Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Houston, TX, USA

Speechify • Houston, TX

2d • $140,000 - $200,000 • Remote

About The Position

Speechify's mission is to ensure that reading is never a barrier to learning. Over 50 million people use Speechify’s text-to-speech products to transform reading materials into audio, enabling faster reading, increased comprehension, and better retention. Speechify offers its text-to-speech products across various platforms including iOS, Android, Mac, Chrome Extension, and Web App. The company has been recognized by Google as the Chrome Extension of the Year and by Apple with a 2025 Design Award for Inclusivity. Speechify operates as a 100% distributed company with nearly 200 employees globally, including engineers and AI research scientists from prominent tech companies and academic institutions.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience 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.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with writing automated tests for UI (unit tests, integration tests, UI automation tests) and 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, and 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications using Windows App SDK, WinUI (or related UI frameworks), C#, XAML, and C++.
• Define and enforce best-practices for Windows desktop development across the codebase, including code architecture, performance, memory usage, responsive UI, cross-version compatibility (Windows 10/11+), and maintainability.
• Drive accessibility efforts by integrating and validating support for accessibility APIs (e.g., Microsoft UI Automation), ensuring UI controls, focus management, keyboard navigation, screen-reader support, and usability for users with disabilities.
• Collaborate with product designers, UX researchers, QA, and other stakeholders to shape feature planning, UI/UX architecture, and the long-term roadmap for the Windows platform.
• Take ownership of the full lifecycle of features: conception, design, implementation, testing, release, and maintenance, ensuring quality, reliability, and consistency.
• Identify, diagnose, and resolve complex bugs, performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, rendering issues, or compatibility problems, and propose robust architectural or design solutions.

Benefits

• A high-impact role where 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 where you are 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.
• The United States Based Salary range for this role is: 140,000-200,000 USD/Year + Bonus + Stock depending on experience.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed