C++ Engineer, Experience

Spotify; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Spotify is seeking a desktop-focused C++ engineer to maintain and extend the Desktop app across macOS and Windows. You will build native capabilities for UI teams and improve delivery pipelines, while collaborating with partners and a distributed team.

Join a role grounded in systems engineering, performance, and user experience, with opportunities to explore AI agent integrations and new platform capabilities.

Qualifications

• Strong C++ development skills and production software experience.
• Able to navigate large codebases across languages and systems.
• Willing to take ownership of systems through maintenance and improvement.
• Enjoy solving complex problems and thriving in ambiguity.
• Curious to learn new technologies and domains.
• Collaborates effectively across distributed teams.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to and maintain Spotify’s Desktop C++ application across macOS and Windows.
• Develop native container capabilities for UI teams to build new experiences.
• Improve platform systems, CI, build pipelines, packaging, and delivery.
• Develop and maintain backend services supporting content delivery and tooling.
• Build OS integrations and partner platform connections.
• Collaborate with external partners to leverage latest platform capabilities.
• Contribute to AI agent integrations in the Desktop experience.
• Work with a distributed group of engineers to solve cross-technology problems.

Skills

C++ development

Codebase navigation

Ownership & maintenance

Problem solving

Learning new technologies

Collaborative teamwork

Distributed teams

Job description

About

We design Spotify’s consumer experience—end to end, moment to moment, across every screen, platform, and partner integration. Our mission is to make listening feel effortless, personal, and joyful for billions of users around the world. That means turning complexity into clarity across hundreds of touchpoints—from our mobile and desktop apps to the smart speakers, TVs, cars, and integrations where Spotify shows up every day. If it touches a consumer, we shape it. We bring deep insight into human behavior, design, and technology to craft experiences that feel intuitive, expressive, and unmistakably Spotify.

The Desktop Natives squad, part of the Platform & Partner Experience (PPX) Studio, builds and maintains the native layer of the Spotify Desktop app across Windows, macOS, and Linux. We work across the systems outside the shared UI layer, from packaging and delivery to operating system integrations, backend services, release tooling, and the native C++ desktop shell that brings together Client-Core, Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), and Spotify’s Web Player. Our work sits at the intersection of systems engineering, performance, and user experience, helping Spotify feel seamless and truly native on desktop.

What You’ll Do

• Contribute to and maintain Spotify’s Desktop C++ application across macOS and Windows.


• Develop native container capabilities that enable UI teams to build new experiences and take advantage of evolving platform capabilities.


• Improve platform systems, CI configurations, build pipelines, packaging, and application delivery.


• Develop and maintain backend services supporting content delivery, update infrastructure, and release tooling.


• Build and improve operating system integrations, including features that connect Spotify with partner platforms.


• Collaborate with external partners such as Microsoft to make use of the latest platform capabilities.


• Contribute to cutting-edge work exploring AI agent integrations within the Spotify Desktop experience.


• Work closely with a distributed group of engineers and partners to solve complex problems across systems, platforms, and technologies.

Who You Are

• You have strong C++ development skills and are comfortable working on production software with a large user base.


• You have experience navigating complex codebases that span multiple programming languages, technologies, and systems.


• You’re comfortable taking ownership of systems through development, maintenance, and continuous improvement.


• You enjoy solving complex technical problems and can work through ambiguity to find practical solutions.


• You’re curious about how things work and motivated to learn new technologies, platforms, and areas of the codebase.


• You collaborate effectively across teams and communicate your thinking clearly.


• You’re comfortable working with colleagues across a fully distributed team.

Where You’ll Be

• This role is based in Stockholm or London.


• We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.

Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.

At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we’re here to support you in any way we can.