Staff Software Engineer

About the role

You will design and implement AI-driven chat features for the Agoda AI Assistant, including trip discovery, planning tools, and customer support flows. This role involves collaborating with product managers and data scientists to build scalable, intuitive travel experiences for a global user base. You will translate ambiguous product goals into robust technical solutions while balancing user experience, system performance, and operational reliability. The position requires ownership of both strategic architectural decisions and tactical implementation details in a fast-paced environment. You will work at the intersection of travel, AI, and frontend engineering to define what modern trip assistance can be. Success in this role will be measured by the quality of shipped features, system stability, and positive user feedback. You will be expected to question assumptions, propose alternatives, and elevate the technical capabilities of your peers. This is a role for builders who care deeply about writing clean code and seeing their work delight real travelers.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead full-stack architecture and system design for high-traffic features that serve millions of travelers daily.
• Manage end-to-end systems from React frontends to backend microservices, ensuring seamless operation and clear ownership.
• Develop and evolve Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) layers to aggregate services into optimized UI contracts that simplify client logic.
• Provide technical guidance across multiple squads to maintain engineering standards, code quality, and long-term maintainability.
• Partner with design and product teams to deliver user-focused solutions that align business objectives with technical constraints.
• Implement caching, rate-limiting, and resilience patterns to keep the AI Assistant responsive under variable load and network conditions.
• Instrument systems for observability, define key metrics, and use data to drive iterative improvements to the assistant experience.
• Mentor engineers by conducting code reviews, facilitating design discussions, and sharing best practices across the engineering organization.
• Evaluate new technologies and frameworks, running prototypes to validate performance, scalability, and developer experience.
• Coordinate release planning, incident response, and on-call responsibilities to ensure reliable delivery of features and quick resolution of issues.
• Collaborate with data scientists to integrate AI models into production workflows, optimizing for latency, accuracy, and user satisfaction.
• Define and enforce contracts between frontend, backend, and AI services to reduce integration friction and enable parallel development.
• Contribute to long-term platform roadmaps by identifying technical debt, proposing refactors, and prioritizing maintainability improvements.
• Act as a systems thinker, understanding how changes in one part of the platform can impact the broader travel ecosystem and user trust.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering across backend, frontend, or full-stack roles in production environments.
• Frontend: Proficiency in React, Next.js (SSR/SSG), TypeScript, state management (Zustand, Redux), component libraries, and build tools like Vite or Webpack.
• Backend: Expertise in Kotlin, Java, or .NET with experience in microservices, REST/gRPC APIs, and secure service-to-service communication.
• Middleware: Experience building Node.js or TypeScript BFF layers for API aggregation, authentication, response shaping, and error handling.
• Knowledge of frontend performance including Core Web Vitals, lazy loading, code splitting, caching strategies, and rendering strategies.
• Experience with testing frameworks such as Playwright, Jest, or Cypress, including writing maintainable test suites and CI integration.
• Demonstrated ability to lead architecture on large-scale platforms, balancing trade-offs and guiding teams toward sustainable solutions.
• Strong communication skills to articulate technical concepts to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders, with clear written and verbal expression.
• Willingness to work closely with product managers, designers, and data scientists to iterate quickly and align on outcomes.

Skills & tools

• React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Java, Kotlin, .NET, REST, gRPC, Webpack, Vite, Jest, Cypress, Playwright.
• Experience with version control, CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and cloud infrastructure is expected as part of daily work.
• Familiarity with observability tools, logging frameworks, and monitoring systems supports effective troubleshooting and decision-making.
• Comfort working in an English-first environment is required for clear collaboration and documentation.

Practical notes

• The position is based in Bangkok and requires physical presence in the office according to the agreed work schedule.
• Full relocation support is provided, including visa sponsorship for you and your family, flights, temporary housing, and a settling-in allowance.
• Benefits include international health insurance, flexible home visit support, and family assistance for school and legal needs where applicable.
• The office operates in an English-first environment to ensure consistent communication and documentation across teams.
• Review the hiring process guidelines at the Agoda careers website before applying to ensure a smooth and informed application experience.
• Candidates are encouraged to complete all application steps thoroughly and provide work samples that demonstrate their engineering capabilities.
• Hiring timelines may vary based on role complexity, team needs, and the availability of suitable candidates.