Backend Engineer, Whatnot

Commerce

$185-245k

Salary shown for US-based applicants, other locations may vary. + Stock options

JavaScript

Python

Elixir

Senior level

Denver

Los Angeles

New York

San Francisco Bay Area

Toronto

Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles

Job no longer available

Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles

501-1000 employees

B2CMarketplaceToysSocialSocial MediaConsumer Goods

Job no longer available

$185-245k

Salary shown for US-based applicants, other locations may vary. + Stock options

JavaScript

Python

Elixir

Senior level

Denver

Los Angeles

New York

San Francisco Bay Area

Toronto

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 Backend Engineer on Formats, you should have 5+ years of full-time software engineering experience in high growth startups, plus:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent work experience
Expert at designing and building scalable and maintainable backend systems
Knowledge of multiple programming languages (we primarily use Python, Elixir, JavaScript - knowledge of these in particular not required)
Ability to pick up on new technologies very quickly
Excellent product instincts. You first think about users rather than the best technical solution
You are known for shipping products and features lightning-fast
You’re an excellent problem solver and don’t need to be told exactly what to do
You can mentor others and prioritize building inclusive, supportive teams
Project owner - you have strong ownership instincts and can own projects from inception to production and beyond

What the job involves

The Commerce teams work on different aspects of buying and selling on Whatnot. From our auctions and product experience to our seller experience and fulfillment processes, these teams are deeply connected with the foundations of our business and unlock tremendous growth while creating exciting new ways for our users to transact
We are a fullstack team and work across a wide surface of our product to create full-featured end to end user experiences. We rely on all of our team members to have a strong product sense and to deeply understand our users in the work they do
We’re looking for a backend engineer with both a strong systems background and the ability to ship high quality code quickly. You should excel at making the right tradeoffs between building it fast and building it right
We’ll often prototype new ideas quickly and then need to build them for extreme scale while coordinating closely with other teams - the ideal person for this role is an expert at both of these approaches

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 (2.3)

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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