---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer at KAYAK'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-kayak-cambridge-rvncqhmwg0x4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-26'
---

# Senior Software Engineer at KAYAK

- **Company:** KAYAK
- **Location:** Cambridge, MA
- **Compensation:** $110k–$120k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-26
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/KAYAK/85165d45-de15-444d-8a5e-b7fdb8f3cf1e/application

**Skills:** Java, SQL, RESTful APIs, MySQL, JavaScript, React, HTML, CSS

> Join the Retention and CRM team to design and deliver scalable backend services for user re-engagement and personalized notifications. You will architect robust integrations, optimize full-stack solutions, and mentor junior engineers while collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive user retention.

## Job description

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is a leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We're also transforming business travel with a new corporate travel solution, KAYAK for Business. As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others. From start-up to industry leader, innovation is in our DNA and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark. Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

KAYAK is seeking a Senior Java Software Engineer to join our Retention and CRM team! The Retention team powers the backend systems behind our Trips product and builds features that keep travelers coming back to KAYAK again and again. The CRM team designs and scales the platform behind personalized email and push notifications delivered to millions of users. In this role, you'll collaborate with engineers, product managers, and marketing specialists to build meaningful, high-impact experiences across both areas. This role is required to work from either our Cambridge or Concord, MA office 3 days per week.

In this role you will:

- Design and deliver scalable, high-quality backend services across both Retention and CRM — including systems that power the Trips product, user re-engagement features, and large-scale email and push notification pipelines.
- Develop and improve backend services handling bulk and transactional messaging at scale, ensuring reliability and performance across millions of sends.
- Build and maintain backend features that drive user retention — including Trips functionality, price alerts, and personalized engagement touchpoints that bring travelers back to KAYAK.
- Architect and maintain robust integrations with third-party APIs and marketing platforms, ensuring data integrity and scalability across the email and retention stack.
- Lead the design of complex features end-to-end — from technical scoping and architecture decisions through deployment, monitoring, and production support.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product managers, marketing specialists, designers, and globally distributed engineers to translate business requirements into well-engineered solutions.
- Debug and optimize full-stack solutions, proactively identifying performance bottlenecks, data pipeline failures, and production issues — and driving them to resolution.
- Contribute to engineering excellence by upholding coding standards, PR review practices, and operational monitoring, including alerting and incident response for team-owned systems.
- Coach and mentor junior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing, helping to raise the technical bar for the team.
- Explore and apply emerging technologies — including AI-assisted tooling and automation — to improve developer productivity, personalization, and platform capabilities.

Please apply if you have:

- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of delivering high-quality, production-grade backend systems in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong, proven programming skills in Java, with the ability to independently design, implement, and own complex backend features end to end.
- Solid experience with APIs and SQL — including designing and consuming RESTful APIs and working with relational databases such as MySQL or similar systems.
- Experience leading the design and delivery of complex technical solutions, including making architectural tradeoffs and owning features through deployment and ongoing operations.
- Experience collaborating cross-functionally with product managers, marketing partners, designers, and globally distributed engineering teams to ship impactful features.
- A collaborative mindset and openness to learning and sharing ideas, including a willingness to mentor others through code reviews and knowledge sharing.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt to changing needs without requiring close direction, balancing sprint commitments with longer-term technical work.
- Education in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience and transferable skills.
- Experience with HTML and CSS is a plus, especially when debugging or collaborating on full-stack solutions with partner teams.

## Benefits and Perks

- Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year
- Focus on mental health and well-being:
- Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth
- Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace
- Company-wide week off a year – the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)
- No meeting Fridays
- Paid parental leave
- Generous paid vacation + time off for your birthday
- Paid volunteer time
- Focus on your career growth:
- Development Dollars
- Leadership development
- Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings
- Travel Discounts
- Employee Resource Groups
- Competitive retirement and health plans
- Free lunch 2 days per week
- Fun quarterly events such as boat trips, arcades, ski trips, Thursday happy hours, and more

There are a variety of factors that go into determining a salary range, including but not limited to external market benchmark data, geographic location, and years of experience sought/required. The range for this Massachusetts-based role is $140,000 - 160,000.00, not inclusive of annual bonus and recurring RSU grants. We offer a competitive base salary and benefits including: health benefits; flexible spending account; retirement benefits; life insurance; paid time off (including PTO, paid sick leave, medical leave, bereavement leave, floating holidays and paid holidays); and parental leave benefits.

Inclusion At KAYAK, we want everyone to have the space to grow, share ideas and do great work. That's why we're focused on hiring the best talent from all walks of life and experiences, supporting them well and making sure no one feels like they have to fit a mold to belong here. Need any adjustments for the interview, application or on the job? No problem – just give us a heads-up. We've got you.

## #LI-EI1

## About KAYAK

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: KAYAK is the world’s leading travel metasearch engine, enabling travelers to compare flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages from hundreds of sites in one place.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc., NASDAQ: BKNG)
- **Headquarters**: Stamford, Connecticut, USA (with 15 international offices)
- **Founded**: 2004
- **Founders**: Steve Hafner (former CEO until February 2026) and Paul English

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Online travel, travel technology, metasearch.
- **Target customers**: B2C (leisure and business travelers) and B2B (travel providers, advertisers, and corporate clients via KAYAK for Business).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To help travelers make confident travel decisions by providing transparent, comprehensive search results that put control back in their hands. KAYAK believes “travel makes the world better.”

## Products & Services
- **KAYAK Metasearch**: Core product allowing comparison of flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages from hundreds of travel sites.
- **KAYAK for Business (K4B)**: Free corporate travel solution for business travelers.
- **KAYAK Mobile App**: iOS and Android app offering seamless travel planning, price forecasts, price alerts, trip management, and AI-powered search.
- **KAYAK.ai**: AI-powered travel assistant providing personalized tips, live pricing, and conversational booking.
- **Explore Tool**: Inspires spontaneous travel by showing destinations within a chosen budget.
- **Trips**: Personal travel assistant for organizing, managing, and sharing itineraries with real-time flight status.
- **Price Forecast & Alerts**: Predicts price trends and notifies users of changes for flights, hotels, and car rentals.
- **KAYAK for Partners & Advertisers**: Commission-based and advertising revenue models.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed as a subsidiary; parent Booking Holdings has a market cap of ~$150+ billion (as of mid-2025).
- **Key Metric**: Processes billions of searches annually; 800+ team members; 60+ international sites in 25+ languages.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Owned by Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), which acquired KAYAK in 2013. Partners with hundreds of airlines, hotels, online travel agencies, and car rental companies.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Named #1 Best Airfare Search Site by Frommer’s (2024, 2025).
  - Won World’s Best Flight & Hotel Comparison Website at World Travel Tech Awards (2022–2024).
  - Recognized by Statista & COMPUTER BILD as a Top Online Platform 2025.
  - First mainstream travel company to introduce AI-powered conversational search (KAYAK AI Mode).
  - Expanded portfolio of 7 travel search brands globally.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover in travel metasearch**: Pioneered the concept in 2004, creating a trusted, comprehensive comparison platform.
- **Unbiased results**: Displays fares from all major providers without favoritism, clearly labeling booking sources.
- **Massive data advantage**: Processes billions of searches, enabling powerful AI/ML tools like Price Forecast and AI Mode.
- **Global brand portfolio**: Manages 7 brands (KAYAK, SWOODOO, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi, HotelsCombined) with a global footprint.
- **Strong financial backing**: Part of Booking Holdings, providing stability and resources for innovation.
- **High trust & recognition**: Consistently ranked #1 by leading travel publications and awards.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI & personalization**: Leading with AI-powered search and conversational planning to improve user experience.
- **Expanding corporate travel**: Growing KAYAK for Business as a free, self-service corporate travel tool.
- **Global scale**: Continuing to expand international sites and language support.
- **Innovation in search tools**: Developing new features like Price Forecast, Explore, and real-time trip management.
- **Maintaining transparency**: Strengthening trust through clear labeling and fair marketplace practices.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven, data-obsessed team of 800+ passionate about travel technology; emphasis on career growth, skill development, and individual learning.
- **Work policy**: Hybrid model – team members work from the office three days a week, with flexibility to come in more often. Some roles are fully remote (US-based).
- **Perks**: Part of a global network including OpenTable and a portfolio of travel metasearch brands; employee-resource groups for under-represented communities; global equal-pay policy.
- **Engineering culture**: Strong focus on data, AI, and scalable systems (billions of queries); tech stack includes modern Java, frontend frameworks, and ETL tools.
- **Global opportunities**: 15 international offices with opportunities to work across teams.
- **Recognition**: Named a top employer by Built In and industry awards.
- **Caution**: KAYAK warns of fraudulent job ads – all genuine recruitment ends with @kayak.com, and no payment is ever requested from candidates.

## Sources
1. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/careers/)
2. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/about)
3. [kayak.com](https://www.kayak.com/c/help/about/)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kayak)
5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kayak)

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