Head of Engineering, Koru Kids

£110-125k

Equity is also available, and is a significant part of the package.

SQL
React
TypeScript
Postgres
Ruby
Ruby on Rails
Senior and Expert level
Remote in UK

More information about location

Koru Kids

Outstanding childcare for modern families

Be an early applicant

Koru Kids

Outstanding childcare for modern families

21-100 employees

MarketplaceEducationMarketingChildcareSocial Impact

Be an early applicant

£110-125k

Equity is also available, and is a significant part of the package.

SQL
React
TypeScript
Postgres
Ruby
Ruby on Rails
Senior and Expert level
Remote in UK

More information about location

21-100 employees

MarketplaceEducationMarketingChildcareSocial Impact

Company mission

Koru Kids mission is making it easier and more affordable for families to access high quality childcare.

Role

Who you are

  • You've thought deeply about what makes product teams thrive. You know how to build, motivate, and support teams to achieve outstanding results.
  • You're passionate about quality and continuous improvement. You know building something great takes hard work and time.
  • You embrace difficult conversations as well as nurturing or supportive ones, knowing when and how to do each.
  • You've led teams building complex web applications, ideally using lean development methodologies.
  • You've got a track record of nurturing great talent. Through coaching, mentoring and a supportive feedback culture, you've helped engineers grow and realise their full potential.
  • You enjoy facilitating workshops, retrospectives, and other highly collaborative sessions, preferring individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
  • You'll thrive in a low-ego, highly reflective culture.
  • You're a clear and effective communicator, able to bridge the gap between technology and the rest of the business.

Desirable

  • You've worked with monoliths, micro-services, and everything in-between.
  • You're capable of developing technical strategy, both individually and as part of a team.

What the job involves

  • Reporting to our CEO Rachel, you'll manage the team of 3 senior engineers and take responsibility for all engineering efforts at Koru Kids.
  • This is a varied role, with a mix of hands-on technical work and people management. We're a small, high-performing team so expect the people side to take about 20-30% of your time and energy.
  • Contributing to the day-to-day work of our cross-functional product team through pair programming, code review, or discussing technical design.
  • Supporting the personal development of the engineers through coaching, mentoring, and feedback.
  • Working closely with Romilly, our senior product manager, you'll help agree on goals, define product and engineering strategy, and explore product ideas.
  • Nurturing a culture of ownership and accountability, empowering the team to take initiative and push for change, even when decisions might be unpopular.

Our take

The childcare sector in the UK is under pressure, with prices rising and nurseries closing down. The way of finding nannies hasn't seen innovation in decades, and there hasn't been an introduction of technology to drive great experiences.

Koru Kids has focused on after-school childcare, allowing them to hone their product and solve one of the most neglected areas. This is specifically important in major cities like London, where parents are often working longer hours.

The business takes out all the hassle of finding a nanny. The solution isn't simply technology: Koru Kids also interviews, trains and references its nannies, and takes care of contracts, holiday pay and taxes. This operational complexity builds a competitive advantage.

When aiming to create the best childcare service in the world, quality will always remain important. Koru Kids has made sure to grow carefully. The company boasts a strict process and low acceptance rates, to ensure standards remain high.

Steph headshot

Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Strong hiring activity
Top investors

Most candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

82% female employees

14% employee growth in 12 months

Company

Employee endorsements

Meaningful work

"We're genuinely trying to make life easier for working parents and that's at the heart of everything we do. We also want to provide top class..."

Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)

Aug 2019

$13m

SERIES A

May 2018

$4.6m

SEED

Total funding: $18.4m

Company benefits

  • 50% off Koru Kids childcare. up to a value of £7,000 per year as a taxable benefit
  • 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays)
  • Work from home opportunities. We're a remote-first company and welcome applications from anywhere in the UK
  • Potential for share option equity
  • MacBook and home office allowance
  • Video therapy sessions through Spill, to support positive mental health

Company values

  • Put families first
  • Use time wisely
  • Understand, don't overthink
  • Be humble. Be human
  • Open up

Company HQ

Clerkenwell, London, UK

Leadership

Previously CEO of DrThom, a healthcare company which I grew to 1.3 million paying users in 3 countries. Before that they spent six years at McKinsey. Have a DPhil from Oxford, where they were a Rhodes Scholar.


People progressing

Started as an intern, moved into nanny recruitment operations, then became a Junior Product Manager, then promoted to Senior Product Manager.

Started as Marketing Lead, then promoted to Head of Marketing and then Chief Marketing Officer

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Koru Kids

  • We will treat others with humility, respect and dignity at all times.
  • We treat all people we interact with fairly and ethically, from our nannies to our families to our suppliers, partners and anyone else we come into contact with.
  • We seek to identify and select a diverse set of employees and provide a fair and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of background.
  • All employees, no matter whether they are part-time, full-time, or temporary, will be treated fairly and with respect.
  • We will work to create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all team members are recognised and valued
  • We will strive to create an inclusive product with algorithms that don't exclude or reinforce biases and unfairness we see in the world
  • When Koru Kids selects candidates for employment, promotion, training, or any other benefit, it will be on the basis of their aptitude and ability

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