AI-First Software Engineer (all genders)

Holidu; München; Hybrid; EUR 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel benefits

Gym discounts

Personal learning budgets

Job summary

Holidu is looking for an AI‑First Software Engineer based in Munich to join their Host Experience department. You will shape product direction and build reliable backend services that drive millions of bookings. This role emphasizes using AI tools in your daily work while collaborating with a diverse and motivated team.

With a strong emphasis on problem-solving and innovation, you will contribute actively to shaping the future of travel technologies. This position comes with the opportunity for hybrid work, professional development, and exciting perks.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in backend services production.
• Strong experience in problem-solving and team collaboration.
• Genuine interest in learning and applying AI technologies.

Responsibilities

• Develop AI-driven solutions and code.
• Shape product direction and business impact.
• Maintain and ensure reliability of core services.
• Handle large volumes of properties and bookings.

Skills

Backend services development

AI tool fluency

Problem-solving skills

Team-oriented communication

Education

BSc or higher in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kotlin

Spring Framework

Job description

Holidu is one of the world’s fastest-growing vacation rental technology companies. Our mission is to make booking and hosting holiday homes free of doubt and full of joy, by helping hosts generate more bookings with less work and helping guests find a holiday home they truly enjoy.

Our team of 700 colleagues from 60+ nations shares a passion for tech, an ambition for constant improvement, and a relentless drive to bring the best experience to more than 40k vacation rental hosts and 4 million annual guests.

Your future team

Join our Host Experience department as an AI‑First Software Engineer on the team that powers how our hosts’ holiday rentals reach the world.

You’ll work at the core of our distribution engine, where we take tens of thousands of homes and generate millions of bookings on major travel platforms like Holidu, Booking.com, Airbnb, VRBO, HomeToGo and Check24. This is absolutely core to our architecture: when distribution works well, hosts reach millions of guests without ever thinking about it. We synchronize large volumes of updates at high speed, maintain high availability, and integrate with a wide range of partner APIs, each with its own structure, quirks and constant evolution. The interesting problem is staying ahead of all that gracefully, at scale.

We’re an AI‑first team, and we see how much it expands what’s possible. We build systems that adapt on their own, catch issues before they surface and turn one‑off fixes into lasting solutions. That’s a big part of where we’re headed, and you’ll help shape it.

Our Tech Stack

We mostly build on JVM, specifically Kotlin on Spring Boot, with some Java in the mix – and we run on AWS. Beyond that, it’s tooling: the right database for the job (mostly PostgreSQL), event‑driven messaging, the usual cloud‑native stack, and so on.

Your role in this journey

• Work AI‑first, every day. AI is part of how you work and increasingly what you build. You use these tools daily for writing code, understanding unfamiliar parts of the system and exploring data, staying genuinely current on what they can and can’t do. Not a trick, but part of how you think and build.
• Shape the product, not just the code. Build a strong understanding of the product, use it to drive initiatives end‑to‑end, and actively shape the team’s direction rather than just executing on it. You’ll care about the why behind the features and the business impact behind the systems.
• Own crucial services end‑to‑end. Design, build and maintain the services at the heart of our distribution engine – the ones our hosts and partners rely on every day. Reliability is everything: set up monitoring, define SLOs and drive incidents to resolution so the team can move fast with confidence.
• Build for scale and ship daily. Ensure our applications handle tens of thousands of properties and millions of bookings. Deploying our solutions is done automatically and continuously throughout the day. Experiment with new technologies, learn, apply and share engineering best practices, and help us evaluate state‑of‑the‑art tools as we grow.
• Collaborate and raise the bar. Work in a supportive, cross‑functional team that values knowledge sharing and improving together.

Your backpack is filled with

• Product instincts. You care about solving real problems for hosts and guests, asking “what problem are we solving?” rather than “what should I do next?”.
• Genuine fluency with AI tools. You use AI as part of how you think and build, and you’re excited about applying it to real engineering and business problems, not as a buzzword but as a daily habit you keep sharpening.
• 2–5 years building backend services in production, with a track record of shipping features end‑to‑end in production environments with real users.
• Strong fundamentals. Experience with Kotlin or Java and the Spring Framework is a plus, but the thinking matters more than the language.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and a team‑oriented mindset: clear communication in code, documents and conversation.
• High motivation to learn and curiosity for the business side.

Our adventure includes

• Impact: Shape the future of travel with products used by millions of guests and thousands of hosts. At Holidu ideas become products, data drives decisions and iteration fuels fast learning. Your work matters – and you’ll see the impact.
• Learning: Grow professionally in a culture that thrives on curiosity and feedback. You’ll learn from outstanding colleagues, collaborate across disciplines and benefit from mentorship and personal learning budgets – with a strong focus on AI.
• Great people: Join a team of smart, motivated and international colleagues who challenge and support each other. We celebrate wins and keep our culture fun, ambitious and human. Our customers are guests and hosts – people we can all relate to – making work meaningful and energizing.
• Technology: Work in a modern tech environment. You’ll experience the pace of a scale‑up combined with the stability of a proven business model, enabling you to build, test and improve continuously.
• Flexibility: Work a hybrid setup with 50% in‑office time for collaboration and spend up to 8 weeks a year from other inspiring locations. You’ll stay connected through regular events and meet‑ups across our almost 30 offices.
• Perks on top: of course we also offer travel benefits, gym discounts and other perks to keep you energized – but what truly sets us apart is the chance to grow in a dynamic industry, alongside amazing people, while having fun along the way.

Need a sneak peek?

Check out the adventure that awaits you on Instagram @lifeatholidu and dive straight into the world of Tech at Holidu for more insights!

Want to travel with us?

Apply online on our careers page! Your first travel contact will be Adam from HR.

We are committed to diversity in all aspects of our business. We encourage applications from all genders, all corners of the world and all individual backgrounds. You are welcome to submit your application without a photo and without stating your gender, date of birth, marital status, nationality or disability status (if applicable). If you require any special assistance when arranging interviews, office visits or the recruitment process in general, please contact the relevant HR person responsible for this job and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Location

Munich, Germany