Senior Backend Engineer, Yoto
Acquisition
£80-90k
1-5 days a week in office
Interactive audio platform for kids
Be an early applicant
Interactive audio platform for kids
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
£80-90k
1-5 days a week in office
101-200 employees
Company mission
To help parents inspire the next generation of independent, creative minds.
Role
Who you are
- Experience building production stores with Shopify and the Storefront API (Shopify Functions/Discounts, checkout integration, themes/headless patterns)
- Hands-on experience with Node.JS stack - TypeScript and ESM
- The ability to work independently with maturity. Knowing when to - take initiative, collaborate, seek help or feedback. And how to - reach a decision, unblock yourself, influence others
- Experience working in a cross-functional team, collaborating closely with different people, skillsets and roles (Other types of Engineers, QA, Product). Being open to different perspectives. Supporting and mentoring others around you
- A pragmatic, collaborative mindset: you communicate clearly, take ownership, and enjoy iterating based on feedback and data
Desirable
- Experience using tools like MongoDb, DynamoDb, S3
- Some experience with at least one of the following: Event-driven architecture and AWS managed services; IoT devices and communication using MQTT; Authentication/Authorisation (security, access management and controls)
- Experience with React.js, Next.js or other headless frontend frameworks
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join our team to build and optimise high-performing e-commerce experiences that help new families discover, understand, and confidently become part of the Yoto family
- We’re on a mission to be the soundtrack of childhood, and help families on their own unique adventures. By creating products that inspire independent play, we help families discover and grow with an inspiring world of audio - and we would like you to help us achieve it!
- The Family Acquisition team is one of the mission-based teams we have at Yoto that work on our core product. These are cross-functional teams designed to work as autonomously as possible
- The team brings new families to Yoto by improving how people discover our products and how confidently they can purchase. We focus on conversion-driving experiences across the storefront - Player pages, Bundles, the Homepage, Basket and Discounts - plus the purchasing journey all the way through to an integrated Shopify checkout
- We’re highly iterative and data-informed, running CRO initiatives and A/B tests to reduce friction, sharpen clarity, and increase conversion
- You’ll collaborate day-to-day with other engineers, product and design, and partner closely with QA and wider teams (including Data/Analytics and Brand/Content) to ship improvements quickly, safely, and with a high bar for craft
- The current team is made up of 3 frontend engineers, a QA engineer, designer, and product manager
- Build and maintain a modern headless e-commerce storefront using Node.js and Typescript, integrated with Shopify (including Shopify checkout)
- Help maintain a custom Shopify App and custom integrations
- Writing, clean, simple and robust code and deploying safely multiple times a day. We test-drive our code and heavily rely on test automation
- Collaborate closely with design and product to translate intent into reliable, performant experiences—balancing speed of iteration with quality
- Maintain a high engineering bar through code review, testing, documentation, and thoughtful technical decisions (performance, SEO, maintainability)
Salary benchmarks
Our take
A key development in the last 5 years has been a move towards screen-based kids entertainment like apps and streaming services. However, more recently there have been concerns that excessive screen time for children can be damaging to health and development. So, many consumers are looking for alternative products which will expose children to modernity without the drawbacks of many modern devices. This is the demand which Yoto is setting out to capitalise on.
Yoto's product - a screen-free audio platform - enables children to access features such as audiobooks, podcasts, and soundscapes via physical cards inserted into the device. The Yoto Player has received considerable early praise from consumers and from investors also, who granted Yoto considerable funding.
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a business operating in the highly competitive children's toys market is keeping its product current. However, Yoto's software is fully customisable, meaning that alongside its library of content, parents can add their own audio files to the device to suit the interests of their children. This imbibes Yoto with a customisability that gives it an edge, especially as children's tastes change with age.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Meet the team
11 people
Niamh Power, Tech Lead Manager
Our mission
Looking after Yoto's native iOS & Android apps, which allow parents to control and manage their players, their library and discovering new contentInsights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jun 2024
$22m
GROWTH EQUITY VC
May 2021
$17m
SERIES A
Total funding: $42.4m
Company benefits
- Your birthday off
- Choice-based approach to where you work - we encourage everyone to come in to the office minimum once a month
- A Work from Anywhere policy giving you the opportunity to work from a different location for a temporary period
- Yoto player and starter pack of cards
- Company socials and celebrations, including our annual Yoto Fest
- 2x volunteer days a year
- 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Family-friendly leave
- 25 days holidays plus bank holidays
- Workplace pension
- Private Medical Insurance or Wellbeing Allowance
- Dental advice and guidance
- Income Protection
- Life Assurance
Company HQ
Somers Town, London, UK
Articles
Leadership
Ben Drury
(Co-Founder & CEO)He has extensive experience as a Non Executive Director for the likes of Marmalade and Intercede. Since 2016, he has also been a board member and investor for Pimoroni.
Filip Denker
(Co-Founder & CTO)People progressing
Beth is our wonderful Head of Product, she got promoted to the position after 2 years as a Senior Product Manager.
Niamh is our superstar Tech Lead Manager for the iOS team, she got promoted to the position after 18 months as a Senior iOS Engineer.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Yoto
Clemence Strobl (Talent & People Manager)
- At Yoto, we love creating a world where childhood is rich with discovery and joy. We’re also passionate about building a workplace where everyone can thrive - both professionally and personally. We value flexibility and give our team the freedom to balance life and work in ways that suit them.
- We're committed to fostering a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, feel valued and supported. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group holds bi-monthly forums to elevate diverse voices and perspectives, ensuring everyone at Yoto feels heard, respected, and appreciated.
- We don’t just embrace differences - we celebrate them. We share audio content from a vibrant and diverse community of creators, and we are building a team that reflects that same diversity. We invite candidates from all walks of life to explore opportunities with us and join a company that champions flexibility, equity, and inclusion.
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