Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Des Moines, IA, USA

Speechify

$140K — $200K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years of experience in Windows desktop application development using Windows App SDK, WinUI, C#, and XAML; ideally also C++.
  • Deep understanding of Windows application architecture, especially managed vs. native code interop.
  • Proven track record in designing, building, and shipping reliable and maintainable desktop applications.
  • Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows, committed to creating inclusive software.
  • Excellent software engineering fundamentals, including OOP, design patterns, algorithms, and multi-threading.
  • Experience in leading technical design, mentoring engineers, and conducting code reviews.
  • Strong communication skills to articulate technical trade-offs and foster collaboration.

Responsibilities

  • Lead design and development of Windows desktop applications using cutting-edge technologies.
  • Define and enforce best practices for desktop development, ensuring high performance and maintainability.
  • Drive the integration of accessibility features to support users with disabilities.
  • Collaborate with product teams to align feature planning with UX design and technical capabilities.
  • Own the full lifecycle of features from conception to release, maintaining high-quality standards.
  • Diagnose and resolve complex technical issues, proposing architectural improvements.

Benefits

  • High-impact role influencing millions of users' experiences.
  • Collaborative engineering culture with opportunities for impactful decision-making.
  • Opportunities for mentorship and technical leadership growth.
  • Flexibility and autonomy in problem-solving and feature ownership.
  • Purpose-driven mission centered around user reliability and accessibility.
Full Job Description
What You'll Do

  • 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 14 design 14 implementation 14 testing 14 release 14 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.


An ideal candidate should have

Required:
  • 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.

Preferred / Bonus:
  • 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 we offer
  • A high-impact role: you will define architecture, shape the future of our Windows product, and directly influence what millions of users see and experience.
  • A collaborative, flat-structure engineering culture - you are not just a coder, but a builder and a decision-maker.
  • Opportunities to lead - mentor others, steer technical direction, and grow into broader technical leadership (e.g. Tech Lead, Architect).
  • Flexibility, autonomy, and responsibility: you define how to solve problems, own features end-to-end, and contribute to long-term product vision.
  • A purpose-driven mission: building software that's reliable, accessible, and user-centered - making a real difference for people.

The United States Based Salary range for this role is: 140,000-200,000 USD/Year + Bonus + Stock depending on experience

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