Mid-level Backend Software Engineer

We’re Tails.com, a dog food subscription company with a big difference. We create truly tailored food for every dog we serve.

We start by asking people a few simple questions about their dog. Using that information, we create a unique Tails.com recipe—so each dog gets exactly the nutrition they need, in the taste they love, delivered straight to their door every month.

We’ve created an entirely new category in pet food and are now scaling fast, backed by Purina, one of the world’s largest pet food companies. You’ll be joining a team of smart people (and smart-ish dogs) all working toward the same mission.

Together, we’ll change the world of pet food for good.

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Software Engineering at Tails.com

We’re a 40+ strong, diverse team of software engineers, cloud infrastructure specialists, and quality assurance engineers. Our team is distributed across 6 autonomous squads, working on:

• Customer-facing parts of tails.com
• Factory automation
• Fulfilment of tens of thousands of orders per day across 9 countries

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The Role

You’ll work in an autonomous squad alongside engineers, product managers, designers, and QA specialists. You’ll collaborate across the company to solve complex problems—from marketing and data to factory engineering.

Python is our primary language, so familiarity with Python or another web-oriented language (PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, etc.) is preferred.

In This Role, You Will

• Work with a modern web stack and microservices to deliver features and products
• Lead best practices for high-quality software engineering and testing
• Contribute to the ongoing evolution of platform architecture
• Participate in bi-monthly hackdays to build or learn anything you choose
• Build software in an environment that supports personal and professional growth
• Help ensure our customers have a healthy and happy dog for life

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The Skills You’ll Bring

• Python 3 (with Flask, Django, or similar), or a comparable web-focused language
• Experience with at least one SQL dialect
• Ability to write efficient, scalable code
• Experience running Docker locally and in production
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice to Have

• Experience with Kubernetes and event systems (especially Kafka)
• Experience scaling and running high-traffic software on AWS or GCP
• Experience working with fulfilment systems

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How We Work

We ship early and often, deploying multiple times per day through CI/CD pipelines. Our local development environments are well documented, and it’s possible to ship code on your first day.

We keep code reviews friendly and supportive, make space in sprints for learning, and run in-house workshops on new technologies.

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What’s in It for You?

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually
• Annual bonus based on company performance
• Flexible core hours for true work-life balance
• Hybrid working model
• 25 days of holiday (excluding bank holidays), increasing to 27 days over time
• 9/10 day working week with no reduction in pay or leave
• Optional 5 days unpaid leave and 1 paid volunteer day per year
• Work from abroad for up to 2 weeks every 6 months
• £2,500 development kit budget
• Health insurance paid by Tails.com
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, and adoption pay (6 months at 70%)
• Flexible paid care leave for dependants, loved ones, and pets
• Access to an in-house learning and development team
• 50% discount on Tails.com products
• Discounted gym membership

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What’s Next?

If this role sounds like a great fit for your experience and ambitions, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t meet every requirement.

Our Recruitment Process

1. CV review by the engineering team (screened collaboratively to reduce bias)
2. 30-minute call with a software engineer
3. Technical test
4. Final interview (2.5 hours total):
   • Two 1-hour peer interviews
   • One 30-minute conversation with the Director of Engineering

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Our Commitment

Tails.com is an equal opportunity employer committed to building diverse teams. We conduct structured recruitment processes and actively promote our roles within underrepresented communities.

If you need any reasonable adjustments during the interview process, please let us know—we’re here to support you.