Founding Engineer

About the role

You'll be our first technical hire — the person who turns the CEO's vision into working software. You own the full stack: architecture, technology choices, implementation, deployment, and operations. You'll also shape the engineering culture we'll hire into over the next 12 months.

What you'll do

• Own the technical architecture and technology stack decisions
• Build the MVP end-to-end: frontend, backend, database, and cloud infrastructure
• Set up CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and deployment workflows
• Establish engineering practices: code review, docs, monitoring, incident response
• Work directly with the CEO on product direction, scope, and technical trade-offs
• Ship fast while maintaining enough quality to iterate safely
• Evaluate and integrate third-party services and tools
• Write clean, maintainable code that the next three engineers can onboard to

What we're looking for

• You've built and shipped products from zero to real users
• You're comfortable across the full stack — you don't need to be an expert in everything, but you can reason about the frontend, backend, and infrastructure layers
• You default to boring, proven technology unless there's a compelling reason not to
• You ship fast and iterate — you'd rather deploy something imperfect and learn than polish in isolation
• You own quality end-to-end: you write it, test it, deploy it, and monitor it
• You communicate directly and candidly — you flag blockers early, and you push back when something doesn't make sense
• You're comfortable with uncertainty and enjoy figuring things out as you go

How we work

• Remote-first. Hire the best person, wherever they are.
• Async-friendly. We optimize for output, not hours at a desk.
• Daily syncs with the CEO. Fast feedback, no waiting days for decisions.
• Ship and learn. Deploy on day one. Talk to users from week one.
• No bullshit. No ping-pong tables, no mandatory fun — just autonomy, ownership, and good work.

Compensation

• Competitive salary — enough that money isn't a distraction
• Meaningful equity — you should feel like a co-owner, not an employee
• Standard benefits (health, equipment budget, learning stipend)