Software Engineer

Who We Are At JonnyPops, our team is empowered to make an impact at work every day — from producing high-quality, innovative frozen novelties to spreading kindness one pop at a time. We look for bright, ambitious people who seek out challenges, thrive in fast-paced, high-growth environments, align with our core values, and get fulfillment from seeing their work transform the world around them. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Elk River, MN, JonnyPops is the #1 frozen novelty brand in the Natural Channel, growing 60%+ YTD in 2026. We manufacture in-house at our SQF Certified facility and operate a corporate office in Plymouth, MN. We are building an in-house team to make JonnyPops an AI‑Native business, and we are looking for curious, growth‑minded engineers who want to learn fast, contribute from day one, and grow alongside a brand that is going places. The Opportunity JonnyPops is making a dedicated commitment to building an AI‑Native business — sponsored directly by our co‑founders and executive team. We are standing up a small, in‑house, cross‑functional team purpose‑built to ideate, prototype, deploy, and sustain AI‑Native solutions across the company. The Senior Software Engineer is a founding technical member of that team. You will not just write code — you will design how an AI‑Native company actually runs, building the agentic workflows, applications, and infrastructure that compound into durable productivity, yield, and capability advantages for the business. Job Summary JonnyPops is looking for a Software Engineer to join its AI Initiative as a hands‑on contributor. Working closely with the AI Initiative team, you will help build and maintain the agentic workflows, AI‑powered tools, automations, and data flows that make the business run more intelligently. Reporting & Partnership Direct Manager: Chief Financial Officer, who currently serves as Team Lead of the AI Initiative. Day‑to‑Day Technical Lead: Senior Software Engineer, who provides mentorship, code review, and direction; the Principal Technology Engineer also supports your growth. Run‑the‑Business Systems: Director of IT (dotted line) owns existing systems and infrastructure so this team can stay focused on the AI‑Native build. Cross‑Functional Partners: Finance & Accounting, HR & Office, Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, GTM / Commercial. Work Hours / Location Plymouth, MN (corporate office) primary, with occasional visits to the Elk River manufacturing facility. Full‑time; standard business hours. Based in the Minneapolis‑St. Paul metro. Relocation may be considered for an exceptional candidate. Essential Duties & Responsibilities AI‑Assisted & Agentic Development Build, test, and maintain agentic AI workflows, automations, and AI‑powered internal tools under the guidance of the Senior Software Engineer. Use Claude Code as part of your daily workflow to plan, write, debug, and iterate on code; learn to configure project‑level context and navigate unfamiliar codebases with confidence. Grow your proficiency with the Anthropic API and Claude Agent SDK over time, contributing to AI‑powered tools and agents as your skills develop. Embrace an AI‑first development mindset — bringing curiosity and openness to tools that help the team move faster and build better. Building & Connecting Solutions Build and maintain API connections, webhooks, and data flows that let AI‑Native solutions interact with core systems (NetSuite, Microsoft 365, RedZone, and other SaaS tools). Contribute to internal web apps, dashboards, and workflow automations that deliver measurable productivity gains for Finance, HR, Operations, and other teams. Help troubleshoot and resolve issues in deployed agents and tools; communicate clearly when something breaks and help get it fixed fast. Write clean, readable, well‑documented code; follow team standards for version control (Git) and testing. Embedded Partnership & Delivery Participate in requirements gathering with business stakeholders, translating their needs into technical tasks with support from senior teammates. Support the company’s AI adoption priority by contributing to department‑level tools and working sessions. Learning, Growth & Collaboration Learn from the Senior Software Engineer and Principal Technology Engineer through code reviews, pair programming, and collaborative problem‑solving. Proactively communicate progress, blockers, and questions — ask for help early, learn fast, and share what you figure out. Participate in sprint planning, standups, and retrospectives as the team establishes its operating rhythm. Grow toward ownership of individual features, agents, integrations, or tools as you build context and confidence. May assume additional duties as necessary. Food Safety Responsibilities This is a primarily corporate, hybrid role with occasional presence at the Elk River manufacturing facility. While on site, you are expected to follow all Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Documentation Practices, and facility food‑safety and visitor protocols, and to support—never compromise—the integrity of JonnyPops’ SQF‑certified food safety system when working with any solution that touches production or quality data. Minimum Qualifications Education & Experience Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent experience through bootcamp, self‑study, or professional work. 1–3 years of professional or project‑based software development experience. Demonstrated ability to write and ship working code — personal projects, internships, or professional experience all count. Technical Skills Working knowledge of at least one backend language (Python, JavaScript/Node.js, or similar). Familiarity with REST APIs and how to consume or build them. Basic understanding of SQL and relational databases. Comfort with Git for version control; experience with GitHub or similar platforms. Exposure to cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) or interest in learning — experience is a plus, not a requirement. Familiarity with Microsoft365 tools (SharePoint, Teams, Excel) as a user; developer‑level experience is a plus. AI Tools & Mindset Some experience using AI coding assistants (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar) to help write or debug code. Genuine curiosity about how AI tools are changing software development — you have experimented, are paying attention, and are eager to develop real proficiency. Openness to learning Claude Code and the Anthropic API as core parts of your workflow; prior experience is a plus but not required. Soft Skills & Competencies Growth mindset — you ask good questions, take feedback well, and see every problem as a chance to learn. Clear communicator; can explain what you are working on and flag when you are stuck without waiting too long. Detail‑oriented and conscientious about the quality of your work, even on small tasks. Collaborative and team‑oriented — you do your best work alongside people, not in isolation. Aligned with JonnyPops core values: Integrity, Masterful Growth, Excellence, Team Work, Fact‑Based Decisions, Alignment, and Service and Contribution. Expected Pay Range Expected starting salary range: $90,000 — $115,000 per year, based on experience and qualifications. Hired candidates may be eligible for additional compensation in the form of bonuses and/or commissions. Benefits Medical / Health Insurance Dental Insurance Vision Insurance HSA / FSA / DCFSA Life & AD&D Insurance Short & Long Term Disability FTO / PTO EAP Programs Paid Holidays Employee Referral Program Sick & Safe Leave 401(k) Company‑provided equipment plus a dedicated AI tooling and professional‑development budget Company-sponsored meal plan Equal Opportunity JonnyPops is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants and employees with disabilities; please contact Human Resources to request one. #J-18808-Ljbffr