---
title: 'Software Engineer, Communities at Tin Can'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-communities-tin-can-seattle-r0my5ze0et0r'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-23'
---

# Software Engineer, Communities at Tin Can

- **Company:** Tin Can
- **Location:** Seattle, WA
- **Compensation:** $145k–$175k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-23
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/tin-can/25cfbac2-6afd-4009-99d8-0a25227739b0

## Job description

Software Engineer, Communities

## 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).

## The Role

A Tin Can is only as good as the list of people a kid can call. When a whole class or block gets Tin Cans together, the phone arrives with friends already on it. That’s Communities: hundreds of schools, neighborhoods, and groups have already bought Tin Cans together, and it’s one of the fastest-growing parts of the company. We’re looking for a Software Engineer to own the product side of it end to end. Today a community directory is set up by hand: an organizer collects families in a form, our team turns it into a roster, and every kid in it can call every other kid. You’ll make that something organizers and parents do themselves, down to the rule in our call-routing service that decides whether a community call goes through. You’ll sit with the Head of Communities and the community ops team, alongside the engineers who own our app, voice platform, and account portal. Every contact you make callable is a child a parent trusted us with, and you’ll go as deep as that responsibility requires.

## What You’ll Do

- Own the community portal, API, and ops tooling (Next.js, TypeScript on Lambda, Postgres) — what organizers use to run a directory and what our team uses behind community orders
- Make directories self-serve — join requests parents can send, approvals that take effect immediately, and creation that doesn’t need a ticket to our team
- Own the rule that decides whether a community call connects — who can call whom, opt-in versus opt-out, and what happens the second a parent removes their family
- Capture each family’s school and neighborhood: pick the datasets worth acquiring, build the pipeline that ingests them, and let a parent choose from the result, so we can see which communities are a few families from critical mass and show parents what’s nearby
- Build what comes after directories — the features that unlock once a community reaches real density, what a kid can do on a Tin Can only because the other kids on the block have one too
- Handle children’s data the way parents assume we do — what we store, who can see it, and what happens when a family leaves
- Instrument what you ship — alarms, tests, and the data that shows whether kids in dense communities call more

## What We’re Looking For

- 4+ years building and running web services, with real ownership of what you shipped
- Strong TypeScript across the stack — you’ve built and run an API in production (ours run on AWS Lambda with Postgres) and can ship a Next.js front end a PTA volunteer can use
- You can design a relational model for membership, permissions, and audit history, and you think about who leaves before who joins
- You treat authorization as a product feature, not a checkbox — who can reach a child, how fast “no” takes effect, and how you’d prove it
- Fluency using AI as a multiplier across prototyping, build, and analysis; this is how we work, not a nice-to-have
- A reliability mindset — you instrument what you ship, and you’d rather catch a broken directory with an alert than an email from a PTA president
- A clear communicator who writes things down, because you want the whole team to understand the systems you build
- A collaborative, low-ego approach — everyone here sweeps the floor
- Bonus: trust-and-safety or permissions systems; a kids’ product where you learned what COPPA asks; Flutter, Shopify, or Retool; or curiosity about telephony

## 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 what only works because there are other Tin Cans: Communities is how a phone arrives with friends already on it, and this is the first engineering role dedicated to it. Directories are the start; you’ll have a seat at the table for what unlocks once a community reaches real density.
- 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 the idea of making sure every kid who picks up a Tin Can has friends on the other end — and building what gets better every time a neighbor gets one too — we’d love to meet you.

## About Tin Can

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Tin Can builds a screen-free, Wi-Fi-enabled landline for kids that allows them to call approved contacts without the distractions of a smartphone.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Seattle, Washington, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Chet Kittleson, Max Blumen, and Graeme (last name not publicly available)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Consumer Services / Kids’ Communication Hardware
- **Target customers**: B2C – parents of children aged 4–13 who want a safe, screen-free phone option
- **Mission**: “Bring back the freedom of the old-school landline, updated for today’s families.”

## Products & Services
- **[Tin Can Device](https://tincan.kids/)**: A custom-designed, Wi-Fi-connected landline handset with no screen, no apps, no camera, and no browser. It plugs into a wall and connects over Wi-Fi. Parents manage contacts and quiet hours via a companion mobile app.
- **[Can2Can Plan](https://tincan.kids/)**: Free unlimited calling between two Tin Cans, no subscription required.
- **[Party Line Plan](https://tincan.kids/)**: $9.99/month subscription that allows the child to call any regular phone number (grandparents, parents’ cells, etc.) in addition to other Tin Cans. Includes 911 emergency calling.
- **Parent App**: iOS/Android app for approving contacts, setting quiet hours, and managing Do Not Disturb schedules.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Total Funding**: $5.75 M
  - Pre-Seed (May 2025): Led by PSL Ventures (9 investors)
  - Seed (Oct 2025): $3.5 M led by Data Tech Fund and PSL Ventures (8 investors)
- **Notable Investors**: PSL Ventures, Data Tech Fund, Greylock (participated in a prior round)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Used by families in 30+ U.S. states with zero paid marketing (organic word-of-mouth)
  - Headcount grew from ~2 to 27 employees (+1,167% YoY)
  - Received 40 early prototypes hand-installed in one Seattle neighborhood; demand spread rapidly

## Competitive Advantages
- **True screen-free experience**: No apps, no texts, no browser – pure voice calling. Eliminates the risks of smartphones (social media, addictive apps, stranger danger).
- **Parental control without complexity**: Parents manage everything via a simple app; kids get independence without internet access.
- **Wi-Fi landline model**: Works with existing home Wi-Fi, no need for a cellular plan or smartphone.
- **Emergency calling**: 911 always available, even without a subscription.
- **Free Can2Can network**: Encourages peer-to-peer calling among friends who also have Tin Cans.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling production of the fully custom hardware (designed from the ground up)
- Expanding the user base beyond the initial 30 states through word-of-mouth and targeted marketing
- Building out the team (active job postings for engineering, design, marketing, and customer experience)
- Maintaining a mission-driven culture focused on intentional technology for kids

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven startup focused on real human connection and “keeping childhood full of imagination, not notifications.” Team is passionate about intentional tech.
- **Work environment**: Hybrid/in-office options available. HQ is in Seattle with an in-office workspace; some roles are remote or hybrid.
- **Growth opportunity**: Early-stage company (27 employees) with rapid growth – employees can have outsized impact.
- **Perks**: Not detailed publicly, but typical startup perks (equity, flexible schedule) likely. The company emphasizes a “no surprises” approach to its product.
- **Team composition**: Small, cross-functional team with specialists in customer service, design, engineering, and operations.

## Sources
1. [tincan.kids](https://tincan.kids/)
2. [tincan.kids - About page](https://tincan.kids/pages/about-tin-can)
3. [Built In - Tin Can Careers](https://builtin.com/company/tin-can)
4. [LinkedIn - Tin Can](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tincankids)
5. [Jobs page - Ashby](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/tin-can)

## Other roles at Tin Can

- [Software Engineer, Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-growth-tin-can-seattle-92ex3dtn35zn) — Seattle, WA
- [Senior Software Engineer, Test](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-test-tin-can-seattle-a28h12g7a2rb) — Seattle, WA
- [Performance Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/performance-marketing-manager-tin-can-seattle-46tndfaagav4) — Seattle, WA
- [Director of Customer Experience](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-customer-experience-tin-can-seattle-yrfk1jmffstc) — Seattle, WA
- [Head of Legal](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-legal-tin-can-seattle-8gwhrqta68hs) — Seattle, WA
- [PR Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/pr-coordinator-tin-can-seattle-mvqpms9y8k9p) — Seattle, WA
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