Software Engineer, Core Product
Tin Can · Seattle
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 two engineers to help make it happen.
The Role
A Tin Can earns its spot on the kitchen counter when a kid keeps picking it up. Because we build both ends of the call, we get to make things no other phone can, and the next ones are the kind families ask us for: an easier way to fill the contact book, even more speed dials, more a kid can do without waiting on a grown-up. We’re hiring two Software Engineers to own the core product — the features that give a kid someone to call, a reason to call, and an easy way to do it.
You’ll build across the whole product: the app parents live in (Flutter), the TypeScript services on AWS Lambda behind contacts, plans, call logs, and voicemail, and the call-routing service that gates every call. You’ll sit with the Head of Product and the core experience’s PM and designer, alongside the engineers who own our voice platform, firmware, and account portal. When a feature reaches into the call path — a new hotline number, the voicemail menu — you’ll go there, with our voice engineers reviewing anything on the SIP and media plane.
What You’ll Do
Make it easier to hear who called and call them back — on the phone itself, in our services, and in the parents’ app
Give kids more of the phone: even more speed dials, and more a kid can set up alone, with a parent’s say-so
Make the first week count — improved contact syncing, faster contact approvals, and a first run that has a family calling on day one
Build the fun, weird features no other landline can, the kind a kid tells their friends about
Own the call-routing rules a feature needs — what a speed dial or a hotline number does, who a kid can reach — in the service every call goes through
Build the tooling behind hotlines — scheduling, uploading, playback — with the engineers who own our voice platform
Spec and build the service side of features whose other half is firmware — what the phone plays, how it rings — with the firmware engineer
Instrument what you ship — event schema, dashboard, alarm — so we can see kids calling more, week by week
Take a turn in our on-call rotation, because nobody knows a feature like the person who built it
What We’re Looking For
3+ years building user-facing software, including a feature you took from idea to production and kept running
Strong TypeScript; you’ve built and run an API in production (ours run on AWS Lambda with Postgres) and can model contacts, permissions, and call history
You’ve shipped a mobile or web client people use every day; our app is Flutter, and we’ll teach you Dart
You think about the kid and the parent at once — what a kid can do alone, what needs a grown-up, and how fast “no” takes effect
Fluency using AI as a multiplier across prototyping, build, and analysis; this is how we work, not a nice-to-have
Hands-on and scrappy; you’d rather prototype the flow on a real Tin Can than wait for a perfect spec
A clear communicator who writes things down, and a collaborative, low-ego approach — everyone here sweeps the floor
Based in Seattle and ready to work from our office Monday through Thursday; this isn’t a remote role
Bonus: Flutter or Dart; curiosity about telephony (dial plans, IVRs, text-to-speech); a product for kids or families; or Stripe, Shopify, or IoT integrations
Why Join Tin Can
We’re building tech that protects childhood: We’re on a quest to give kids a more analog childhood — one with real conversations, real connection, and way less screen time. No doomscrolling, data mining, or dopamine traps — just a simpler, better way for kids to stay in touch. This is a rare opportunity to build something that truly matters.
You’ll own the reason a kid picks up the phone: Reliability makes a call connect; you’ll build what makes a kid want to make one — easier ways to call back, more speed dials, more to do when no one’s around — and see it in how often families call.
Small, high-trust team: Every company says “team,” but at Tin Can it means something different. We’re a small, mission-driven group that genuinely has each other’s backs — professionally and personally. You’ll be joining a tight-knit crew where your ideas and instincts matter from day one.
Room to explore, not just execute: You’ll have the space to challenge assumptions, solve hard problems, and build systems that reflect our values of trust, simplicity, and care.
If you’re excited by making a Tin Can the thing a kid reaches for when they’ve got something to tell someone — and building what makes that call easy to make and return — we’d love to meet you.