Senior Backend Engineer Acquisiton

Yoto Limited; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - GBP 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A children's audio technology company in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to build and optimise a high-performing e-commerce platform. The ideal candidate will have experience with Shopify, Node.js, and TypeScript, along with the ability to work collaboratively. You will be part of a mission-oriented team working on conversion-driven experiences to support new families. This position offers competitive salary and a hybrid work environment.

Benefits

Hybrid working model

Private Medical Insurance

25 days of holiday

Employee referral bonus scheme

Volunteer days

Qualifications

• Experience building production stores using Shopify and its Storefront API.
• Hands-on experience with Node.js, TypeScript, and ESM.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a modern headless e-commerce storefront using Node.js and Typescript.
• Help maintain a custom Shopify App and integrations.
• Collaborate closely with design and product for high-quality experiences.

Skills

Experience building production stores with Shopify

Hands-on experience with Node.js and TypeScript

Ability to work independently

Experience in a cross-functional team

Pragmatic, collaborative mindset

Tools

MongoDB

DynamoDB

S3

React.js

Next.js

Job description

Overview

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.

About Yoto

Yoto is a screen-free interactive audio platform for kids. We make carefully connected audio players that kids control, with no microphones, cameras or ads. We have a catalogue of audio that inspires creative play and learning with 1,000+ titles in our card store from top creators, publishers and labels - think Disney, Marvel, Roald Dahl and Universal Music. We also create Yoto Originals like BrainBots.

• Voted the 14th fastest-growing private software technology company in Britain in The Sunday Times 100 Tech 2025; and named the 94th fastest-growing company in Europe in the prestigious FT1000.
• Ranked 9th in Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2024; and featured in the Sifted 100 fastest-growing startups across the UK&I by revenue growth.
• Featured in Bloomberg’s 25 UK startups to watch in 2023; and ranked second fastest growing tech company in the UK in the Deloitte Fast50.
• Named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Inventions of 2020.
• We’re over 200 employees spread across the world.. and growing!

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!

Yoto’s Family Acquisition Team

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.

What you’ll be doing

• 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).

What you’ll bring

Essential

• 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.

Nice to have

• 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

Salary: £80,000 - £90,000 based on experience

What you can expect from Yoto

• Flexibility: Hybrid working - expectation of 1 day a week on average in our London office, but you are welcome to come in more than this. How you meet the minimum expectation is up to you, to ensure you're happy and productive in your role whilst also getting that vital face time with your colleagues. Take advantage of our ‘work from anywhere’ policy to work from a different location for up to 6 weeks every year. Summer Hours policy to use between the months of June and August.

• Financial: Receive Income Protection, covering long term sickness for up to 2 years and company sick pay that increases with length of service. Life Assurance cover from day one of your service. Workplace Pension offering up to to 3% employer contributions, following probation. Generous employee referral bonus scheme.

• Health & Wellness: Private Medical Insurance via Aviva, or a Wellbeing Allowance to be used for memberships, subscriptions, treatment or therapy. Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) through WeCare and unlimited access to Dental advice and guidance via Toothfairy. Bike to work scheme to promote healthier lifestyles.

• Time Off: 25 days of holiday per year, plus bank holidays. On top of this, you also receive your birthday off, plus 1 extra day of holiday for every year worked after you hit your 2 year anniversary, up to 5 extra days. After 4 years of service, you are also eligible for our sabbatical policy offering up to 3 months' of unpaid sabbatical.

• Helping Families: Variety of family-friendly leave, including enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, fertility, pregnancy loss and carers leave. Unlock savings with our workplace nursery scheme, designed to support parents of preschool-aged children.

• People & Planet: Up to 2 volunteer days per year. A Book Allowance of up to £50 a year to contribute to your professional development.

• Fun Perks: You receive your very own Yoto player and starter pack of cards! Regular company socials and celebrations, including our annual YotoFest!

Equity and Diversity

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 (check out our DEI selection), 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. Take a look at our website for more information on our approach to People and Planet.