Senior Software Engineer - Desktop Application Developer (C++)

Nexthink is the leader in digital employee experience management software. The company provides IT leaders with unprecedented insight allowing them to see, diagnose and fix issues at scale impacting employees anywhere, with any application or network, before employees notice the issue. As the first solution to allow IT to progress from reactive problem solving to proactive optimization, Nexthink enables its more than 1,500 customers to provide better digital experiences to more than 25+ million employees. Dual headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland and Boston, Massachusetts, Nexthink has 9 offices worldwide. 

#LI-Hybrid

We are looking for a Senior Desktop Application Developer to be part of the team designing, architecting, and implementing our AI-powered IT self-service chat agent — a native desktop application distributed to 20+ million endpoints worldwide. This client is the face of Nexthink’s AI platform, giving employees a seamless, responsive experience directly on their Windows and macOS devices. 

As a Desktop Engineer, you will go beyond implementation: you will set technical direction for the client layer, influence cross-team design decisions, and serve as a trusted advisor to both engineering leadership and product. You’ll tackle problems of performance, reliability, and native OS integration while partnering with backend, infra, and security teams to ship a production-grade application at global scale. 

This is a high-impact, high-ownership role where you’ll make foundational architectural decisions about the client platform and help shape the desktop engineering practice at Nexthink. 

Responsibilities 

• Define and drive technical vision and architectural strategy for the desktop client application. 

• Lead design of a high-performance, native desktop application running on Windows and macOS at 20M+ endpoints. 

• Partner with product, backend, and AI/ML teams to align the client experience with the broader AI platform. 

• Provide technical leadership on client architecture, coding standards, and best practices for native desktop development. 

• Architect and deliver a reliable, secure application covering the full distribution lifecycle: signing, packaging, installation, updates, and uninstallation. 

• Champion observability, crash reporting, performance monitoring, and diagnostics across the client stack. 

• Act as a mentor and multiplier, raising the technical bar and helping engineers grow. 

• Lead technical deep dives, design reviews, and roadmap alignment discussions with leadership. 

• Ensure security, compliance, and OS-level integration best practices are embedded in design from day one. 

• 7+ years of desktop application engineering experience, shipping native applications on Windows and macOS. 

• Proven success designing and shipping client applications to large user bases, with a deep understanding of platform-specific constraints and behaviours. 

• Strong proficiency in C++, with solid experience building cross-platform desktop applications. 

• Deep knowledge of Windows and macOS OS APIs. 

• Hands-on experience with the full application distribution lifecycle: code signing, packaging, auto-update mechanisms, and deployment at scale. 

• Strong understanding of desktop application performance profiling, memory management, and crash diagnostics. 

• Exceptional communication skills — able to influence cross-functional teams and leadership with clear technical direction. 

• Track record of mentoring and elevating engineering teams. 

Nice to Have 

• Familiarity with Rust and the Tauri framework. 

• Familiarity with React and TypeScript UI development. 

• Experience integrating desktop clients with cloud backends via REST, WebSockets, or gRPC. 

• Background in system-level programming: OS hooks, accessibility APIs, inter-process communication. 

• Prior work on applications with silent background processes, system tray agents, or notification-driven UX. 

• Experience with endpoint telemetry, observability SDKs, or APM integration on the client side. 

• Experience with enterprise software distribution and managing application update strategies at scale. 

We are the pioneers and trailblazers of a global IT Market Category (DEX) that is shaping the future of how the world works, giving our customers’ IT Teams total digital visibility across their enterprise. Our innovative solutions integrate real-time analytics, automation, and employee feedback across all endpoints. This enables our IT teams to solve complex technical challenges, create ever more productive workplaces, and deliver happy, satisfied employees in the digital workplace.

With over 1200 employees across 5 continents, Nexthink operates as One Team, connecting, collaborating and innovating to continuously grow. We call our employees ‘Nexthinkers’ and our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is second to none. We currently have over 75 nationalities working with us, from all cultures and backgrounds, speaking many different languages.

If you are looking for a change and like a nice atmosphere, lots of challenges, and having fun while working, this is a great opportunity for you! Check what we offer: 

• 💼 Permanent Contract and a competitive compensation package. 

• 🩺 Health insurance through our partnership with Bajaj, including OPD coverage for dental, vision, health check-ups, consultations, and pharmacy expenses. 

• 🏡 Hybrid work model balancing office and remote work, with a structured approach for new hires to foster connections and onboarding. 

• 🏖️ Flexible Hours and unlimited vacation (employees have unlimited paid time off on top of the 22 days of holidays we offer). Plus, company-paid bank holidays (12), sick days (10-30), bereavement leave (5), and 3 days per year for volunteering. 

• 📚 Free access to professional training platforms to explore your interests and enhance your skills. 

• 🛡️ Stay covered against accidents, bodily injuries, and disabilities with our personal accident insurance policy, providing assurance with coverage up to three times your annual CTC. 

• 🍼 New mothers are entitled to up to 26 weeks of maternity leave, with the flexibility to use up to 8 weeks before the expected delivery and the remaining 18 weeks after. Birth fathers can take 6 weeks of paternity leave, while adoptive parents are eligible for 26 weeks of leave for mothers and 6 weeks for fathers. 

• 💰 Under the Payment of Gratuity Act, receive gratuity at the rate of 15 days of basic pay for every completed year of service, provided you've been employed by the company for a minimum of 5 years. Gratuity is payable at retirement or resignation based on your last drawn basic pay. 

• 📣  Bonuses for referring successful hires after three months of continuous employment.