Rebuild the account data model and infrastructure underpinning all of Netflix Ads

The Account Foundations team owns the accounts domain for Netflix Ads — who advertisers are, what they're eligible for, and how they transact — and is rebuilding it from scratch across core account data modeling, account intelligence, cohort/verification automation, and spend attribution. This is a zero-to-one, foundational role requiring 7+ years building cloud applications and 4+ years in ads demand-side systems.

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What this interview tests

Account/entity data modeling for complex real-world hierarchies (HoldCo, agency, brand)
Ads demand-side systems and programmatic advertising domain knowledge
Multi-tenant, API-first service design (REST/GraphQL, OpenAPI, Avro, Protobuf, versioning)
API gateway concerns: auth, rate limiting, load shedding, ingress control
Automating manual processes at scale (cohort assignment, identity verification)
Spend attribution: mapping DSP programmatic spend to advertisers/agencies

Common question themes

Design a data model representing advertiser/agency hierarchies with governance

How would you design a spend attribution engine mapping DSP spend to advertisers

Design a multi-tenant, versioned, API-first service for external advertiser/agency access

How do you migrate a manual, linearly-scaling process to automation without breaking downstream teams

Your experience with ad tech standards (VAST, OpenRTB) or demand-side systems

How do you approach zero-to-one architecture decisions that will be load-bearing for years

How candidates describe it

Real Software Engineer 6 - Ads Account Foundations interview stories — retold from candidates' public write-ups, with sources.

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