Senior Staff Software Engineer - API

About DeepL

DeepL is an international AI product and research company dedicated to developing secure and intelligent solutions for complex business challenges. Trusted by more than 200,000 companies and millions of individuals across 228 countries, DeepL’s Language AI platform offers human-like translation, enhanced writing, and real-time voice translation. Founded in 2017 and led by CEO Jaroslaw “Jarek” Kutylowski, DeepL employs about 1,000 passionate professionals and is funded by leading investors such as Benchmark, IVP, and Index Ventures.

Our ambition is to become the global leader in trusted, intelligent AI technology by creating products that improve communication, foster connections, and make a meaningful impact. Our collaborative culture blends cutting-edge AI innovation with meaningful work, allowing team members to thrive and help millions communicate better each day. Joining DeepL means becoming part of a diverse team focused on innovation, growth, and wellbeing.

Role Summary

The API & Partnership track serves as DeepL’s technological gateway, enabling worldwide integration of our Language and AI capabilities into external digital ecosystems. Beyond building APIs, we design the "Golden Path" for internal teams to accelerate delivery while maintaining enterprise-grade robustness and security. This team ensures scalability, reliability, and trust for millions of users accessing DeepL’s platform worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the technical vision for a hyper-scalable API infrastructure to handle exponential growth in traffic and data, guaranteeing system resilience, security, and high performance.
• Lead technical engagement with strategic partners such as AWS Marketplace and enterprise SaaS providers, delivering essential enterprise features like granular billing, data residency controls, and audit capabilities to support enterprise adoption.
• Establish and uphold platform standards including API contracts, versioning policies, and security measures that enable product teams to deploy independently with confidence.
• Create self-service tools and automated quality gates to boost engineering velocity and maintain production stability.

What We Look For

• At least 10 years of software engineering experience focusing on scalable distributed systems and API platform design, with a strong background in modern cloud and backend technologies, and a leadership role in fostering high-quality engineering cultures.
• Expertise in enterprise integrations, understanding compliance, security, and data residency issues, and developing integration patterns that enable third-party ecosystems to build on top of the platform.
• Excellent strategic communication, capable of translating complex technical matters into clear proposals, writing RFC documents, and influencing diverse stakeholders including product managers and senior engineers to drive alignment and delivery under ambiguity.
• Enthusiasm for AI-driven development, actively adopting and promoting AI-assisted engineering tools and practices to enhance workflows.

What We Offer

• A diverse global team spanning over 90 nationalities and multiple countries, fostering a rich cultural environment and shared mission.
• Open communication culture emphasizing direct, empathetic feedback and a growth mindset.
• Hybrid working model with two days onsite per week, flexible working hours aligned with team time zones to support collaboration and work-life balance.
• Virtual shares program granting ownership stakes in company success to every employee.
• Regular in-person team events, including local gatherings and company-wide meetings, promoting strong team bonds.
• Monthly full-day hackathons encouraging innovation and cross-team collaboration.
• Thirty days of paid annual leave (excluding public holidays) and access to mental health resources to support wellbeing.
• Competitive, location-tailored benefits package supporting the diverse global team.

Diversity & Inclusion

DeepL is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to fostering an authentic, inclusive culture where personal experience, diverse perspectives, and backgrounds are valued. This diversity empowers us to break down language barriers worldwide and succeed together.