Senior Staff Software Engineer | API

DeepL•New York, NY

3d•$260,000 - $350,000•Hybrid

About The Position

DeepL is a global AI product and research company focused on building secure, intelligent solutions to complex business problems. Over 200,000 business customers and millions of individuals across 228 global markets today trust DeepL's Language AI platform for human-like translation, improved writing and real-time voice translation. Founded in 2017 by CEO Jaroslaw “Jarek” Kutylowski, DeepL now has around 1,000 passionate employees and is supported by world-renowned investors including Benchmark, IVP, and Index Ventures. Our goal is to become the global leader in trusted, intelligent AI technology, building products that drive better communication, foster connections, and create a meaningful impact. To achieve this, we need talented people like you to join our journey. If you’re ready to shape the future of AI and grow your career in a fast-moving, purpose-driven environment, DeepL is your next destination. What sets us apart is our blend of cutting-edge AI technology, meaningful work, and a culture where people truly thrive. We’re a team of innovators, researchers, and creators driven by a shared purpose to unlock human potential by making work simpler, smarter, and more connected. When we share what it’s like to work at DeepL, the reactions are overwhelmingly positive. This might be because of our technology that helps millions of people and businesses communicate and work better every day, or because of the trust, curiosity, and care that shape our culture. What we know for sure is this: being part of DeepL means joining a team dedicated to innovation, growth, and well-being. The API & Partnership track acts as the gateway to DeepL, enabling the world to integrate our Language and AI capabilities into their own digital ecosystems. We do not just build APIs; we architect the "Golden Path" that allows internal teams to ship faster while ensuring our external interfaces are enterprise-ready. We are the stewards of scale, trust, and integration, empowering millions of users to access DeepL reliably and securely.

Requirements

10+ years in software engineering with a focus on high-scale distributed systems and API platform architecture.
Experience with modern cloud stacks and backend technologies.
Drive engineering cultures centered on automated testing and operational discipline.
Deep experience navigating compliance, security, and data residency challenges while building integration patterns that allow third-party ecosystems to thrive on top of your platform.
Ability to translate complex technical challenges into clear strategic proposals.
Adept at writing RFCs and influencing stakeholders across the business—from product managers to other Staff engineers—driving consensus and execution in ambiguous environments.
Embrace the potential of AI to transform software development.
Actively use and advocate for AI tools to streamline workflows and are eager to guide the organization in adopting AI-assisted engineering practices.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical strategist, enabling 10x API delivery speed and establishing the trust required for enterprise adoption.
Bridge the gap between complex distributed systems and seamless partner integrations.
Drive API Strategy & Scale: Architect a hyper-scalable infrastructure designed to support exponential growth in traffic and data volume.
Set the technical vision for our microservices, ensuring our systems remain resilient, secure, and performant as we scale to the next tier of usage.
Enable the Partner Ecosystem: Lead the technical side of strategic partnerships, building integrations with AWS Marketplace and enterprise SaaS providers.
Own the delivery of "Trust" features—such as granular billing, residency controls, and auditability—that are essential for closing enterprise deals.
Force-Multiply Engineering Velocity: Establish rigorous platform standards (contracts, versioning, security) that raise the bar for the entire organization.
Build self-service tooling and automated quality gates to empower product teams to deploy independently without breaking production.