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.
We are looking for a strong Java Senior Software Engineers to implement new features and maintain KAYAK’s AI. You will be an essential part of a high powered team that keeps all of this running smoothly – helping millions of people find the best hotels and the best ways to fly from A to B every day!
This role requires commuting to the Concord, MA office 3 times a week.
In this role, you will:Design, implement and maintain reliable production software for KAYAK’s travel-search and trip-planning experiences.
Build and evolve APIs and services supporting AI-assisted search, conversational travel planning, itineraries and related user experiences.
Investigate technical problems, assess trade-offs and choose practical solutions that improve reliability, performance and maintainability.
Write automated tests and contribute to quality across unit, integration and end-to-end testing.
Participate in code reviews and technical discussions, providing constructive feedback focused on correctness, clarity and maintainability.
Work with engineers, product managers and designers to clarify requirements and deliver useful, accessible user experiences.
Contribute to features such as ASK AI, smart filters, AI-generated hotel review summaries, Explore and related search experiences.
Help make AI-assisted features dependable, transparent and useful to travelers.
Learn unfamiliar systems and share knowledge with teammates through documentation, pairing and technical discussions.
Monitor and improve production behavior through effective debugging, observability and root-cause analysis.
Contribute to the evolution of development tools, engineering processes and delivery practices.
Experience building and maintaining production software.
Proficiency in Java or another relevant programming language.
Familiarity with APIs, data structures and software-design principles.
Experience testing software and investigating defects or production issues.
The ability to explain technical decisions clearly in writing and conversation.
The ability to take ownership of assigned work while asking for input or support when needed.
Experience contributing to projects from design through implementation, release and maintenance.
Equivalent practical experience is welcome in place of a specific degree or educational path.
Experience with distributed systems, search, personalization or other high-volume consumer products.
Experience with AI, machine learning or large language model applications.
Experience with relational databases or other structured data stores.
Experience working on web products, mobile products or travel-related products.
Experience improving accessibility, reliability or usability.
Experience working with Java and Spring.
Experience with cloud services, CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks.
Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year
Focus on mental health and well-being:
Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth
Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace
Company-wide week off a year—the whole team fully recharges
No-meeting Fridays
Paid parental leave
Paid volunteer time
Focus on your career growth:
Development Dollars
Leadership development
Access to thousands of on-demand e-learning courses
Travel discounts
Employee Resource Groups
Six weeks of paid vacation plus a day off for your birthday
Free lunch two days per week
Pension plan contributions
Public transportation subsidies
Bike leasing program
Monthly social events, Thursday happy hours and sports teams
An awesome office in Friedrichshain, Berlin
There are a variety of factors that go into determining a salary range, including but not limited to external market benchmark data, geographic location, and years of experience sought/required. The range for this Massachusetts based role is $125,000-140,000, not inclusive of annual bonus and recurring RSU grants.
We offer a competitive base salary and benefits including: health benefits; flexible spending account; retirement benefits; life insurance; paid time off (including PTO, paid sick leave, medical leave, bereavement leave, floating holidays and paid holidays); and parental leave benefits.
InclusionAt 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-AS1
Skills Required
- Experience building and maintaining production software
- Proficiency in Java or another relevant programming language
- Familiarity with APIs, data structures, and software design principles
- Experience testing software and investigating defects or production issues
- Ability to explain technical decisions clearly in writing and conversation
- Ability to take ownership of assigned work while requesting input or support when needed
- Experience contributing to projects from design through implementation, release, and maintenance
- Equivalent practical experience in place of a specific degree or educational path
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.
