Senior Software Engineer (Backend Leaning)

Twinkl Educational Publishing; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave per year

Fully remote and hybrid options

Learning and Development opportunities

4x annual salary death in service life

Free Twinkl Subscription

Charity day

Westfield Health

Job summary

Twinkl Educational Publishing is seeking Senior Software Engineers to help rebuild and scale our learning platform. You’ll work on React/Next.js frontends and Node.js backends, using TypeScript and AWS to craft educational tools for millions of users worldwide.

Join an empowered, product-centric engineering culture with CI/CD practices, serverless infrastructure, and opportunities to influence technical direction across autonomous teams.

Qualifications

• Experience with React/Next.js + TypeScript for frontend and Node.js + TypeScript for backend.
• End-to-end ownership of code in a collaborative DevOps environment.
• Strong background in large-scale, cloud-based systems with CI/CD.

Responsibilities

• Build web applications and digital products for educators and learners worldwide.
• Collaborate with autonomous, product-centric teams to shape technical direction.
• Contribute to scalable, serverless architecture on AWS and modern tooling.

Skills

React

Next.js

TypeScript

Node.js

AWS

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Tools

AWS

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Job description

Location: Remote with visits to our Sheffield HQ a minimum of 6 times a year

We are currently looking for Engineers that are either Full stack or Backend leaning (React / NextJS, TypeScript, Node & AWS)

Join Our Engineering Evolution at Twinkl

At Twinkl, we're not just building software - we're transforming how millions of educators and learners interact with educational content and resources worldwide. By creating adaptable, comprehensive learning tools, we're breaking down educational barriers. We believe in empowering the next generation with the skills and resources they need to succeed, no matter their geographic or economic background. We’re not just sharing resources; we're building a global learning community. As we scale our platform to serve parents, teachers, and students across the globe, we're seeking exceptional Senior Software Engineers to help drive our technical evolution.

We're in the midst of an exciting transformation, completely rebuilding our experience from the ground up using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and Node.js. Alongside this, we're embracing cutting-edge cloud architecture on AWS, building scalable solutions with serverless technologies and microservices. Fancy working on early stage initiatives and emerging projects where you can genuinely shape our technical direction? That's exactly what we offer. Our engineering teams are properly empowered - we trust you to make the right technical decisions and own your solutions.

What will you be doing?

You'll be building brilliant tech that makes a real difference. We're talking about systems that deliver educational content to millions, supporting teachers across every time zone, and making learning accessible globally. Plus, you'll be part of our international expansion, working with autonomous, product-centric teams who are passionate about what they do.

• React + Next.js + TypeScript for our frontend code
• Node.js + TypeScript for our backend code
• AWS Lambda for serverless computing
• S3 for scalable storage, and NoSQL databases like DynamoDB
• SQS/SNS for messaging
• Continuous deployment with Terraform (IaC) and GitHub Actions

..to craft web applications and digital products that have real impact.

These include:

• Discovery & Navigation: Helping educators and learners find their way around Twinkl's enormous content library by delivering a thoughtful and polished user experience.
• Maths: A React-based game platform designed to support learners through interactive exercises and gamified challenges aligned with educational curricula. It includes progress tracking, adaptive difficulty, and teacher-friendly reporting.

What do we need from you?

• Experience with React/Next.js + TypeScript for frontend and Node.js + TypeScript for backend If you can do both, great! But we do understand that not every engineer has a perfect blend of frontend and backend expertise, and that’s okay! If you are experienced in our stack but lean more to one end, but have the desire to learn and grow into a full stack role, we want to hear from you.
• Experience owning your code end-to-end, from design through deployment, in a collaborative DevOps environment.
• You have extensive experience in web development, particularly in large-scale, cloud-based systems with CI/CD practices.
• You are experienced with automated testing and familiar with TDD.
• You’ve worked in product-centric teams that prioritise strong engineering principles like TDD and pair programming and you have a passion for contributing to and strengthening that culture.
• You value Cross-Functional Collaboration and continuous improvement.

As we are growing, we are looking for a number of Senior Software Engineers to join us, across our different teams. We do a standard interview process and at the end we will find the best match for you based on your skills, experience, preferences and aligning with the business needs!

What’s in it for you?

• A friendly, welcoming and supportive culture. We believe work should be fun and always put people before process
• Flexible working with fully remote and hybrid working options
• 33 days annual leave per year, pro rata. You decide which public holidays to recognise.
• An additional day of annual leave, a Me Day, to take time for yourself
• Charity day to volunteer and support a registered charity of your choice
• Westfield Health (including Health Club discount and Westfield Rewards discount and cashback)
• Learning and Development opportunities, with opportunities for internal mobility across various departments / areas of the business
• 4 x annual salary death in service life assurance
• Quarterly awards designed to reward and recognise our wonderful Twinkl employees
• Free Twinkl Subscription

At Twinkl, we encourage diversity, and our doors are open to everyone. We're committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all. If you need any adjustments during the application process to showcase your abilities, please let us know. We're here to support you on your journey.