The Role

You are a creative coder, an inventor, and a technical artist. You are the bridge between ambitious creative ideas and tangible, interactive execution. You will sit at the heart of the Design Team, working closely with creative directors and designers to elevate brand and digital projects by applying technology - be it raw code, generative AI, or hacked hardware - in novel and inspiring ways. You look for software solutions to design challenges, so your primary craft is code, not Figma. You build the prototypes, experiences and tools that bring our most imaginative concepts to life. You are driven by creative curiosity, thrive on collaboration, and are deeply tuned into the currents of technology, brands, and contemporary culture.

Your Responsibilities

1. You translate creative and strategic concepts into functional prototypes and interactive experiences. Your primary output is code — whether it’s a web-based tool for generating patterns, a real-time 3D visualisation, or a prompt-driven AI tool that empowers our designers to work smarter and faster.

2. You collaborate closely with design and creative teams from the very beginning. You bring technical insight and creative experimentation into early concept development, helping shape, challenge, and expand the core idea.

3. You operate as the studio’s R&D engine. You proactively explore, test, and master emerging technologies — from generative AI and creative coding frameworks to AR/VR and physical computing — and share your discoveries to elevate and inspire the wider team.

4. You write inventive, expressive, AND robust code across the entire spectrum of prototyping and production. You move fluidly from fast, AI-assisted “vibe-coding” for quick conceptual sketches to mature, production-ready frameworks like React and Next.js when structure and stability are required. You default to rapid creative exploration but know when rigour matters.

5. You embrace and help pioneer new tools, workflows, and platforms. From established web technologies to collaborating with advanced AI models or building with more esoteric environments, you continually expand the studio’s creative and technical capabilities.

6. You understand how technology deepens the relationship between brands and humans. You have an instinct for how interactive systems, tools, and digital moments can create ownable, memorable, and emotionally resonant brand experiences.

7. You communicate complex technical ideas with clarity and enthusiasm. You articulate your thinking to both technical and non-technical collaborators and clients, helping them understand — and get excited about — the potential of your work.

8. You contribute to our culture in person. You’re willing to work from our London studio, participate in our collaborative environment, and travel globally for project needs — from Stuttgart to San Francisco.

Our Responsibilities

1. We will ensure you have meaningful and regular access to your manager to support your personal development and career trajectory.

2. We will actively reward performance with promotions, pay increases and a discretionary annual bonus of up to 10% of salary to all employees.

3. We ensure Koto is an equal environment for all its employees regardless of race, gender, age, or sexual preference.

4. We will support you in taking family leave and offer significant paid maternity and paternity.

5. We will actively encourage you to take 25 days holiday yearly, in addition to UK bank holidays (on average eight), one additional holiday day per year (capped at 5 additional days), and a studio closure between Christmas and New Year.

6. We will contribute an additional 3% to anyone wanting to engage in the People's Pension Scheme following their 3m probation.

7. We deploy a monthly 'employee wellness' benefits package via Juno of £75 per month.

8. We offer access to YCN and fund relevant training opportunities to any employee looking to develop themselves and career.

9. We reward five years of service with £5,000 and five days holiday. We reward ten years of service with £10,000 and four weeks holiday.

10. We will give you the opportunity to work from any of the four koto studios globally, with appropriate planning and application.

Our Culture

• At Koto we encourage our team to be ‘rationally optimistic’ about the potential of our work, our clients, their businesses, and the power of brand.
• We pursue the best briefs, want to inspire meaningful work, and for those interested provide an opportunity to make the work of their lives. We are actively cultivating leadership, culture and spaces to encourage this.
• We work in person with an optional WFH day on Friday, and an additional two weeks remote a year. We believe this produces the best work, mentoring opportunities, collective learning and culture.
• We encourage autonomy in each member of our team, allowing them to manage their own time, hours and personal commitments appropriately to complete work.

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