I guess they're not flush with cash. From what I noticed most small German/EU companies developing complex SW projects like this, that aren't backed by well funded VC funds, don't bother with hiring dozens of juniors like other unicorns usually do since they don't have the money. They prefer to wait and only hire the "perfect candidate", usually experienced seniors withe the right skills willing to work for the salaries they can offer, which isn't much.

I also have a DeepL competitor in my EU country and their hiring practices are similar, rarely hiring, and mostly senior devs and ML PHD grads from the local university. And they're not paying insane salaries, which probably explains why they hire so rarely.

It's probably a business that's difficult to monetize successfully when Google, Microsoft, etc. are offering "free" solutions which are good enough for the casual use, and for professional use when big money is on the line, companies usually pay authorized translators(humans) anyway.

Software engineering salaries are just very low in Europe in general, when compared to the US. A junior in a major city in the US with a Bachelor's degree and no relevant job experience will make more than a senior with 10+ years of experience in Germany.

I'm not exaggerating: Kununu.com has €86,000 p.a. as the top-end for a "realistic" software engineering wage in Germany, glassdoor.com lists $84,000 p.a. as the low end for their "most likely" range.

I can't believe this still always comes up when discussing US vs any other country's salaries. Yes, a country where you have zero public healthcare, social services, no public higher education or state pension funds can have lower income tax thus higher salaries. And then pay 10k for a hospital visit. I will happly choose the other way every time.

Those salaries are gross salaries, not net. The much higher tax burden is on top of that.

Yep, worked in Germany and moving to North America, can confirm.

Base salaries are still a bit lower but the kicker is the missing equity

Can I ask with what visa did you go to the US? L1?

Canada so much easier, with express entry.

Not only seniors. Just python and go experts. https://jobs.deepl.com/