Staff Backend Engineer

Who we are

Yoco was founded in 2015, and now processes over US$2 billion annually. We’re the payments provider for over 200 000 self-employed, and opening commerce for all. We’re breaking down barriers and unlocking economic opportunities that enable people to thrive.

We have over 350 team members globally, operating across international markets, all with a bias for boldness, and a passion for simple, progressive solutions. We believe in uniting different people to solve hard problems together.

Our mission of making society more equal takes a variety of people, with different backgrounds and points of view, so we can keep building solutions that work for and include everyone.

We’re growing fast. With growth comes compelling challenges, which means that if you’re an ambitious problem-solver with big ideas you will be challenged, stimulated and will thrive at Yoco. You have a passion for doing good. You’re bright and grounded, experimental and courageous.

We don’t stop pushing, we break things to rebuild, we challenge ourselves and each other. We’re constantly evolving — and we’re doing it fast.

Grow With Us.

About the team

This role is in the Capital team, an integral part of the Yoco ecosystem. We help our merchants gain access to funding to grow their businesses and thrive.

Our team is made up of the right people and roles to set up our engineers and products for success. You will be working in a team of 5 engineers who are a mix of backend and fullstack roles. The team is supported by an Engineering Manager, Product Manager and Design Manager and we constantly collaborate with the greeter engineering group as our work impacts a number of areas in the business.

When we build, we’re creative, often growing systems and platforms from the ground up. Our engineers are given the space to do their best work, and focus on what matters. And they get to make an impact on the lives of everyday people.

Through close collaboration and experimentation, you will have the opportunity to develop innovative solutions, and work on a wide variety of projects and technologies. Our tech stack includes Scala, JavaScript, React, React Native, PostgresSQL, Kafka and is based on K8s in AWS. Yoco favours strongly autonomous thinkers, and encourages and supports skill development.

About the role

A Staff Engineer at Yoco is a hands-on, technical leader on an individual contributor career path (open, in the future, to change to a management path). You will be responsible for systems design and architecture, mentoring and best practices. Your days will be spent designing systems, writing code and guiding the team and individuals on technical aspects. A Staff Engineer at Yoco is also encouraged to engage in leadership aspects of the team. We look to you for technical best practices, ask for your opinion on product direction and implementation and your experience working in Agile teams.

What you will be doing

You will be working in our Capital team to help us evolve and add to our existing systems written in Scala that enable our Yoco Merchants to gain access to capital to grow their business. You will be working in an engineering team with a Technical Leader and Engineering Manager to design and implement new features, refactor existing systems and guide engineers to grow and implement the best engineering practices.

About you

• You have extensive experience in backend development
• Ideally you have over 10 years professional experience as a software engineer, with proven ability to take a feature from concept to production
• You have experience designing, architecting and developing systems from scratch ensuring they are scalable, reliable and secure.
• You have experience refactoring existing systems and reducing technical debt increasing the ergonomics of a code base for other developers.
• You are experienced in leading teams technically, being accountable for the technical vision of a system or product and being a key figure within the technical leadership driving technical strategy
• You have experience guiding and mentoring other developers (not necessarily people management)
• You have the ability to drive software engineering best practices
• You have a proven passion for all things software (and some hardware)

The People We’re Looking For

We’re looking for people who want to grow. And as Yoco grows we hope they stay with us, long term

Building things that make society more equal is a daunting task. And it’s not for everyone. We never stop pushing, we break things to rebuild, we challenge ourselves and teammates. We start over, we constantly evolve — and we do it fast. We know that it’s just the right kind of meaningful madness for our kind of visionary human.

So, who are you? You’re someone who resonates with our mission, but also our values, when it comes to how we work.

You’re a curious problem-solver with a passion for doing good. You’re bright and grounded, experimental and bold. You play open cards and get stuck in. You’re not afraid of change. You close the loop.

At Yoco, we love to laugh, cherish each other’s quirks, and be authentic.

What’s next
If you qualify for this position, and our mission and values resonate with you, please apply.

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply and ask that you please send your application in English and help us reduce unconscious bias by leaving out your picture, age, address, and other unnecessary information in your CV.

THE YOCO FORMULA

The Yoco formula is a validated approach to work and a set of behaviours that create maximum value for our customers and help us grow.


Core Values - Our way of working to create value & grow

• Stay Connected
• Make Space to Explore
• Keep it Simple
• Master your Craft
  

Core Behaviours - How we show up, engage & treat each other

• Get to know each other personally
• Say what you think
• Be courageous and focus forward
• Don’t let ego get in the way
  
  To support this, we have built a role-based organisation where every individual is given the space to focus and develop their innate strengths. Everyone at Yoco has the opportunity to lead a project and become a specialist, enabling flexibility, collaboration and accountability at all levels. You will be working with a diverse, motivated and skilled team who will continuously stretch you as an individual. To learn more about our culture, subscribe to our Exposure Gallery.
  

Join us on a meaningful journey at Yoco, and help enable our merchants to thrive through Open Commerce!