Software Engineer, Whatnot

Data Platform

$158-245k

+ Equity

AWS

Python

Kafka

Terraform

Redshift

Snowflake

Flink

BigQuery

Mid and Senior level

Los Angeles

New York

San Francisco Bay Area

More information about location

Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles

Be an early applicant

Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles

501-1000 employees

B2CMarketplaceToysSocialSocial MediaConsumer Goods

Be an early applicant

$158-245k

+ Equity

AWS

Python

Kafka

Terraform

Redshift

Snowflake

Flink

BigQuery

Mid and Senior level

Los Angeles

New York

San Francisco Bay Area

More information about location

501-1000 employees

B2CMarketplaceToysSocialSocial MediaConsumer Goods

Company mission

Whatnot missions is to enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

As our next Software Engineer of Data, you should have 3+ years of experience, plus:
Ability to write well-tested, API-driven applications and services that run at scale in production
Track record of building scalable and performant distributed systems
Expertise in managing cloud data stores (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.) for processing and serving data products
Expertise in streaming data systems such as Kafka, Flink, or Pulsar, and the ability to design and manage real-time processing pipelines at scale
Strong experience supporting operational systems to ensure uptime, reliability, and maintainability, including monitoring, alerting, and incident management
Experience managing cloud technologies (AWS or Google Cloud) and comfort with infrastructure-as-code approaches (e.g. Terraform)
Proficiency in at least one server-side programming language (preferably Python), common algorithms and data structures, and software design principles
Self-starter ethic, thriving under a high level of autonomy
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills

What the job involves

The Data team at Whatnot creates services that improve our core product experience and unlock business value
As an engineer, you will play a critical role in defining the technical direction and leading the development of the retrieval platform to power next-gen systems at Whatnot
You will be responsible for driving innovation, ensuring the scalability and performance of our systems, and working with a team of engineers to deliver high-quality solutions
Working in a highly cross-functional role, you’ll also make key decisions about how we integrate data systems at Whatnot – and then make it happen
You’ll be positioned to align efforts to optimize other aspects of our company’s architecture, such as machine learning, real-time analytics, stream processing, and content understanding to name a few
Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York hubs

Our take

The collectible toy market is large, and Whatnot has built a unique social platform that enables sellers to use livestreams to showcase their products and reach more buyers. The company’s focus is on collectible toys, some of which are rare and can cost thousands of dollars, and has also expanded to sports cards.

The idea of Whatnot was led by buyer trends. Instagram's live feature became a popular place for selling toys and trading cards, but of course was not set up to facilitate bidding or handling payments after a sale occurs. Whatnot combines live showcasing with follow-up sale capabilities, thus serving the community in a more novel way than established collectibles market players such as eBay.

The company has grown fast. It was established in 2019 and has already expanded from its original category - Funko Pop figurines - to Pokemon cards, pins, sports cards, and many more. There is still plenty of scope for expanding into new categories, as the company aims to establish itself as the go-to for this large niche, which will be facilitated by the strong levels of funding that Whatnot has raised.

Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Top investors

54% employee growth in 12 months

Glassdoor (4.9)

Trustpilot (2.1)

Company

Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)

Jan 2025

$265m

SERIES E

Jul 2022

$260m

SERIES D

Total funding: $749.2m

Company benefits

Wellness: Health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans. We also cover some of the cost for your dependents as well.
Compensation: Full-time Whatnauts receive equity, a WFH stipend to support your remote workspace and a monthly stipend to dogfood the app.
Recharge: Flexible Time Off policy, holiday week off at the end of year, and paid parental leave after 1 year with us.
Flexibility: Remote-first work culture. We provide a working environment where you're in charge of your time and schedule.

Company HQ

Marina del Rey, CA

Leadership

Grant LaFontaine

(Co-Founder & CEO)

Former Product Marketing Manager at Google, Project Manager at Facebook. Also co-founded Kit.

Logan Head

(Co-Founder)

Experience in Engineering, including at Maker's Row, Factr, and Flight Club. Former Senior Product Manager at GOAT.

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