Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Chicago, IL, USA

Speechify; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Impactful role

Flat-structured engineering culture

Leadership opportunities

Autonomy and responsibility

Purpose-driven mission

Job summary

Speechify is seeking a senior Windows desktop specialist to design, architect, and build high-performance desktop apps using Windows App SDK and WinUI. You will ensure accessibility, cross-version compatibility, and clean architecture while collaborating with designers, QA, and product teams.

You will own features end-to-end from conception to release, mentor engineers, review code, and drive long-term technical direction in a distributed environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in Windows desktop app development using Windows App SDK, WinUI (or similar), C#, XAML; additional native Windows code is a plus (C++, Win32/WinRT/COM).
• Deep understanding of Windows app architecture and interop between managed and native code.
• Proven track record shipping production desktop apps with focus on reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows and building accessible software.
• Solid fundamentals in OOP, design patterns, data structures, algorithms, memory management, and multi-threading/async programming.
• Experience leading design discussions, mentoring engineers, conducting code reviews, and making architecture decisions.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across product, UX, QA, and other stakeholders.
• User-centric mindset focused on polished, intuitive, and accessible experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications using Windows App SDK and WinUI.
• Define and enforce best practices for Windows desktop development across the codebase.
• Drive accessibility efforts and ensure screen-reader support, keyboard navigation, and focus management.
• Collaborate with designers, UX researchers, QA, and other stakeholders to shape feature planning and long-term roadmap.
• Own features end-to-end from conception to release and maintenance.
• Identify and resolve complex bugs, performance bottlenecks, and memory issues with robust solutions.

Skills

Windows desktop development

C#

XAML

WinUI

C++

Accessibility (UI Automation)

OO design

Mentoring/code reviews

Communication

Tools

Windows App SDK

WinUI

Win32/WinRT/COM interop

Job description

Mission

The mission of Speechify is to make sure that reading is never a barrier to learning. Over 50 million people use Speechify's text-to-speech products to turn whatever they're reading - PDFs, books, Google Docs, news articles, websites - into audio, so they can read faster, read more, and remember more. Speechify's text-to-speech reading products include its iOS app, Android App, Mac App, Chrome Extension, and Web App. Google recently named Speechify the Chrome Extension of the Year and Apple named Speechify its 2025 Design Award winner for Inclusivity. Today, nearly 200 people around the globe work on Speechify in a 100% distributed setting - Speechify has no office. These include frontend and backend engineers, AI research scientists, and others from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, leading PhD programs like Stanford, high growth startups like Stripe, Vercel, Bolt, and many founders of their own companies

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 → design → implementation → testing → release → 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 is reliable, accessible, and user-centered - making a real difference for people.

Salary range

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

Speechify is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Speechify does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.