Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Waterloo, Canada

Speechify

$100K — $130K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years in Windows desktop application development with Windows App SDK, WinUI, C#, XAML; bonus for C++ experience.
  • Deep understanding of Windows application architecture and interop between managed and native code.
  • Proven experience in designing, building, and shipping reliable, performant desktop applications.
  • Strong knowledge of Windows accessibility APIs, with a commitment to inclusive software.
  • Excellent software engineering fundamentals: OOP, design patterns, data structures, and multi-threading.
  • Experience in leading design, mentoring engineers, and making architectural decisions.
  • Strong communication skills for cross-functional collaboration and consensus-building.

Responsibilities

  • Lead design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications.
  • Define and enforce best practices for code architecture, performance, and maintainability.
  • Drive accessibility efforts and ensure compliance with relevant APIs.
  • Collaborate with product designers, UX researchers, and QA to define feature roadmaps.
  • Take ownership of the complete feature lifecycle from conception to maintenance.
  • Identify and resolve complex bugs and performance issues, proposing effective solutions.

Benefits

  • High-impact role influencing architecture and user experiences for millions.
  • Collaborative and flat-structure culture promoting builders and decision-makers.
  • Opportunities for leadership, mentoring, and technical career growth.
  • Flexibility and autonomy to define solutions and contribute to product vision.
  • Purpose-driven mission focused on building reliable and accessible software.
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.

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