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.
At KAYAK for Business (K4B), we're building the future of corporate travel technology — and the engineering teams behind it are at the heart of that mission. Our K4B engineering team in Kaunas is growing, and we're looking for a Senior Java Backend Developer to help design, build, and own the systems behind search, booking, and servicing. We connect to global distribution systems (GDS) and airline content that power fares, availability, pricing, and ticketing for companies and their business travelers. You will help shape the team's technical direction, take on some of our hardest integration and performance problems, and support other engineers as they grow.
This role requires working from our Kaunas office at least 3 days per week.
In this role you will:Lead the design and delivery of backend features for flight search, pricing, and booking across GDS and other travel-supplier integrations.
Own the reliability and performance of high-traffic services — diagnosing production issues and improving latency, throughput, and cost per search.
Evaluate the user and business value of work before committing to build, and track success metrics after release.
Build and evolve integrations with third-party APIs (SOAP/XML, REST, and proprietary protocols), handling their quirks, rate limits, and failure modes.
Act as a point of contact with partners on integration issues: investigate problems, agree on solutions, and follow tickets through to resolution.
Contribute to technical decisions: write design documents, review architecture and code, and help set standards for quality and testing.
Support mid-level and junior engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance, and work with product, QA, and partner teams on scoping and rollout.
Use AI coding tools as part of your day-to-day workflow — AI-assisted development is a normal part of how our team works.
Education in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Significant hands-on experience with Java, including designing and operating production backend systems.
Strong experience with the Spring framework and SQL databases.
Experience integrating with third-party systems and working directly with their providers on communication, troubleshooting, and ticket escalation.
A track record of leading projects end to end and supporting the growth of other engineers.
Fluent English communication skills.
Comfort working in a hybrid model, with at least three office days per week.
Experience with Kubernetes, including containerizing and deploying backend services.
Hands-on experience with GDS platforms (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport) or airline NDC/direct-connect APIs.
Knowledge of the airline domain: fares, PNRs, ticketing, fare rules, availability.
Familiarity with AI coding tools and interest in using them to accelerate development.
Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year
Funds for your career growth
Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings
Generous additional Health Insurance
Flexible sick time off
Additional financial support for your sick leave
Additional day off on your birthday
Company-wide vacation week once a year (winter holidays)
Additional financial support during parental leave
Free lunch twice a week and daily snacks at the office
Free yoga twice a week
Paid volunteering time
No meeting Fridays
Office and team events such as summer camp, KAYAK birthday, winter party and more!
Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth
Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace
Internal Communities
Senior Java Backend Developer salary consists of three elements:
Base pay: from 3330 EUR up to 6660 EUR gross monthly.
In addition:
Significant yearly bonuses, approx 10 percent of annual salary
Booking Holdings RSU (Restricted Stock Units) package, worth [amount] gross, with possibility to receive yearly refreshes
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-MP1
Skills Required
- Education in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience
- Significant hands-on Java experience designing and operating production backend systems
- Strong experience with the Spring framework and SQL databases
- Experience integrating third-party systems and working directly with providers on troubleshooting and ticket escalation
- Track record of leading projects end to end
- Experience supporting the growth of other engineers
- Fluent English communication skills
- Ability to work in a hybrid model with at least three office days per week
- Kubernetes experience, including containerizing and deploying backend services
- Experience with GDS platforms such as Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport, or airline NDC/direct-connect APIs
- Knowledge of airline fares, PNRs, ticketing, fare rules, and availability
- Familiarity with AI coding tools
KAYAK Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about KAYAK and has not been reviewed or approved by KAYAK.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is positioned as generous, with team‑wide downtime, paid volunteer time, and location‑specific vacation allotments in certain offices. Public descriptions also highlight generous PTO and paid sick days.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, vision, and mental‑health support such as Headspace and access to counseling in some programs. Employer-verified listings also reference wellness resources and related benefits.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Compensation philosophy emphasizes Equal Pay and a commitment to closing the global pay gap. Some job postings disclose salary ranges and note equity or bonus eligibility, reinforcing transparency for certain roles and locations.
KAYAK Insights
What We Do
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car, cruise, vacation package. We also support business travelers with KAYAK for Business, our free corporate travel solution and are transforming the in-travel experience with our app and new hotel and accommodation software. Want to join a talented team that’s eager to solve the world’s travel problems (and have a bit of fun)? As an employee of KAYAK, you’ll be part of a global network including OpenTable and a portfolio of travel metasearch brands like Swoodoo, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi and Hotels Combined. So join us, and help others experience the world through dining and travel.
Why Work With Us
What's most unique about KAYAK is the way we empower our team to lead their best lives - in and out of the workplace. Our Work from Almost Anywhere policy is built for and by our team. It gives us the flexibility to choose where and how we work best.
