Top 13 Software Developers in Poland

Poland has produced world-class software talent across open-source, competitive programming, tech entrepreneurship, and more.

Below is an updated ranked list of the best Polish software developers, selected for their famous open-source contributions, coding leadership in startups, influential tech content, impactful roles at major tech companies, and international programming contest wins. Each entry includes a brief bio and key public profiles.

1. Jakub Pachocki
2. Łukasz Kaiser
3. Marek Cygan
4. Tomasz Czajka
5. Marcin Kleczyński
6. Wojciech Zaremba
7. Michał Zalewski
8. Joanna Rutkowska
9. Kamil Dębowski
10. Bartosz Milewski
11. Krzysztof Cwalina
12. Ania Kubów
13. Mirosław Zelent

Jakub Pachocki

Ask an Expert: Solving Challenges

OpenAI Chief Scientist & Programming Champion.

Former coding prodigy (6-time IOI finalist) who won the Google Code Jam 2012​.

As OpenAI’s Chief Scientist, he oversaw the development of GPT-4. Pachocki’s blend of algorithmic brilliance and AI leadership led Sam Altman to call him “one of the greatest minds of our generation”. He exemplifies success in coding competitions and cutting-edge industry research.

• LinkedIn: Jakub Pachocki
• X (Twitter): @merettm

Lukasz Kaiser

Co-author of the Transformer & Google Brain Researcher.

A deep learning scientist renowned as co-inventor of the Transformer neural network architecture​, which revolutionized NLP.

As a Google Brain team member, Kaiser helped develop the Tensor2Tensor and Trax libraries​. His work on efficient Transformer models and sequence learning has massively influenced modern AI. Kaiser’s contributions illustrate Poland’s impact on global machine learning advances.

• LinkedIn: Łukasz Kaiser
• X (Twitter): @lukaszkaiser
• GitHub: lukaszkaiser

Marek Cygan

ICPC World Champion & Nomagic Co-founder.

An algorithms virtuoso who won Google Code Jam 2005 and led University of Warsaw to the ICPC world title in 2007​.

He earned a PhD and became a professor specializing in approximation algorithms. Marek worked at Google and Nvidia before co-founding Nomagic, an AI robotics startup where he serves as CTO​. He remains an active coder and researcher, proving that elite competitive programmers can excel in tech leadership​.

• LinkedIn: Marek Cygan
• X (Twitter): @marek_a_cygan
• GitHub: marekcygan

Tomasz Czajka

TopCoder Champion & SpaceX Engineer.

A legend of competitive programming, Czajka helped Warsaw University win Poland’s first ICPC championship in 2003.

He later spent 6 years at Google as a software engineer, then joined SpaceX for another 6 years, writing flight software for the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s navigation/control​. Tomasz literally coded systems that send astronauts to the ISS​. Now back in Poland, he’s an icon bridging coding contests and real-world engineering.

• LinkedIn: Tomasz Czajka
• X (Twitter): @TCzajka
• GitHub: tczajka

Marcin Kleczynski

Malwarebytes Creator & Forbes “30 Under 30”.

I talked to a couple of banks, and they said they always keep 50–100 bitcoins in a wallet to use in case of a ransomware attack.

Marcin taught himself to code as a teenager and built Malwarebytes out of his basement to clean an infection no antivirus could handle​.

Now CEO of the cybersecurity company he founded at 14, his anti-malware software has been downloaded over 500 million times​. Kleczyński turned a hobby project into a global business with 300+ employees​, all while exemplifying “coder to CEO” success.

• LinkedIn: Marcin Kleczyński
• X (Twitter): @mkleczynski

Wojciech Zaremba

OpenAI Co-founder & Robotics Lead.

A Polish computer scientist on OpenAI’s founding team​, Zaremba initially led OpenAI’s robotics efforts, famously creating a robot hand that solved a Rubik’s Cube.

After the robotics project, he headed teams working on advanced AI models. Previously a PhD in deep learning, he’s been recognized among Poland’s top under-30 innovators. Zaremba’s work at OpenAI showcases Polish contributions at the forefront of AI.

• LinkedIn: Wojciech Zaremba
• X (Twitter): @woj_zaremba

Michal Zalewski

Security Expert & Fuzzer Creator.

One of the world’s top browser security experts​, Zalewski has spent decades finding vulnerabilities and creating security tools. He authored the acclaimed books “Silence on the Wire” and “The Tangled Web”, and developed the AFL fuzzer (American Fuzzy Lop) used to discover countless software bugs.

A former Director of Information Security Engineering at Google, now VP at Snap Inc.​, he’s a pioneer in cybersecurity and open-source security research.

• LinkedIn: Michał Zalewski
• X (Twitter): @lcamtuf

Joanna Rutkowska

Founder of Qubes OS & Security Researcher.

A Polish security engineer famed for her work on low-level system security. Joanna founded Invisible Things Lab and created Qubes OS, an open-source security-focused operating system she’s led since 2010​. Earlier, she demonstrated stealth malware like the “Blue Pill” virtualization rootkit.

Rutkowska’s mission to build secure-by-design systems has made her a widely recognized authority in endpoint security​.

• LinkedIn: Joanna Rutkowska
• X (Twitter): @rootkovska

Kamil Debowski (Errichto)

Competitive Programming Educator.

A two-time ICPC World Finals bronze medalist (2012, 2014) and Google Code Jam 2015 runner-up​, Kamil parlayed his contest experience into teaching algorithms to thousands. Known online as “Errichto” he has authored 300+ programming problems and runs an active YouTube channel live-coding solutions​.

Dębowski’s rare combination of elite coding skills and engaging teaching has made him an Eastern European star in the programming contest community​.

• LinkedIn: Kamil Dębowski (Errichto)
• X (Twitter): @kamildbow1

Bartosz Milewski

Programming Philosopher & Author.

A Polish-born software engineer and blogger celebrated for his influential series “Category Theory for Programmers.” Bartosz’s Programming Cafe blog and video lectures have demystified advanced functional programming concepts for thousands of developers. Formerly a C++ and Haskell expert in the industry, he now educates full-time, bridging mathematics and software.

Milewski’s thought leadership has made abstract CS theory accessible and popular.

• Blog: Bartosz Milewski
• X (Twitter): @BartoszMilewski

Krzysztof Cwalina

.NET Architect & Author.

A founding member of Microsoft’s .NET team​, Cwalina co-designed the .NET Framework’s core libraries and co-authored “Framework Design Guidelines,” the definitive guide for .NET API design. His work established many best practices for C# library development​. After a decade in Redmond, he returned to Poland and continues to influence developers as an architect and trainer.

Cwalina’s design principles have shaped software used by millions of .NET programmers.

• LinkedIn: Krzysztof Cwalina
• X (Twitter): @kcwalina

Ania Kubow

Developer Influencer & YouTuber.

A self-taught software engineer turned content creator, Ania has built a massive following by teaching coding in a fun, relatable way. She creates YouTube tutorials on JavaScript, React, and game development for over 200,000 subscribers (about 60k in 2020)​. Ania is also an entrepreneur and community organizer (GeekGirlMeetup).

By recreating retro games and simplifying tech concepts, she’s inspiring the next generation of developers online.

• LinkedIn: Ania Kubów
• X (Twitter): @ania_kubow
• Youtube: Ania Kubów

Miroslaw Zelent

Programming Educator.

Co-founder of the popular Polish YouTube channel “Pasja Informatyki” (314k+ subscribers)​, Mirosław has brought computer science to a wide audience in Polish. A freelance developer and teacher, he breaks down complex programming, math, and IT topics for beginners​. Zelent also runs a large Q&A forum with 50k members to help learners​.

His passion for making tech accessible has nurtured a new generation of Polish programmers.

• LinkedIn: Mirosław Zelent
• X (Twitter): @MiroslawZelent
• Youtube: Mirosław Zelent

Wrap Up

These legends represent exceptional talent, making them extremely challenging to headhunt. However, there are thousands of other highly skilled IT professionals in Poland available to hire with our help. Contact us, and we will be happy to discuss your hiring needs.

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top talent. If you intend to share or make use of it in any way, we kindly ask that you include a backlink to the original source – EchoGlobal.

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