Software Engineer, Factory

To fuel Swappie’s profitable growth and advance our mission of making refurbished electronics mainstream, we are looking for a Software Engineer to join our Factory product team in Tallinn.

Swappie currently refurbishes iPhones, iPads, AirPods and MacBooks in our own factories in Tallinn and Leipzig. Dev Team Factory builds the software both factories run on: the systems our operations teams use every day to receive, diagnose, repair, grade and pack devices, and the integrations with our automation lines, robots, label printers and diagnostics tools.

Most of the work happens before any code is written: researching, investigating and scoping what needs to be done. You'll do that together with product people, peer teams across Tech, automation operators, third-party vendors and the operations people on the factory floor. When you do build, you'll see the impact on the floor the same week you ship it.

What you'll work on

• Researching and scoping problems at the source: watching how work is done on the factory floor, talking to operators, and working out with product, peer teams, automation operators and vendors what should change.

• Bringing new device categories, such as MacBooks, through the factory: activation, diagnostics, grading, sorting and packing.

• Keeping our automation lines healthy, with alerts and health dashboards that operations use in their daily stand-ups.

• Integrating robots and third-party diagnostics and erasure tools with our own systems.

• Station hardware: label printers, barcode and serial scanners, station PCs and robot configuration.

What we're looking for

• Solid backend experience, ideally Python and Django, and comfort owning systems in production.

• Good PostgreSQL skills, including finding out why a query is slow on a large table.

• Integrations experience: experience integrating with external systems or devices, and handling the ways they fail.

• Curiosity about hardware: you enjoy finding out why a printer, scanner or machine behaves the way it does.

• Research before you build: you ask questions, look at what already exists, and challenge requirements when the floor tells a different story.

• AI-augmented fluency: you use AI coding tools fluently and verify what they produce.

• Collaborative communication: clear communication with non-technical colleagues, and fluent English.

What will give you an edge (or what you’ll learn to master with us):

• TypeScript, React or Svelte; Kubernetes and Google Cloud; Datadog.

• Experience in manufacturing, logistics or warehouse automation.

• Working with PLCs, USB or serial devices, or industrial equipment.

• Running machine learning or image pipelines in production.

What we value

• Endless optimism. Factory problems are messy, physical and often only half-defined. We assume a solution exists and go and find it.

• Highest standards. We keep raising the bar on how reliably and efficiently the factory runs, and on our own engineering.

• Customer focus. Every device that leaves the factory goes to someone buying refurbished tech. Getting diagnostics, grading and erasure right is how we deliver quality, affordability and sustainability. In daily work, our first customers are the operators using our systems.

• Connect. We work with operators, product, peer teams and vendors across Tallinn, Leipzig and Helsinki. We assume the best of each other, we're direct and transparent, and we celebrate wins together.

How we work

• Small, autonomous, and integrated team: We work directly with product managers and factory operations on the floor.

• Shared rituals: Weekly planning that everyone takes turns facilitating, rotating tech-support duties, and Friday demos to celebrate wins.

• Hands-on with hardware: Regular visits to the factory floor are an essential part of the job, not an exception.

• Modern stack: Python, Django, PostgreSQL, TypeScript, React, Kubernetes, and Google Cloud.

Why join Swappie?

• Tangible, high-impact problems: Work on real-world systems connecting software to physical hardware, from automated robotics and AI grading to new product categories like MacBooks.

• A mission that matters: Direct impact on reducing electronic waste and scaling the circular economy by making refurbished electronics mainstream.

• Structured growth: A transparent career progression framework for both individual contributors and leaders, backed by yearly development discussions. Your growth is based on your skills and the business impact you create.

• Belong and be yourself: Our strength as a company comes from the diverse group of people we're proud to employ. Whoever you are, you're welcome at Swappie.

• Ownership & equity: Share in our success through our employee stock option program.

Basics

♻️ Location: Tallinn, Estonia. Please note: You must already hold a valid work permit for Estonia, as we are unable to sponsor visas or provide relocation support for this role.
♻️ Hybrid work: We work in a flexible hybrid setup. We expect regular, 1-2 days a week visits in the Tallinn office, and ability to come to the factory on a short notice when something needs a follow-up. On top of this, occasional trips to our Helsinki HQ, where most of our product people are, and to our Leipzig factory for bigger launches.

♻️ Contract: Full-time and permanent.

♻️ Compensation: Salary range for this position is 3950-4450 €/month + equity package. This will be defined according to your experience, skills, and capabilities. We base our compensation on comprehensive market data and industry benchmarks to ensure fair pay.

♻️ Ready to make a sustainable impact? Apply now or latest by 11th November 2026!

♻️ Kindly note that we don’t accept job applications via email. If you have any questions, our recruitment team (recruitment@swappie.com) will happily help.