Senior Windows Desktop Architect & Accessibility Leader

Speechify; Reading; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Speechify is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead design and development of native Windows desktop applications. You will shape architecture using Windows App SDK, WinUI, C#, XAML, and possibly C++ across Windows 10/11+.

You’ll collaborate with product designers, QA, and other engineers to deliver a reliable, accessible, high-performance user experience. You should have 3+ years in Windows desktop app development, strong knowledge of interop between managed and native code, and a track

Qualifications

• 3+ years 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 emphasis on reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows and dedication to 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 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.

Responsibilities

• 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+).
• Drive accessibility efforts: implement and validate accessibility APIs, ensure UI controls, focus management, keyboard navigation, screen-reader support, usability.
• Collaborate with product designers, UX researchers, QA, and others to shape feature planning and long-term roadmap for Windows platform.
• Identify, diagnose, and resolve complex bugs, performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, rendering issues, or compatibility problems; propose robust solutions.

Skills

Windows desktop development

C# and XAML expertise

C++ native experience

UI/UX collaboration

Accessibility expertise

Performance optimization

Multi-threading / async

Mentoring / lead design

Communication skills

Tools

Windows App SDK

WinUI

Visual Studio

XAML

MS UI Automation

Job description

Speechify is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead design and development of native Windows desktop applications. You will shape architecture using Windows App SDK, WinUI, C#, XAML, and possibly C++ across Windows 10/11+.

You’ll collaborate with product designers, QA, and other engineers to deliver a reliable, accessible, high-performance user experience. You should have 3+ years in Windows desktop app development, strong knowledge of interop between managed and native code, and a track