Speechify
Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Manchester, United Kingdom
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Senior Software Engineer, Windows/Desktop Applications - Manchester, United Kingdom
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 transform any reading material—documents, books, Google Docs, news articles, or websites—into audio. This enables users to read faster, read more, and remember more. Speechify’s products include:
- iOS app
- Android app
- Mac app
- Chrome Extension
- Web app
Google named Speechify the Chrome Extension of the Year, and Apple honoured it with the 2025 Design Award for Inclusivity.
Today, nearly 200 people contribute to Speechify globally in a 100% distributed setting, with team members from diverse backgrounds:
- Engineers from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google
- AI research scientists from top institutions like Stanford
- Leaders from high-growth startups such as Stripe, Vercel, Bolt
- Founders of their own companies
What You’ll Do
You will lead the design, architecture, and development of native Windows desktop applications using:
- Windows App SDK
- WinUI (or related UI frameworks)
- C#
- XAML
- C++ (where necessary)
Key Responsibilities:
- 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+)
- Maintainability
- Drive accessibility efforts by:
- Integrating and validating support for Windows accessibility APIs (e.g., Microsoft UI Automation).
- Ensuring UI controls, focus management, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader support.
- Designing usable experiences for users with disabilities.
- Collaborate closely with product designers, UX researchers, QA teams, and stakeholders to:
- Shape feature planning
- Define UI/UX architecture
- Contribute to the long-term roadmap for the Windows platform.
- Take full ownership of the feature lifecycle:
- Conception → Design → Implementation → Testing → Release → Maintenance
- Ensure quality, reliability, and consistency across releases.
- Diagnose and resolve complex challenges, such as:
- Bugs
- Performance bottlenecks
- Memory leaks
- Rendering issues
- Compatibility problems
- Propose robust architectural or design solutions.
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Requirements
Required:
- 3+ years of experience in Windows desktop application development using:
- Windows App SDK
- WinUI (or similar frameworks)
- C#
- XAML
- Ideally, additional experience with native Windows code (C++, Win32/WinRT/COM).
- Deep expertise in Windows application architecture, including:
- Interoperability between managed (
.NET) and native code.
- Interoperability between managed (
- Proven ability to design, build, and ship production-quality desktop applications, focusing on:
- Reliability
- Performance
- Scalability
- Maintainability
- Strong understanding of Windows accessibility APIs (e.g., Microsoft UI Automation) with a commitment to building accessible and inclusive software.
- Solid foundation in software engineering fundamentals, including:
- OOP
- Design patterns
- Data structures
- Algorithms
- Memory management
- Multi-threading / asynchronous programming
- Experience in leading:
- Technical design
- Mentoring engineers
- Conducting code reviews
- Making architecture-level decisions
- Strong communication skills, including:
- Articulating tradeoffs
- Collaboration across cross-functional teams
- Driving consensus.
- A user-centric mindset, ensuring polished, intuitive, and accessible experiences.
Preferred / Bonus:
- Experience with automated UI testing:
- Unit tests
- Integration tests
- UI automation
- Familiarity with relevant testing frameworks
- Knowledge of performance optimization techniques for desktop apps, such as:
- Memory usage
- Startup time
- Rendering performance
- High-DPI support
- Responsive UI under load
- Familiarity with localization/globalization, including:
- Right-to-left UI support
- Internationalization for multiple regions
- Accessibility across global audiences
- Hands-on experience with:
- Telemetry
- Analytics
- Crash reporting
- Logging
- Error monitoring in desktop applications
- Expertise in establishing:
- CI/CD workflows
- Release pipelines
- Deployment strategies for desktop applications
- Track record of owning feature areas or modules for long-term success, including:
- Maintenance
- Refactoring
- Reducing technical debt
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What We Offer
- A high-impact role where you will:
- Define architecture
- Shape the future of Speechify’s Windows product, directly influencing millions of users.
- A collaborative, flat-structure engineering culture where you contribute beyond coding—you are a builder and decision-maker.
- Opportunities to lead, mentor, and grow into broader technical leadership roles, such as Tech Lead or Architect.
- Flexibility, autonomy, and responsibility:
- Define your own solutions
- Own features end-to-end
- Contribute to the long-term product vision
- A purpose-driven mission of building software that is:
- Reliable
- Accessible
- User-centered
- Makes a real difference for people
Think You’re A Good Fit?
If so, tell us more about yourself and why you’re interested in the Windows Developer role when you apply. Don’t forget to include links to your portfolio and LinkedIn.
Know Someone Who Would Excel Here?
Refer them—and support diversity and inclusion at Speechify.
Speechify is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of: race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other legally protected status.
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