Software Engineer II - Developer Experience

About Us

At Booking.com, data drives our decisions. Technology is at our core. And innovation is everywhere. But our company is more than datasets, lines of code or A/B tests. We’re the thrill of the first night in a new place. The excitement of the next morning. The friends you encounter. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the memories you make. Through our products, partners and people, we make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

About the Team

Booking.com (USA), Inc is seeking a full time Software Engineer in Washington, DC for the BDX DevEx team within the Data and Machine Learning Platform department. Our team is focused on improving developer productivity across the BDX data platform, with a particular emphasis on PySpark workflows and dbt workflows. We build and maintain the tooling, platform integrations, and paved paths that help internal customers (Data Scientists, ML and Data Engineers, and Analyst community) develop, test, publish, and operate data workflows with confidence. This includes foundational Python-based SDKs, workflow frameworks, and the broader dbt experience on BDX, so that data producers and consumers can work with Booking.com’s data ecosystem in a reliable, scalable, and low-friction way.

Role Description

As a Software Engineer on the BDX Developer Experience team, you will design, build, and maintain the core developer tools, SDKs, and platform integrations that our internal engineers rely on every day. You will take full ownership of the end-to-end developer experience for data practitioners, moving beyond basic pipelines to build intuitive, high-performance tooling. This role sits at the intersection of backend engineering, data platforms, and developer advocacy, requiring you to navigate complex architectures while keeping friction low for the users of our internal Python SDKs, workflow frameworks, and dbt .

Key Job Responsibilities and Duties

• Own Core Tooling: Design, build, and maintain core developer tooling including Python SDKs and workflow frameworks used company-wide.

• Enhance Analytics Workflows: Own and optimize the dbt experience for the BDX platform, enabling analysts and data engineers to build reliable data transformations.

• Drive Technical Execution: Contribute to technical design and implementation for backend platform projects from inception to production.

• Ensure Quality: Establish and maintain CI/CD pipelines, including comprehensive automated tests for all developer-facing tools and backend services.

Important Aspects of the Job Include:

• Take initiative to address the larger technical needs of the product you work on and always keep the customer at the center of everything you do.

• Promote and drive impactful and innovative engineering solutions.

• Advocate for best engineering practices within the team.

• Act as an intermediary for problems, with both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Contribute to the growth of Booking.com through interviewing, on-boarding, or other recruitment efforts.

Role Qualifications and Requirements

• Engineering Foundation: 3+ years of experience in software development, with strong hands-on experience in Python and a focus on backend, platform, or data engineering.

• Developer Experience Mindset: Experience building or maintaining internal developer tooling such as SDKs, libraries, platform integrations, APIs, or workflow frameworks.

• Tooling Expertise: Hands-on experience with Spark , including PySpark-based data workflows, and experience with data transformation and orchestration tools, specifically dbt , Airflow or similar tools, and modern CI/CD engineering practices.

• Data Platform Experience: Hands-on experience with AWS, and/or Snowflake or similar data platforms.

• Operational Ownership: Comfortable owning production systems, handling incidents, debugging cross-system issues, and improving reliability, performance, and developer experience over time.

• Communication and Collaboration: Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Customer-first Mindset: A customer-first approach to internal platform engineering, with a focus on reducing friction and improving developer productivity for data practitioners.

Benefits & Perks - Global Impact, Personal Relevance:

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package , as well unique-to-Booking.com benefits which include:

• Medical, life, and disability insurance*

• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, sick, and care leave.

• Industry leading product discounts for yourself, friends, and family, including automatic Genius Level 3 status.

• Free access to online learning platforms, mentorship programs, and a complimentary Headspace membership.

• Collaborative, friendly and diverse culture.

• Referral Program.

• This role does not come with relocation assistance.

• This role does not come with visa assistance.

• For Washington, DC this role will have a salary range of: $191,600 - $212,900

• Additional Annual or Quarterly bonus potential (role dependent).

• *Please note that while our philosophy is the same in every location, benefits may differ by office/country.

Should you require accommodation to meet the essential functions of this job, please let us know.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Booking.com:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion have been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations.

Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: “At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn’t just build an outstanding workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It’s a place where you can make your mark and have a real impact in travel and tech.”

We ensure that colleagues with disabilities are provided the adjustments and tools they need to participate in the job application and interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Application Process:

• Let’s go places together: How we Hire

• This role does not come with relocation assistance.

• This role does not come with visa assistance.

Booking.com is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We strive to move well beyond traditional equal opportunity and work to create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.