Meet DeepL

DeepL is a global communications platform powered by Language AI. Since 2017, we’ve been on a mission to break down language barriers. Our human-sounding translations and intelligent writing suggestions are designed with enterprise security in mind. Today, they enable over 100,000 businesses to transform communications, reach new markets, and improve productivity. And, empower millions of individuals worldwide to make sense of the world and express their ideas.

Our goal is to become the global leader in Language AI, building products that drive better communication, foster connections, and make a real-life impact. To achieve this, we need talented individuals like you to join our exciting journey. If you're ready to work with a dynamic team and build your career in the fast-moving AI space, DeepL is your next destination.

What sets us apart

What sets us apart is our blend of modern technology, competitive benefits, and an open, welcoming work culture that enables our people to thrive. When we share what it's like to work at DeepL, the reactions are overwhelmingly positive. This may be because of our products that have helped countless people worldwide or our shared mission to improve communication for individuals and businesses, bringing cultures closer together. What we know for sure is this: being part of DeepL means joining a team dedicated to innovation and employee well-being. Discover what our teams have to say about life at DeepL on LinkedIn, Instagram and our Blog.

Meet the team behind this journey

You will be joining the CAST (Convert and Scale) track, a division of our business that has recently seen increased strategic investment and realignment. You will lead the Identity and Access team, a core platform team responsible for building and scaling the services that power our entire customer ecosystem.

This team’s domain is central to our business, covering everything from Single Sign-On (SSO) and account management to identity provider (IDP) integration, logins, and session management. As a platform team, your primary customers are other engineering teams at DeepL. You will partner closely with a Technical Product Manager and collaborate with teams like Account and Team Experience and Business Platform to deliver foundational features that enable a secure, scalable, and frictionless experience for all DeepL users.

Your responsibilities

• People Leadership: Lead, mentor, and grow a talented, UK-based distributed team of 7 senior and intermediate engineers. You will be responsible for their well-being and growth through regular 1:1s, continuous feedback, performance reviews, and dedicated career development coaching.

• Execution & Delivery: Own the team's execution and delivery, establishing a predictable cadence using agile methodologies. You will partner with your Technical Product Manager to define, refine, and deliver the quarterly roadmap, ensuring the team's work aligns with strategic business goals.

• Technical Guidance: Act as the team's technical steward. While this is a 0-10% hands-on coding role, your strong engineering background is crucial. You will guide architectural discussions, review system designs, and uphold high standards for quality, scalability, security, and other non-functional requirements.

• Project & Strategic Ownership: Take ownership of the team's strategic bets. Your first key projects will include delivering our SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) rollout and device-based authentication, both critical for our enterprise customers.

• Stakeholder Management: Serve as the team's primary representative in planning and technical discussions. You will clearly articulate technical trade-offs and build strong relationships with stakeholders across product, engineering, and the wider business.

Qualities we look for

Must-Haves:

• People management experience - ideally 3+ years of direct people management experience, leading a team of 5 - 10 engineers.

• Strong technical foundation - 5+ years of hands-on experience as a Senior or Staff-level engineer, with expertise in C# (or strong, transferable experience in Java).

• Distributed systems design - Proven experience designing, building, and operating scalable, highly available distributed systems.

• Modern tech stack experience - Demonstrable experience with cloud platforms (preferably AWS), containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes), and API design (gRPC, REST).

• Database expertise - Hands-on experience with both relational databases (like PostgreSQL) and NoSQL databases (like Cassandra).

• A "People-First" approach - A deep commitment to the growth and well-being of your team, with proven experience in coaching, mentorship, and performance management.

• Strong execution - A focus on execution and delivery, with a pragmatic approach to balancing technical excellence with the practical need to ship value.

• Excellent problem-solver - The ability to break down complex, ambiguous problems into concrete, actionable steps for your team.

• Clear communicator - Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Domain Knowledge - Experience in the Identity and Access Management (IAM) domain (e.g., SSO, OAuth, SCIM, OIDC).

• Event-Driven systems - Demonstrated experience with event-based processing and messaging systems like Kafka.

• Hiring experience -Proven experience hiring and onboarding software engineers in a distributed team environment.

• DevOps & Scaling -Strong experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure scaling, and cloud migration.

What we offer

• Diverse and internationally distributed team: joining our team means becoming part of a large, global community with people of more than 90 nationalities. We're more than just colleagues; we're a group of professionals with a shared mission to connect diverse cultures. Our global presence is growing–we've doubled in size nearly every year, with our employees based in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the US, and Japan, and we continue to expand our network.

• Open communication, regular feedback: as a language-focused company, we value the importance of clear, honest communication. We value smooth collaboration, direct and actionable feedback, and believe that leading with empathy and growth mindset makes us better together.

• Hybrid work, flexible hours: we offer a hybrid work schedule, with team members coming into the office twice a week. This allows you to engage directly with your team and experience the unique energy of our workspace, while still enjoying the flexibility and comfort of working from home. With flexible working hours and trust in your productivity, we are in sync with your team’s general locations and time zones to foster effective and seamless collaboration.

• Virtual Shares - An ownership mindset in every role. We believe everyone should share in our success, and that’s why every employee receives Virtual Shares, linking your contribution directly to DeepL’s growth and rewarding you with a stake in our future.

• Regular in-person team events: we bond over vibrant events that are as unique as our team, from local team and business unit gatherings, to new-joiner onboardings, to company-wide events that bring us all together–literally.

• Monthly full-day hacking sessions: every month, we have Hack Fridays, where you can spend your time diving into a project you're passionate about and get the opportunity to work with other teams–we value your initiatives, impact, and creativity.

• 30 days of annual leave: we value your peace of mind. With 30 days off (excluding public holidays) and access to mental health resources, we make sure you're as strong mentally as you are professionally.

• Competitive benefits: just as our team spans the globe, so does our benefits package. We've crafted it to reflect the diversity of our team and tailored it to align with your unique location, to ensure you feel supported every step of the way.

If this role and our mission resonate with you, but you're hesitant because you don't check all the boxes, don't let that hold you back. At DeepL, it's all about the value you bring and the growth we can foster together. Go ahead, apply—let's discover your potential together. We can't wait to meet you!

We are an equal opportunity employer

You are welcome at DeepL for who you are—we appreciate authenticity here. Our product is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all succeed, contribute, and think forward! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our diversity that we will find the power to break down language barriers in the world.