Alma Developer & Designer

Alma Media is an international digital service business and media company with a strong capacity for renewal. Over 80% of our revenue comes from digital sources. We have over 100 digital services and marketplaces created by our own developers & designers. We use the newest technologies and develop platforms on which millions of users spend time, search and find, buy and sell – in 11 different countries.

Our services are trusted when making life's big and small choices. Inspiring human curiosity and choice – since 1847.

Technology

Alma has many teams across Finland, Sweden, Baltics and Eastern Central Europe developing over 100 digital services and marketplaces; This means we use a lot of different technologies as teams can choose the most suitable tools for their work.

When building user interfaces for web ReactJS is almost a de facto JavaScript UI library of choice and its React Native counterpart chosen for mobile applications. As programming languages go, TypeScript, Go and/or Java are most used ones (with some PHP and Ruby here and there) for web applications. Whereas Python dominates in context of data science & -engineering.

Applications are hosted in a cloud environment. We use AWS as our primary application cloud platform, which we have used already since 2012. Sometimes we do cherry-pick specific products – like Google BigQuery – from other cloud vendors. When designing cloud architecture, we heavily utilize serverless-first and event-driven patterns by utilizing tools like AWS Lambda and various managed/serverless products, but one can also find a lot of containers running in our cloud environment with products like AWS ECS/Fargate.

Teams in Alma have –“You build it, You run it”– DevOps culture where Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery plays an important role. Everything happens through version control systems and products like Github Actions or AWS CodePipeline build, test and finally deploy the applications. We can push to production multiple times a day.

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Alma Developer & Designer -program is targeted for Software Developers, Web/UX Designers and Data Engineers. We are looking for people in Finland who are either starting their career or already have gained 1-3 years of experience in the field of software development.

Apply now

Last day to apply is February 11th

Trainee: At end of your studies or a recent graduate. You will start your Alma journey with a paid nine-months Trainee program. Together with trainees we’ll build a program where you will grow and learn new skills while working in real development projects. The common goal of the program is a permanent job at Alma.
Junior: Junior developer with 1-3 years of experience. You will have a permanent position in one of our development teams and an excellent opportunity to level up your expertise by joining Alma Developer & Designer -program. You will receive all the benefits and perks of the program.

Timeline

Recruitment

14.01. – 11.02.

Potential candidates invited to interviews on a rolling basis.
Interviews

Starting Now

1–2 interviews and possibly an advance assignment.
Selection

February – March

We'll individually contact each candidate.
Start

Spring 2025

This is flexible based on your schedule.

Content

Flexibility Your individual starting date will be determined together with us based on your schedule. Part-time options are available and we can for example accommodate exam weeks into the schedule.
Training We organize 30-50 “Alma LevelUp” training sessions per year. The topics vary from specific tools & technologies to things like Frontend Development, AWS Cloud, DevOps, and more.
Mentor Every participant has a personal mentor assigned to them. They are usually from the same team or at least someone with a somewhat similar role. Feel free to ask them anything!
Community You will be part of an international community of 300+ Developers & Designers working at Alma Media. We have also several tribes that you can join based on your interests, for example: CloudTribe, DataTribe and UX/Design Tribe.
Learning Platforms Depending on your role, you will have access to our learning platforms which include platforms like A Cloud Guru and Egghead.
Activities Throughout the program we will organize several social activities for you to get to know your colleagues better.
Real Work We don't assign any “dummy training tasks" to you. You will be working on real projects with real impact from the start.
Certification Depending on your role, you will have an opportunity to get certified in AWS, Google Cloud, or other technologies. Alma will cover the cost of the certification exam for you.

Growth Paths

Don't worry, you don't need to choose now, we will figure out the right growth path for you together! Below you can see some common examples with descriptions. Just send an application and we'll start the journey from there!

Cloud

Design & Build AWS Architectures

If not already, you'll become strong believer in Infrastructure as Code: You're not afraid of YAML or JSON (for example when working with AWS CloudFormation). You might already be familiar with programming languages like TypeScript or Python, so you can venture into defining cloud resources using AWS CDK .

Before you start writing any infrastructure code, you plan carefully and condiser different options: Such as when to utilize Serverless & Event-Driven architectures or when to use more traditional solutions such as Containers.
Backend

Core business logic, APIs & integrations

You know at least one of the following programming languages TypeScript, Go, Java, Kotlin or Ruby which you will use to build applications into cloud environment that often query data either from relational or nosql databases. You may often utilize AWS SDK to integrate with other cloud resources.

FullStack

Connect UIs to Backends

Besides backend programming, you're able to work with ReactJS frontends and connect them with backends using RESTful APIs.
Frontend

Build Client-Side Web Apps for Browser

HTML, CSS and JavaScript (TypeScript) are your friends for building accessible & performant user interfaces. You know your way around browser's developer tools. In addition to browser technologies, you have a basic understanding of NodeJS/NPM ecosystem. You're familiar with UI libraries suchs as ReactJS.

Mobile UI

Build Mobile Apps

In addition to more traditional frontend development, you will be using React Native to build mobile applications for iOS and Android.
UX

Design Digital User Experiences

You'll be working a lot with tools such as Figma and Affinity or Adobe , but you understand your role is not just about drawing pretty pixels: It's about defining a holistic end-user experience for our digital services. You'll be thinking a lot about accessibility, ease of use and how to best support the goals of the people who are using our services.

Our UX design process is a collaborative effort with other stakeholders suchs as product owners & frontend developers, that's why tools like Figma and Design Systems play important role. You avoid guessing, and instead use user research and data – such as A/B tests – to support our design decisions.

Experiences from previous years

2023

Aleksi

Junior Web Developer,
Iltalehti, Alma Consumer

Your background and how did you get into Alma?

Metropolia, Information and Communication Technology, Bachelor’s Degree - still missing my thesis. I heard about Alma from my friend, and it instantly seemed interesting as I saw the landing page of the Developer & Designer program which is fresh and informative. The idea of this kind of program felt good since I had only few months of real life work experience in software developing industry.

What are you working with nowadays?

I’m working with Iltalehti mobile app as frontend developer, which is the project I’ve been on since day 1. I have enjoyed past time, since there’s been chance to work on such a big project, which has offered me lots of challenges and moments to grow as a developer.

How do you feel about the Alma Developer & Designer program?

I think the program is great chance for developers who are at the beginning of their career. You get to work with real projects in a supportive environment, plus the program itself enables the exchange of feelings with those in the same situation.
2018

Kia

Testing Specialist,
Housing, Alma Consumer

Your background and how did you get into Alma?

Computer science studies (candidate + master’s) in Tampere University. I applied to Alma because in the Trainee -program there was a change to learn new things and participate in real projects from the beginning.

What are you working with nowadays?

Nowadays I work as a testing specialist for Etuovi and Vuokraovi. My job consists of manual testing and developing testing automation. Accessibility is also an important topic in my work.

How do you feel about the Alma Developer & Designer program?

Trainee -program is an excellent opportunity for personal growth and Alma has a supportive atmosphere where everyone has change to learn new things!
2020

Riku

Web Developer,
Iltalehti, Alma Consumer

Your background and how did you get into Alma?

My friend had previously applied to Alma’s Trainee -program and was since working there as a fulltime employee; He recommended me to apply! The interview process convinced me.

What are you working with nowadays?

Right now, I’m working with AWS cloud services with also all things related to web development. TypeScript, ReactJS, Ruby and Python are some of the technologies I use mostly.

How do you feel about the Alma Developer & Designer program?

Great working environment and I was welcomed with open arms! My wishes are listened to and I can see the effect of my own work!
2018

Aapo

Software Developer,
Web Services, Alma ICT

Your background and how did you get into Alma?

I was writing my thesis and already looking for my first job when I saw an advertisement for Alma Developer Trainee -program and decided to apply. My thinking was that it’s easier to start my career as a trainee during my studies than as a fulltime employee.

What are you working with nowadays?

I’m working with Alma’s internal APIs and Alma Account. As my skills & knowledge grew, I started participating more and more into planning & design of new services. Technologies used in our team include TypeScript and AWS cloud.

How do you feel about the Alma Developer & Designer program?

Really nice work community which welcomed me in. People are eager to help & answer questions and it feels like employees are trusted.
2019

Aleksi

FullStack Developer,
Services, Alma Consumer

Your background and how did you get into Alma?

Previously I had been doing freelancing and being an entrepreneur in the field of IT. I wanted to finish my studies and part of it was an apprenticeship period as a trainee in Alma.

What are you working with nowadays?

I’m working with Alma’s services such as Telkku, Kotikokki, Etua and Rantapallo; Nowadays mostly programming with Java Spring and JavaScript/TypeScript ReactJS.

How do you feel about the Alma Developer & Designer program?

Trainee -program was a great experience! Relaxed environment to learn a lot and in the end I got hired as a permanent employee!