord’s Legal, Policy, Product, Marketing, ML, and Security teams to drive the development of client safety features, anti-abuse tools, and large data streams.  
• Lead interactions with our engineering partners across the company, ensuring Safety is top of mind and is built with privacy in mind.
• Develop and implement strategies to proactively identify and mitigate potential safety risks and issues using machine learning and artificial intelligence. 
• Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in online safety, and apply them to enhance our systems.
• Foster a positive and inclusive culture within the Safety Engineering team.

What you should have

• 15+ years in Software Engineering 
• 5+ years in organizational engineering leadership, managing other Engineering Managers or Directors.
• Prior experience in a global internet-scale consumer safety engineering or a related field, with a focus on online safety, content moderation, and tooling.
• In-depth knowledge of safety frameworks, policies, and procedures, and the ability to apply them effectively in an large online community setting.
• Comfortable with both going deep: i.e. architecture reviews, designing roadmaps and content safety strategies, and presenting long term Trust & Safety plans to C-suite, board of directors, and external policy makers as needed. 
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to inspire and guide a team.

Bonus Points

• Understanding and implementation of machine learning in safety spaces

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $342,000 to $376,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.

Benefits and Perks

• Comprehensive medical insurance including Health, Dental and Vision (plus up to $20,000 for gender affirmation procedures)
• Mental health resources and quarterly wellness stipends
• 14+ paid holidays, 4 weeks of PTO + use-what-you-need sick days 
• Paid parental leave (plus fertility, adoption and other family planning benefits)
• Flexible long-term work options (remote and hybrid)
• Volunteer time off
• A diverse slate of Employee Resource Groups 
• Plus commuter contributions and other perks for office-based employees

About Us

Discord is a voice, video and text app that helps friends and communities come together to hang out and explore their interests — from artists and activists, to study groups, sneakerheads, plant parents, and more. With 150 million monthly users across 19 million active communities, called servers, Discord has grown to become one of the most popular communications services in the world. Discord was built without selling ads or user data and instead, offers a premium subscription called Nitro that gives users special perks like higher quality streams and fun customizations.

We’re working toward an inclusive world where no one feels like an outsider, where genuine human connection is a click, text chat, or voice call away. A place where everyone can find belonging. Challenging? Heck yes. Rewarding? Double heck yes. It’s a mission that gives us the chance to positively impact millions of people all over the world. So if this strikes a chord with you, come build belonging with us!