Senior Software Developer, CNN AD Experiences

Warner Bros. Discovery

Ottawa · On-site Full-time Senior $110k – $160k/yr 3w ago

About the role

Below is a ready‑to‑use, fully‑customizable package you can send straight to the CNN Ad Experiences hiring team. It includes:

A concise, attention‑grabbing cover‑letter template (with placeholders for your personal details and a few optional “personal‑touch” paragraphs you can swap in/out).
A senior‑software‑engineer résumé section (focused on the exact skills and experiences the posting calls out).
A quick checklist of things to double‑check before you hit “Submit”.

Feel free to copy‑paste, edit the placeholders, and adjust the tone to match your own voice.

1️⃣ Cover‑Letter (HTML‑ready for LinkedIn/E‑mail)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Cover Letter – Senior Software Engineer (CNN Ad Experiences)</title>
  <style>
    body {font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; color:#333;}
    .header, .footer {margin-bottom: 1.5rem;}
    .signature {margin-top: 2rem;}
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="header">
    <p><strong>[Your Full Name]</strong><br>
    [Your Address] • [City, State ZIP] • [Phone] • <a href="mailto:[your.email]">[your.email]</a> • <a href="[LinkedIn URL]">LinkedIn</a></p>
  </div>

  <p>[Date]</p>

  <p>Hiring Committee – CNN Ad Experiences<br>
  Warner Bros. Discovery<br>
  [Office Address – if known]</p>

  <p>Dear Hiring Committee,</p>

  <p>I’m excited to apply for the **Senior Software Engineer** role on the **Ad Experiences** team at CNN. With > 8 years of full‑stack development experience—most recently leading a high‑traffic advertising platform that served + 250 M impressions per month—I have a proven track record of delivering performant, accessible, and revenue‑driving web experiences at scale.</p>

  <p><strong>Why I’m a strong fit for CNN</strong></p>
  <ul>
    <li><strong>Full‑stack expertise:</strong> Daily work with JavaScript (ES2022+), React, Node.js, HTML5, CSS3 (including BEM/Atomic Design), and a strong focus on semantic markup, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, and responsive design.</li>
    <li><strong>Ad‑tech know‑how:</strong> Designed and integrated a header‑ bidding solution (Prebid.js) and a custom video‑ad player that increased CPM by 18 % while reducing latency by 30 %.</li>
    <li><strong>Cloud & DevOps chops:</strong> Hands‑on with AWS (ECS, S3, CloudFront, Lambda, DynamoDB), Docker, CI/CD pipelines (CodePipeline + Jenkins), and Kubernetes for zero‑downtime deployments.</li>
    <li><strong>Testing & quality focus:</strong> Champion of unit‑test coverage (Jest + React Testing Library > 90 %), integration tests (Cypress), and automated visual regression (Percy).</li>
    <li><strong>Collaboration & mentorship:</strong> Regularly lead sprint planning, retrospectives, and pair‑programming sessions; mentor junior engineers on code‑review best practices and performance‑first thinking.</li>
  </ul>

  <p>At **[Current/Most Recent Company]**, I owned the end‑to‑end delivery of a new “Sponsored Content” experience that required tight coordination between product, design, and ad‑ops. By refactoring the rendering pipeline and introducing a server‑side caching layer on CloudFront, we cut page‑load time from 2.8 s to 1.4 s (mobile) and lifted ad viewability from 62 % to 78 %—directly contributing to a $3.2 M YoY revenue uplift.</p>

  <p>Beyond the technical side, I’m drawn to Warner Bros. Discovery’s **guiding principles**—especially “Championing Inclusion” and “Innovate Relentlessly.” I thrive in environments where diverse perspectives shape product decisions, and I’m eager to bring that mindset to the CNN team.</p>

  <p>I would love the opportunity to discuss how my background, skill set, and passion for high‑impact ad experiences can help CNN continue to deliver a premium news experience while driving revenue growth.</p>

  <p>Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of contributing to the next chapter of CNN’s digital story.</p>

  <p>Sincerely,</p>

  <div class="signature">
    <p><strong>[Your Full Name]</strong><br>
    Senior Software Engineer<br>
    <a href="mailto:[your.email]">[your.email]</a> • [Phone] • <a href="[LinkedIn URL]">LinkedIn</a></p>
  </div>

  <div class="footer">
    <p>Enclosures: Resume, Portfolio (if applicable)</p>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

How to use it

Step	Action
1	Replace every `[placeholder]` with your real info.
2	If you prefer plain‑text, copy the rendered HTML into a rich‑text editor (Gmail, Outlook) and it will keep the formatting.
3	Attach your résumé (see below) and any relevant portfolio links (e.g., a public GitHub repo of an ad‑tech demo).
4	Send to the email address listed in the posting or submit via the Warner Bros. Discovery career portal.

2️⃣ Résumé – Senior Software Engineer (Ad‑Tech Focus)

Tip: Keep the résumé to 2 pages max. Use a clean, ATS‑friendly template (sans graphics). Below is a “content dump” you can copy into your own template.

[Your Name]                     |  (555) 123‑4567 | your.email@example.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/you  |  GitHub: github.com/you
Location: [City, State]        |  Portfolio: yourportfolio.com

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Seasoned full‑stack engineer with 8+ years of experience building high‑traffic, revenue‑generating web products. Deep expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node.js, and modern ad‑tech (header bidding, VAST, OpenRTB). Proven ability to improve page performance, increase ad viewability, and mentor cross‑functional teams in agile environments. Passionate about accessibility, inclusive design, and continuous delivery on AWS‑centric infrastructures.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Front‑end: React, Redux, Next.js, HTML5, CSS3 (Sass, Styled‑Components), Atomic Design, WCAG 2.1 AA
Back‑end / APIs: Node.js, Express, GraphQL, REST, Server‑Side Rendering, Lambda
Ad‑Tech: Prebid.js, Google Publisher Tag, VAST, OpenRTB, DFP/Ad Manager integration
Testing: Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress, Mocha/Chai, Percy visual testing
Cloud / DevOps: AWS (ECS, S3, CloudFront, DynamoDB, Lambda), Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD (CodePipeline, Jenkins, GitHub Actions), Terraform
Data: SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL), NoSQL (DynamoDB, MongoDB), A/B testing frameworks (Optimizely, Google Optimize)
Collaboration: Agile Scrum, Jira, Confluence, Pair‑programming, Code reviews, Mentorship

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Senior Software Engineer – Ad Platform
XYZ Media Corp., New York, NY — Jan 2022 – Present

Lead a 5‑engineer squad delivering a header‑bidding solution that increased ad revenue by 18 % YoY.
Refactored the ad‑rendering pipeline using React 18 + Suspense, cutting client‑side latency from 2.8 s to 1.4 s (mobile).
Implemented server‑side caching with AWS CloudFront + Lambda@Edge, achieving a 30 % reduction in TTFB.
Designed a component library (Storybook + Atomic Design) shared across 12 product teams, improving UI consistency and reducing duplicate code by 40 %.
Championed unit‑test coverage (Jest + React Testing Library) to > 90 % and introduced Cypress end‑to‑end tests for critical ad flows.
Set up CI/CD pipelines (CodePipeline → ECS) with automated rollbacks via PagerDuty alerts, decreasing deployment incidents from 4/month to < 1/month.

Software Engineer – Front‑End
ABC Digital, San Francisco, CA — Jun 2018 – Dec 2021

Built responsive, accessible UI for a news‑portal serving 30 M monthly users; achieved WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.
Integrated Google Ad Manager and Prebid.js, optimizing ad slot fill rates from 68 % to 85 %.
Migrated legacy jQuery codebase to React/Redux, reducing bundle size by 45 % and improving maintainability.
Conducted A/B testing (Optimizely) on ad placements, delivering a 12 % lift in click‑through rates.

Full‑Stack Engineer (Intern)
TechStart Labs, Austin, TX — May 2017 – Aug 2017

Developed a Node.js microservice for real‑time analytics, persisting events to DynamoDB and exposing a GraphQL API.
Wrote comprehensive Mocha/Chai test suites, achieving 95 % coverage.

EDUCATION

B.S. Computer Science – University of Texas at Austin, 2017

Relevant coursework: Distributed Systems, Human‑Computer Interaction, Database Systems

CERTIFICATIONS & TRAINING

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (2023)
Google Mobile Web Specialist (2022)
“Advanced React Patterns” – Frontend Masters (2021)

SELECTED PROJECTS (optional – add if you have a portfolio)

Project	Tech Stack	Impact
Ad‑Boost Demo – Open‑source header‑bidding demo	React, Prebid.js, AWS Lambda, CloudFront	1.5 k GitHub stars; used as teaching material at 2 conferences
Accessibility Audit Tool – Chrome extension	TypeScript, Axe‑core, Storybook	Helped 3 internal teams meet WCAG 2.1 AA in < 2 weeks

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Member, Women Who Code – mentor for junior developers (2020‑present)
Volunteer, Tech for Good – building accessible web tools for non‑profits

3️⃣ Quick‑Before‑You‑Send Checklist

✅	Item
1	Tailor the cover‑letter – insert a concrete metric from your most recent role that aligns with the “premium news experience” goal.
2	Match keywords – ensure the résumé includes exact terms from the posting (e.g., “Docker”, “Jest”, “AWS”, “advertisement integration”).
3	Add a portfolio link – if you have a public repo or a live demo of an ad‑tech component, include it in the header.
4	Proofread – run a spell‑check and read aloud to catch any awkward phrasing.
5	File format – save résumé as PDF (named `YourName_SeniorSoftwareEngineer_CNN.pdf`).
6	Optional – attach a 1‑page “Technical Highlights” sheet that lists your top 3 ad‑tech achievements (revenue lift, latency reduction, test coverage).
7	Follow‑up – after submitting, send a brief LinkedIn message to the recruiter (if you have a name) referencing your application and expressing enthusiasm.

🎉 Final Thought

The posting emphasizes culture, inclusion, and relentless innovation. A short paragraph in the cover letter that mentions a concrete example of how you championed diversity or mentored under‑represented teammates will make you stand out.

Good luck—CNN’s Ad Experiences team is a high‑visibility, high‑impact arena, and with the experience you’ve built, you’re a perfect match. If you’d like a deeper dive into any of the bullet points (e.g., how to quantify ad‑revenue impact, or how to showcase your AWS architecture diagram), just let me know! 🚀

Requirements

Understand engineering best practices, design patterns, reviews, testing and alerting
Proficient on the command line in concert with Git, Docker, and AWS
Unit testing experience using frameworks such as Jest, Jasmine, and Mocha
Passionate about improving the code you touch and interact with.
Excited to learn and ready to take on new challenges.
Excellent communicator with your team members and peers.
Excited to add positively to the culture of CNN, both from an interpersonal level and from a code improvement standpoint.

Responsibilities

Full stack development with JavaScript, HTML, CSS incorporating semantic code, accessibility and responsive design methodologies
Responsible for owning, implementing, developing, and maintaining complete high-priority features with thorough testing
Work with a cross functional team in an agile environment, and contributing to Scrum, Planning, Retros, and Demos
Support others on your team through code reviews, pairing, desk checks, and collaboration

Benefits

health insuranceemployee wellness programlife insurancedisability insuranceretirement savings planpaid holidayssick timevacation

Skills

AWSCSSDockerGitHTMLJavaScriptJestJasmineMocha

Don't send a generic resume

Paste this job description into Mimi and get a resume tailored to exactly what the hiring team is looking for.

Get started free