Senior C++ Engineer

WHO WE ARE

Hi, we're DuckDuckGo, the online protection company and remote-first team of 400+ on a mission to raise the standard of trust online. Founded in 2008 and profitable since 2014, our annual revenue is in the hundreds of millions USD and millions use our browser on Mac https://spreadprivacy.com/introducing-duckduckgo-for-mac/, Windows https://spreadprivacy.com/windows-browser-open-beta/, iOS https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-privacy-browser-ios14/, and Android https://spreadprivacy.com/introducing-app-tracking-protection/, our search engine https://duckduckgo.com/, and the DuckDuckGo subscription https://duckduckgo.com/pro. We also offer private, useful, and optional AI, including Duck.ai https://duck.ai/, which lets you chat privately with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AIs, all in one place.

Our culture https://duckduckgo.com/how-we-work of trust, inclusivity, and empowered project management underpins everything we do, where each team member takes full ownership of their projects, from scoping and execution to postmortem. If you're seeking end-to-end ownership of your work, you've come to the right place!

YOUR TEAM AND ROLE

Working on the C++ Functional Team, you'll build the high-performance code at the core of DuckDuckGo's browser using modern C++ and Chromium, and work on related projects.

You can expect to work on projects like:

• Implement tracker blocking that stops hidden trackers on every site without slowing page loads.

• Bring VPN and Personal Information Removal into the browser through the DuckDuckGo subscription.

• Catch startup and responsiveness regressions automatically, so the browser stays fast as it grows.

As a Senior C++/Chromium Engineer, you'll lead complex projects from proposal through post-mortem. You'll turn vague problems into clear plans, build them in a large modern C++ codebase, and use metrics to show they worked. Some days that means low-level systems work. Others, it means architecture decisions the whole team builds on. You'll collaborate with design and product, mostly asynchronously, to build features people use to protect their privacy.

ABOUT YOU

• Ability to lead and collaborate on high-impact, complex projects from proposal through post-mortem

• Skills to wrangle vague problems, propose innovative solutions, and execute them with a strong focus on metrics

• 7+ years of software engineering experience

• Advanced modern C++ expertise (C++23 or newer), including memory management, concurrency, and performance profiling

• Experience driving technical work end-to-end on large-scale C++ codebases

• Comfort with large build systems, debuggers, and profilers

• Experience shipping software to a large consumer audience

• Solid computer science foundation (algorithms and data structures)

• Bonus: Windows development experience

• Bonus: experience with browsers (Chromium, WebKit, WebView), game engines, or large desktop applications

COMPENSATION

This role is paid on a regional pay scale, in local currency, and stock options:

• United States: $190,500 USD annually

• United Kingdom: £134,600 GBP annually

• Canada: C$253,500 CAD annually

• Europe/Rest of World: €157,350 EUR annually

In Spain, pay is expected to transition to the EUR scale on January 1, 2027, and in other Europe/Rest of World countries on February 1, 2027.

Compensation is transparent across the organization, and all team members within the same professional level and global region receive the same compensation.

Eligibility for company-sponsored health benefits is limited to team members based in the United States. This program does not extend to team members located in other countries, such as Canada or the UK.

Our Team Member Support Guide https://duckduckgo.com/assets/hiring/team_support_guide.pdf explains how we prioritize your wellbeing including paid parental leave, office setup, and co-working allowances.

HIRING PROCESS

Hiring works best whe