About KAYAK
What is KAYAK?
KAYAK is a travel search engine. Its About page says "Since 2004, KAYAK has been revolutionizing the travel industry." and describes the company as "a leading travel search engine". On 6 November 2026 the same page showed "7 Brands managed by KAYAK", "800+ Members of the team" and "15 International offices". The careers page says "We’re also part of Booking Holdings, Inc – a global leader in travel.", and the adverts add that KAYAK "operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined". Wikipedia records that "On May 21, 2013, Booking Holdings, then known as Priceline.com, acquired the company for $2.1 billion."
Where will I work?
The About page gives "Corporate HQ 1266 E Main St., Soundview Plaza, Suite 700R, Stamford, Connecticut 06902" and labels its offices by role: Cambridge, Massachusetts is the "Global Technology HQ", Berlin the "EU Technology Center", Kaunas a "Technology Center" and Norwalk, Connecticut the "Global Business HQ". The board held 46 live postings on 6 November 2026, one of them a standing talent-pool posting in Cambridge, so 45 role adverts: Kaunas 11, Berlin 10, Concord 7, Cambridge 5, Vilnius 3, New York 3, Coral Gables 3, Zurich 2 and Norwalk 1. That is 14 in Lithuania, 10 in Germany, 19 in the United States and 2 in Switzerland. The set-up is hybrid, with 39 of the 45 role adverts stating three office days a week; for example, a Kaunas advert says "This role will be required to work from our Kaunas office at least 3 days per week." and a Concord advert says "This role will be required to work from our Concord, MA office 3 days per week." The careers page frames the policy more loosely: "Our global flexible work policy lets our teams decide if they head into one of our offices or work from anywhere else."
What is the KAYAK team like?
The How we work page says "Our team thrives on collaboration and action." and "Good ideas come from any area of our team – from intern to CEO." The live adverts cover Java and platform engineering in Kaunas and Vilnius, data science and data engineering in Berlin and Massachusetts, product design, security, compliance, supplier relations, brand marketing, finance systems and an office manager role in Zurich; the careers page files them under Engineering, K4B - Engineering, Data, K4B - Product, IT and Security, Legal, Commercial Marketing, Controllership and People. The careers page also lists "Our five ERGs are employee-led groups for underrepresented communities and their allies." and the How we work page says "Our team gets paid hours to volunteer for organizations and causes that help move the world forward." The hiring steps are an application, a recruiter chat, the hiring manager, a meeting with the team, a "Side quest: complete a project." for some positions and the wait for a decision.
Work-Life Balance
"No meeting Fridays" is listed among the benefits in all 46 live postings on 6 November 2026, the 45 role adverts and the talent-pool posting (one spells it "No-meeting Fridays"), in every office (Kaunas, Vilnius, Berlin, Zurich, Concord, Cambridge, New York, Coral Gables and Norwalk) and across engineering, data, product, design, security, legal, marketing, commercial and finance roles. It is a perk line in the adverts; the careers pages read do not repeat it. The careers page adds "Team-wide time off Most of our team disconnects at the same time each year to recharge and reconnect." The Lithuanian adverts say "Company-wide vacation week once a year (winter holidays)" and the Berlin and US adverts say "Company-wide week off a year - the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)". Leave allowances are stated only in some adverts: "6 weeks paid vacation + a day off for your birthday" in Berlin, "5 weeks paid vacation + a day off for your birthday" in Zurich and "Generous paid vacation + time off for your birthday" in the US; no public-holiday terms are given. The How we work page says "We give our teams the opportunity to design how, where and even when they work - for some that's WFO, for others it's WFH." but no core hours or weekly hours are stated anywhere, and Glassdoor could not be read, so the work-life reputation is unchecked.
Perks and Benefits
- No meeting Fridays, listed in all 45 role adverts
- Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year (adverts in all four countries)
- Company-wide week off once a year, a winter-holidays vacation week in the Lithuanian adverts
- Paid parental leave in the US, Berlin and Zurich adverts; additional financial support during parental leave in the Lithuanian adverts
- Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth and a company-paid Headspace subscription
- Development Dollars and leadership development (US, Berlin and Zurich adverts), funds for your career growth (Lithuanian adverts) and access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings
- Booking Holdings RSU package and a yearly bonus in the Lithuanian adverts; recurring RSU grants in some US adverts
- Published pay: every Lithuanian advert gives a gross monthly base-pay range in euros and 16 of the 19 US role adverts give salary ranges
- Travel discounts in the US, Berlin and Zurich adverts
- Pension plan contributions in the Berlin and Zurich adverts; retirement and health plans in the US adverts; additional health insurance in the Lithuanian adverts