VSTO Specialist

Job Description: VSTO Specialist at Braintrust

Braintrust is seeking a highly skilled VSTO Specialist to join our team. In this role, you will be instrumental in developing, optimizing, and maintaining C# VSTO add-ins for PowerPoint, ensuring classic reliability and enterprise compliance. You will also build modern PowerPoint add-ins using Office.js for cross-platform and UI-driven features, architecting logic for modular slide assembly, formatting automation, and Office object model automation. A key aspect of this role involves connecting add-ins to internal or cloud Python automation services for advanced slide generation, charts, tables, prototyping, and batch processing. The ideal candidate will possess a strong product ownership mindset, consistently seeking innovative solutions and contributing to a suite of maximally useful and governed PowerPoint add-ins.

As a VSTO Specialist, you will ensure predictable and reliable output across global add-in deployments, conduct thorough code reviews, and uphold security, stability, and clean architecture principles such as SOLID, layered design, and separation of concerns. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to refine requirements, build products that solve real slide production challenges—focusing on consistency, speed, governance, and intelligence—and proactively communicate technical challenges, propose trade-offs, and document decisions clearly.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience with .NET development (C#), including COM interop.
• 3+ years hands-on experience building C# VSTO add-ins for PowerPoint.
• Word add-in experience is beneficial, especially Word object model automation.
• Proven experience building or contributing to plugin suites for PowerPoint (multi-add-in architecture, shared services, governed styling, Office object model automation).
• Cross-platform mindset: experienced with or actively using Office.js PowerPoint APIs for modern add-ins (Mac + Windows support).
• Practical Python experience with libraries for PPTX creation, editing, charts and table generation (e.g., python-pptx).
• Proficiency with Git and GitHub, including CI/CD familiarity.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• English fluency on technical topics (written & spoken, non-negotiable).

Key Responsibilities

• PowerPoint Add-In Engineering: Develop, optimize, and maintain C# VSTO add-ins for PowerPoint. Build modern PowerPoint add-ins using Office.js. Architect logic for modular slide assembly, formatting automation, and Office object model automation. Connect add-ins to internal or cloud Python automation services.
• Quality & Governance: Conduct thorough code reviews, uphold security, stability, and clean architecture principles. Ensure predictable and reliable output across global add-in deployments.
• Collaboration & Transparency: Work with cross-functional teams to refine requirements and build products that solve real slide production challenges. Communicate proactively about technical challenges, propose trade-offs, and document decisions clearly.
• Product Ownership Mindset: Seek solutions, propose multiple implementation options, and contribute to shaping a suite of maximally useful and governed PowerPoint add-ins.

Skills And Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Detail-oriented with focus on quality and maintainability.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and growth minded.
• Non-negotiable: Strong command of English, ability to clearly communicate on technical topics.

Technical Skills

• C# Advanced: Deep knowledge of PowerPoint object model automation in VSTO and VBA. Strong command of COM interoperability, Office object model, and layered add-in architecture. Comfortable reading/writing/optimizing VBA logic translated into C#. Familiar with deterministic styling strategy.
• Office.js Advanced: PowerPoint JavaScript APIs, task panes, event-driven assistants, cross-platform execution.
• Python Slide Automation: python-pptx (strong practical usage). Chart generation, table rendering, templated slides, structured JSON → slide assembly. Understanding of how Python services can function as middleware or add-in companions.
• Version Control & Deployment: Git, GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, governed enterprise constraints.
• Bonus Skills: WPF (MVVM) or XAML UI experience. Knowledge graph or modular JSON slide input.

Key skills/competency

• VSTO Add-ins
• C# .NET Development
• PowerPoint Automation
• Office.js
• Python-pptx
• COM Interop
• CI/CD
• Software Architecture
• Code Review
• Cross-functional Collaboration