About the Senior Backend Developer Role

Help us build the future of commerce and empower small businesses to grow.

Are you a back end developer looking for your next challenge? Would you like to join a team of passionate, talented developers ready to build next-generation mobile and web applications to empower the small businesses of tomorrow? Then keep reading.

Yoco is an African technology company that builds tools and services to help small businesses get paid, run their business better, and grow. We believe that by opening up more possibilities for entrepreneurs to be successful, we can help create more jobs, enable people to thrive and help to drive our economy forward.

We’re looking for an experienced backend (or full-stack!) developer to join the Yoco team in building out and scaling our backend services. These services include everything from delivery logistics to fraud and risk management systems.

Great. Broadly speaking, what does this role involve?

• Work on the back-end systems that power the Yoco app and web for thousands of small businesses.
• Help us automate and improve our systems and processes to make sure the Yoco experience is as fast, easy and reliable as possible.
• Contribute to the evolution of our system architecture and help drive our evolution towards micro-services.
• Do the hard and complicated to make it easier and simple.

You may be a fit for this role if:

• You have 4+ years experience as a professional Software Engineer
• You have strong experience writing back end systems and APIs
• You enjoy learning new technologies and programming languages (We primarily use Scala and Python for our back end services but are open to candidates with experience in other languages)
• You are passionate about building robust and scalable solutions
• BSc Computer Science or equivalent is encouraged (strong work experience can fill this gap)

Bonus points:

• Knowledge of multiple programming languages
• Experience with functional programming languages
• Experience in the payments industry
• Experience with back-end architecture or micro-services

Okay, now I'm really intrigued. What are you looking for in the ideal candidate?

• You have 2+ years as a professional Software Engineer.
• You preferably have experience with React (and maybe even React Native) - we're open to experience in other modern Javascript frameworks.
• You are passionate about delivering high quality and beautiful products that are amazing for users.
• You build re-usable solutions that others can use to avoid re-inventing the wheel every time.
• Bonus points for any native mobile experience, or backend development experience.

Tell me more about Yoco's employee culture. What's it like working with you?

The Yoco Formula is our approach to how we work, as well as a set of behaviours that inspire us to create the best solutions for our customers.

The Formula has a few components:

Core Values – Our way of working.

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

Leadership Principles - How we show up, engage & treat each other.

• Get to know each other personally
• Say what you think and challenge me directly
• Be courageous and focus forward
• Don’t let ego get in the way

The result? Flexibility, agility, collaboration and accountability at all levels. You'll join a diverse, motivated and super skilled team. And you'll be motivated to grow as an individual to keep up.

To see it for yourself, have a look at our Exposure Gallery. Photographer and Visual Anthropologist Gregor Röhrig has documented our journey in the form of beautiful photo-stories.

We're changing the world one small business at a time. Join us.

Please be aware that Yoco encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply. Open positions at Yoco are really competitive and we tend to get a lot of applications. If you apply and don't hear back from us within 3 weeks, please reach out and follow up on your application status.