Software Development Engineer III, Advertising Technology

About the Position

At Expedia Group, we help travelers explore the world, one journey at a time. As a global travel company powered by passionate people, trusted partnerships, and leading technology, we connect travelers, partners, and advertisers through our consumer brands, B2B network, and travel advertising business.

We’re seeking a Software Development Engineer III to join our Advertising Technology team. You’ll build and operate real-time ad delivery systems that power ad ranking, auctions, bidding, and budget enforcement at scale. These services sit on the critical path of ad delivery, where low latency, correctness, and reliability directly impact revenue, advertiser ROI, and traveler experience.

Introduction to the team

Expedia Group Advertising builds the platforms and experiences that connect advertisers with millions of travelers across the globe. Our mission is to help partners reach the right traveler with the right message at the right time - through intuitive advertiser experiences, high-performance ad delivery systems, and intelligent, AI-powered optimization.

Responsibilities

• Optimize bidding, ranking, and pacing for guaranteed and non-guaranteed ad delivery to surface more relevant ads and expand advertiser reach to travelers
• Build and scale systems that support ad serving and ad selection across Expedia Group’s advertising network
• Apply strong software design principles, algorithms, and data structures to build scalable, low-latency, high-throughput services
• Work closely with Product, ML data scientists, and data teams on features such as relevance optimization, targeting, and performance modeling
• Advocate for high-quality code, automated testing, and strong observability practices
• Participate in operational reviews and drive continuous improvement
• Mentor junior engineers, lead design discussions, and help elevate the technical bar of the team

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical field
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in backend software development
• Skills:
  • Strong proficiency in Java or Kotlin
  • Experience working with data-driven systems, ML-powered features, or A/B experimentation platforms
  • Experience building and deploying backend APIs (e.g., gRPC) and streaming or batch data processing services (e.g., Flink, Spark) in cloud environments
  • Solid understanding of distributed systems, data flows, and operational best practices

Nice to Have

• Experience with search and retrieval systems, including relevance ranking, vector databases, embeddings, or AI/semantic search
• Experience designing and implementing agent-to-agent (A2A) and multi-agent AI systems
• Background in ads, marketplaces, e-commerce, or travel platforms

We Offer

• Location: Chicago, IL (On-site, at least three days a week)
• Salary: Total cash range of $136,000.00 to $204,500.00 USD per year, with potential to increase up to $233,500.00 based on performance
• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, Employee Assistance Program, wellness and travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and IATAN membership

About the Company

Expedia Group includes three flagship consumer brands - Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo - along with a leading B2B travel business and travel advertising offerings. Across our brands and business, we help travelers explore the world with confidence and ease.

Equal Opportunity

Expedia is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Accommodation requests

Expedia Group is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruiting experience. If you need an accommodation or adjustment due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please submit a request at https://expedia.service-now.com/askeg?id=job_accommodation.

Important notice

Employment opportunities and job offers at Expedia Group will always come from Expedia Group's Talent Acquisition and hiring teams. Never share sensitive personal information unless you are confident of the recipient. Expedia Group does not extend job offers via email or messaging tools to individuals with whom we have not made prior contact. Our email domain is @expediagroup.com. The official place to find and apply for roles is https://careers.expediagroup.com/jobs/.