Senior Software Engineer, Speechify
Windows/Desktop Applications
$140-200k
+ Equity + Bonus
AI text-to-speech reader
Open for applications
AI text-to-speech reader
101-200 employees
Open for applications
$140-200k
+ Equity + Bonus
101-200 employees
Company mission
To make sure that reading is never a barrier to learning.
Role
Who you are
- 3+ in Windows desktop application development using Windows App SDK, WinUI (or similar), C#, XAML — and ideally additional experience with native Windows code (C++, Win32/WinRT/COM)
- Deep understanding of Windows application architecture, including interop between managed code (.NET) and native code
- Proven track record of designing, building, and shipping production-quality desktop applications, with an emphasis on reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability
- Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows (e.g. Microsoft UI Automation or similar), and a dedication to building accessible and inclusive software
- Excellent software engineering fundamentals: OOP, design patterns, data structures, algorithms, memory management, multi-threading or asynchronous programming (where relevant)
- Experience leading technical design, mentoring other engineers, conducting code reviews, and making architecture-level decisions
- Strong communication skills; ability to articulate tradeoffs, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and drive consensus
- A user-centric mindset: focus on building polished, intuitive, and accessible experiences for end users
Desirable
- Experience with writing automated tests for UI — unit tests, integration tests, UI automation tests; familiarity with relevant testing frameworks
- Experience with performance optimization for desktop apps (memory usage, startup time, rendering performance, high-DPI support, responsiveness under load)
- Experience with localization/globalization, right-to-left UI support, internationalization, accessibility for multiple regions
- Familiarity with telemetry, analytics, crash reporting, logging, and error monitoring in desktop applications
- Previous experience in shaping CI/CD workflows, release pipelines, and deployment strategies for desktop applications
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of feature areas or modules and drive them long-term, including maintenance, refactoring, and technical debt management
What the job involves
- Lead the design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications using Windows App SDK, WinUI (or related UI frameworks), C#, XAML, and — when needed — C++
- Define and enforce best-practices for Windows desktop development across the codebase: code architecture, performance, memory usage, responsive UI, cross-version compatibility (Windows 10/11+), and maintainability
- Drive accessibility efforts: integrate and validate support for accessibility APIs (e.g. Microsoft UI Automation or other relevant Windows accessibility frameworks), ensure UI controls, focus management, keyboard navigation, screen-reader support, and usability for users with disabilities
- Collaborate closely with product designers, UX researchers, QA, and other stakeholders to shape feature planning, UI/UX architecture, and long-term roadmap for the Windows platform
- Take ownership of full lifecycle of features: conception → design → implementation → testing → release → maintenance. Ensure quality, reliability, and consistency across releases
- Identify, diagnose, and resolve complex bugs, performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, rendering issues, or compatibility problems — and propose robust architectural or design solutions
Application process
- Think you’re a good fit for this job?
- Tell us more about yourself and why you're interested in the role when you apply
- And don’t forget to include links to your portfolio and LinkedIn
Our take
Speechify’s AI-powered app and browser extension make it easy for users to listen to emails, text documents, e-books, PDFs, online blogs, and articles in a variety of voices, languages, and speeds.
Text-to-speech technology has been fraught with performance issues for a long time, though in recent years this has begun to change for the better. Products like Amazon Polly, Linguatech Voice Reader, and Natural Reader have made real inroads on this front. What may set Speechify apart, however, is the insight of founder Cliff Weitzman, who built the app to help people with dyslexia, ADHD, vision impairments and other learning difficulties.
The company’s future growth may depend largely on who it targets and how it does so. Thus far, it’s been mostly branded as a learning assistant, lauded by parents, teachers and adult users with reading disabilities. This niche approach is interesting and offers a potentially large market in the education sector. However, the technology also has mainstream appeal, with the potential to be branded as a productivity booster or multi-tasking assistant.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-8% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Leadership
Cliff Weitzman
(Founder & CEO)Having studied at Brown University, Cliff founded YumPass, CellArmor, and BoardBrake before working as a Software Engineer at WeMap and StarterPack. In 2018, they founded Speechify, serving as the CEO since.
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