Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Gainesville, FL, USA Gainesville, FL, USA

Speechify; Gainesville (FL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexibility and autonomy

Mentorship opportunities

Purpose-driven mission

Collaborative culture

Job summary

Speechify, Inc. is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead the design and development of native Windows desktop applications in Gainesville, FL. You will be responsible for ensuring high-quality, reliable, and inclusive software, integrating best practices in code development.

The ideal candidate has over 3 years of experience in Windows application development, strong C# and accessibility API expertise, and a user-centric mindset. Join us to make a difference in how millions learn!

Qualifications

• 3+ years in Windows desktop application development using Windows technologies.
• Deep understanding of Windows application architecture and interop between managed and native code.
• Proven track record of designing and shipping production-quality desktop applications.
• Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows.
• Excellent software engineering fundamentals in OOP, design patterns, and algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, architecture, and development of Windows desktop applications.
• Define and enforce best practices for code architecture and performance.
• Drive accessibility efforts integrating support for accessibility APIs.
• Collaborate with product designers and stakeholders on UI/UX planning.
• Identify and resolve performance issues and bugs.

Skills

Windows App SDK

C#

XAML

C++

Accessibility APIs

Memory management

Multi-threading

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Gainesville, FL, USA

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—there is no office. The team includes frontend and backend engineers, AI research scientists, and other technical professionals from Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Stripe, Vercel, Bolt, and 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—in 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), 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.
• Identify, diagnose, and resolve complex bugs, performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, rendering issues, or compatibility problems—and propose robust architectural or design solutions.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years in Windows desktop application development using Windows App SDK, WinUI (or similar), C#, XAML—and ideally 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, focusing on reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Strong experience with accessibility APIs on Windows (e.g., Microsoft UI Automation) 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 Qualifications

• Experience 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 millions of users.
• 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.

Salary range: $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.