Software Engineer, Backend Developer

About Tin Can

Tin Can is building a safer, simpler way for kids to connect — without smartphones. We’re creating screen‑free, delightful devices and services that let families call the people who matter most, free from the noise of today’s digital world.

We’re building a bold, authentic, nostalgic, and kinda quirky brand that resonates with folks who want something simpler & better for their kids than the tech‑infused lives we’re currently living (and who have a sense of humor about it). As we gear up to scale to thousands of families, we’re ready to bring on an engineer to help make it happen.

We’re looking for a Full Stack Software Engineer to take the reins of our technical stack alongside the founding team. In this role, you’ll focus on making our systems more scalable, efficient, and secure as we grow. You’ll work on everything from backend APIs and databases to IoT device provisioning to customer‑facing frontend features and internal tools, prioritizing practical solutions that keep families connected safely.

This is a highly hands‑on role. You’ll be building and maintaining APIs, developing dashboards and internal tooling, deploying and managing IoT devices, collaborating with designers to ship frontend features and continuously improving how our systems run. You don’t need to come in knowing everything—but you do need to be a strong problem solver, comfortable learning independently, and eager to dive into new challenges.

• Strengthen Our Systems: Improve and maintain our infrastructure to be secure, scalable, and reliable as we grow.

• Backend & APIs: Build, document, and optimize scalable backend services and APIs powering user management, messaging, and device operations.

• VoIP Systems: Support, manage, and improve our VoIP stack (Kamailio, Asterisk, Free SWITCH) to ensure reliable and high‑quality connectivity for families.

• IoT Device Management: Deploy and maintain our fleet of custom VoIP handsets, ensuring smooth provisioning, onboarding, and monitoring.

• Frontend Development: Collaborate with designers to build and launch responsive web and mobile applications, integrating seamlessly with backend APIs and data systems.

• Security & Privacy: Ensure everything we build is designed with safety and data privacy at its core.

• Problem Solving: Tackle complex technical challenges with curiosity, resourcefulness, and a focus on practical solutions.

• Collaboration: Work closely with the engineering and product teams to prioritize features, plan roadmaps, and make key technical decisions as we scale.

• Launch & Beyond: Support technical efforts for upcoming product launches and keep momentum going post‑launch with ongoing improvements.

• Strong Problem Solver: You thrive on figuring things out, even when you haven’t done them before, and enjoy working autonomously to find practical solutions.

• DIY Mentality: Comfortable wearing multiple hats and switching contexts—whether debugging an API, provisioning a device, or improving infrastructure performance.

• Backend
  
  Skills:
  
  Experience with Node, JS, Express, or similar frameworks for backend development.

• Database Fluency:
  
  Experience with Postgre
  
  SQL, AWS RDS, or similar systems for data modeling, performance tuning, and schema design.

• AWS Fluency: Experience with AWS (Lambda, EC2, VPCs, security groups, serverless architectures) and Dev Ops best practices.

• Security & Privacy Awareness: You build with safety and data privacy top of mind—whether designing APIs, managing infrastructure, or handling customer data.

• Comfort with Frontend Development: Willingness to collaborate with designers to implement customer‑facing features, occasionally using tools like Flutter Flow, Shopify (Liquid), or Word Press as needed.

• VoIP as a Bonus: Experience with VoIP systems (Kamailio, Asterisk, Free SWITCH) is a plus, but not required. Comfort diving in to learn and troubleshoot SIP and VoIP technologies is essential.

• Startup Mindset: Adaptable, proactive, excited to build within a small team where priorities can shift quickly, and eager to be part of something mission‑driven from the ground up.

• Mission: We’re on a quest to give kids a more…