Senior Software Engineer, Windows​/Desktop - Denver

Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Denver, USA

Mission:
The mission of Speechify is to make sure that reading is never a barrier to learning. Over 50 million people use Speechify's text-to-speech products to turn whatever they're reading – PDFs, books, Google Docs, news articles, websites – into audio, so they can read faster, read more, and remember more. Speechify’s products include its iOS app, Android App, Mac App, Chrome Extension, and Web App.

Google recently named Speechify the Chrome Extension of the Year and Apple named Speechify its 2025 Design Award winner for Inclusivity. Today, nearly 200 people work on Speechify in a 100% distributed setting, with engineers from Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.

• Lead the design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications using Windows App SDK, WinUI, C#, XAML, and—when needed—C++.
• Define and enforce best practices for Windows desktop development across the codebase: 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), 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 the full lifecycle of features: conception → design → implementation → testing → release → maintenance, ensuring 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.

Required

• 3+ years in Windows desktop application development using Windows App SDK, WinUI or similar, C#, XAML; ideally additional experience with native Windows code (C++, Win
  32/WinRT/COM).
• Deep understanding of Windows application architecture, including interop between managed (.NET) and native code.
• Proven track record of designing, building, and shipping production‑quality desktop applications, emphasizing reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows (e.g., Microsoft UI Automation), commitment to building accessible and inclusive software.
• Excellent software engineering fundamentals: OOP, design patterns, data structures, algorithms, memory management, multi‑threading or asynchronous programming.
• Experience leading technical design, mentoring other engineers, conducting code reviews, making architecture‑level decisions.
• Strong communication skills; ability to articulate tradeoffs, collaborate with cross‑functional teams, and drive consensus.
• User‑centric mindset: focus on building polished, intuitive, and accessible experiences for end users.

Preferred / Bonus

• Experience writing automated UI tests—unit, integration, UI automation; familiarity with testing frameworks.
• Experience with performance optimization for desktop apps (memory usage, startup time, rendering performance, high‑DPI support, responsiveness).
• Experience with localization/globalization, right‑to‑left UI support, internationalization, accessibility for multiple regions.
• Familiarity with telemetry, analytics, crash reporting, logging, error monitoring.
• Experience shaping CI/CD workflows, release pipelines, deployment strategies for desktop applications.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of feature areas or modules and drive long‑term maintenance, refactoring, and technical debt management.

• High‑impact role: define architecture, shape future Windows product, directly influence millions of users.
• Collaborative, flat‑structure engineering culture—builder and decision‑maker.
• Opportunities to lead—mentor others, steer technical direction, grow into broader technical leadership.
• Flexibility, autonomy, responsibility: define how to solve problems, own features end‑to‑end, contribute to long‑term vision.
• Purpose‑driven mission: build reliable, accessible, user‑centered software that makes a real difference.

Denver, CO. Salary range: $140,000–$200,000 USD/Year + bonus + stock, depending on experience.

Tell us more about yourself and why you're interested in the role when you apply. Include links to your portfolio and Linked In.

Speechify is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Speechify does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.