Software Engineer, Ads (Backend)
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.
In this role you will
Design and build backend features, from scoping through deployment and ongoing production support, with guidance from senior engineers and tech leads on more complex or ambiguous problems
Take part in technical design reviews and architecture discussions, asking good questions and contributing ideas
Write well-tested, readable, and maintainable code consistent with team quality standards; participate actively in code reviews, both giving and receiving feedback
Work with product managers and commercial partners to understand requirements and deliver reliable outcomes
Participate in on-call rotations: monitor system health, investigate production issues, and write clear bug tickets and documentation
Look for opportunities to improve system performance, reduce complexity, and pay down technical debt in aging codebases
Take part in sprint ceremonies — planning, refinement, retrospectives, and demos — and contribute ideas for improving team delivery
Use AI-assisted development tools responsibly to improve productivity, code quality, and delivery efficiency
Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, and business intelligence teams to deliver integrated solutions
Grow your skills through mentorship, pairing, and feedback from more senior engineers
Please apply if you have
Experience designing, building, and operating backend systems, gained through professional roles, internships, or substantial personal or academic projects
Working proficiency in Java or a comparable backend language
A foundational understanding of system design and debugging, and comfort working in distributed or multi-service environments
A collaborative working style: you communicate clearly, follow through on commitments, surface risks early, and ask good questions
Professional proficiency in written and spoken English
Curiosity and a willingness to learn new tools, systems, and approaches, and to challenge existing approaches with well-reasoned alternatives
You may also bring (not required — equivalent experience, training, or transferable skills considered):
Familiarity with ad tech systems, bidding logic, or monetization infrastructure
Experience with server-to-server data integrations or event-driven architectures
Experience working in an agile team environment with sprint-based delivery
Exposure to observability tooling, metrics, or production debugging workflows
A specific degree is not required. We welcome candidates from non-traditional educational backgrounds who demonstrate strong engineering fundamentals and a genuine eagerness to grow.
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