C++ Software Engineer, Rakuten Kobo
12 Month Contract
+ Performance Based Annual Bonuses + Stock Options
Digital bookseller
Open for applications
Digital bookseller
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
+ Performance Based Annual Bonuses + Stock Options
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To bring the power of reading to the world.
Role
Who you are
- Object-oriented design incorporating design principles and patterns
- Identifying and explaining trade-offs and rationale
- Converting final state designs into a sequence of smaller testable incremental steps
- Strong software development skills in C++11 (or newer), including:
- Reviewing code and providing feedback (with rationale) to improve code
- Following modern development best practices
- Experience developing graphical user interfaces in C++ using Qt or a similar library
- Experience with embedded development, preferably on Linux
- 5+ years of experience as a developer in an Agile development environment
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
- Multi-threaded applications development
- Web technologies (JavaScript/CSS/HTML/ HTTP/etc.)
Desirable
- Experience with GCC, ARM toolchains, and shell scripting
- Experience with writing and maintaining automated tests in C++, ideally including:
- Use of dependency injection and mocking frameworks
- Use of test frameworks such as Google Test
- User interface tests
- Experience with TDD
- Familiarity with the EPUB format/standard
- EInk screen experience
- Database experience with SQLite
What the job involves
- Rakuten Kobo's eReader team is looking for an experienced C++ Software Engineer (12 month contract) to work on our range of eReader devices. You will be joining a software delivery team of ~15 to work on building and enhancing some of the top eReaders in the market
- We follow an Agile development process that encourages trying new things and making suggestions to enable us to continuously improve
- We’re dedicated to crafting high-quality, peer-reviewed code, and we’re continuously working on growing our automated test suite to ensure reliability and efficiency
- Every member on the team has a voice and is encouraged to contribute to planning, designing, and decision making
- QA is embedded within our development teams is involved in projects from day one, promoting a collaborative approach to quality
- We host regular learning sessions on various engineering topics hosted by members of the team
- Design, implement, and test new functionality for Kobo eReader devices
- Propose and carry out refactoring within the codebase to improve design and quality
- Debug and fix defects found by QA and customers
- Review code for other developers on the team
- Estimate the effort for future work as an input to planning
- Collaborate within the eReader team on improvements to our processes and code base
- Share your knowledge to help grow other members on the team and in turn learn from other members on the team
Our take
Long-form content is having a resurgence. That’s great news for the e-reader industry, of which Rakuten’s Kobo battles with Amazon’s Kindle for ownership.
The e-reader giant has changed tack in recent years to pursue growth via integrations and partnerships. A notable example is its native device integration with Pocket, a wishlist app loved by millions of readers.
The company is hoping that these partnerships and product improvements will allow it to finally break the US market where it most struggles for market share with Kindle.
Amazon has consistently shown its willingness to drop prices to protect its position in any market it plays in. That means that Kobo will have to demonstrate true product superiority to make a dent while protecting its margins.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Company benefits
- "Work from anywhere" policy
- Flexible hours
- Internet/phone/commuting allowance
- Daily meal allowance when in the office
- $500 CAD flexible spending account
- Parental leave top-up
- Unlimited sick and mental health days
- 4-day summer holiday weekends
- RRSP matching, bonus and stock options
- Free Kobo eReader
- Free weekly book of your choice
- Volunteer time off
Company HQ
Liberty Village, Toronto, ON
Leadership
Michael Tamblyn
(CEO)Part of the founding team of Kobo, Michael previously held the role of Chief Content Officer. Michael has also been the founding CEO of the supply chain agency, BookNet Canada and co-founded Canada’s first online bookstore, Bookshelf.ca, purchased by Indigo Books & Music in 1998.
Anna Giagkou
(CFO)Prior to joining Rakuten Kobo in 2021, Anna was the CFO of Cox Automotive Canada.
Nimod Narayanan
(CTO)Nimod joined Rakuten Kobo in 2022 as VP of Technology, he then became the SVP of Technology in 2023, and CTO in 2025. Prior to this, he spent nearly 4 years at Rogers Communications joining as a Senior Development Manager before becoming a Director of eCommerce & Personalization and then Senior Director of Digital Platforms & Services.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 8 more jobs at Rakuten Kobo