Carl-Johan Backman in

Carl-Johan Backman

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Director of Engineering at Babbel
📍 Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany

Carl-Johan is a product-minded engineering leader with over a decade of experience leading organizations of up to 150 people at companies like Babbel and Emma. Educated at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, he combines hands-on technical depth with people leadership. Colleagues describe him as empathetic, loyal, and forward-thinking.

His background includes significant time with the United Nations Development Programme in crisis-affected settings like Sudan, reflecting a strong interest in international development and data-driven social impact. He was also involved with the Gapminder Foundation, known for promoting a fact-based worldview.

Unique fact: During his studies at KTH, he co-authored a scientific paper on the quantum mechanical conduction of electrons in Fibonacci quasicrystals.

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Experience
9 Years
Current Role
Director of Engineering
Job Level
Mid-senior
Location
Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Personality Overview

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Communication Style
Decision Approach
Work Preference

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Priorities

Topics Carl-Johan cares about

Engineering Principles
Authored the engineering principles at Emma, creating a shared definition of what great engineering looks like to drive technical excellence and impact.
Composable Commerce
Led a major re-platforming initiative from a monolith to a MACH-based composable architecture, writing about the technical strategy publicly.
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Career

Work history

11-2025
Director of Engineering
Babbel
1-2024 - 11-2025
Director of Engineering
Emma – The Sleep Company
10-2022 - 1-2024
Principal Software Engineer
Emma – The Sleep Company
1-2022 - 9-2022
Product Manager
UNDP
9-2021 - 12-2021
Information Management Officer
UNDP
In the press

Media appearances

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Education
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
Stockholm School of Economics
Master of Science (MSc)
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Social presence
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Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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