Founding Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer | AI-First Startup | Austin, TX (On-site) | Equity + Full Benefits + Relocation support This is an early engineering role at a seed-stage, AI-native startup with hundreds of thousands of active users worldwide. The team is small by design and the engineering culture is high-ownership. You will not be handed a backlog. You will help define what gets built, why it gets built, and own it through to production. This is a product engineering role with a strong backend foundation. Not distributed systems, not big data, not heavy infrastructure. Think thoughtful, user-facing backend work where the output is measured in user outcomes, not uptime dashboards. The stack is GCP with Go on the backend (TypeScript/React when cross-stack work is needed). Conceptual strength matters more than specific vendor experience. What you'll own Design, build, and own core backend systems across scalability, reliability, performance, and developer experience. Lead data modelling work and reduce technical debt on the paths that actually touch users. Build tooling and services for content automation, validation, and documentation workflows. Collaborate across the full product lifecycle with frontend, product, support, and growth. Speak directly with users, understand real friction, and translate it into better systems. You'll thrive here if You have been one of the first engineers at a startup and taken something from zero to one. You have owned a core product domain end-to-end rather than delivering isolated features against a spec. You surface problems around performance, cost, reliability, or user experience before anyone asks. You talk in outcomes and business value, push back when scope doesn't serve the goal, and reshape work rather than just execute it. Ambiguity doesn't slow you down and your stories include phrases like "I defined the problem" or "I drove the strategy." You have recent experience on small, early-stage teams, actively use AI tools as a genuine productivity lever, and your backend fundamentals are strong across APIs, services, performance, reliability, and data modelling. Low ego, fast shipper, collaborative by default. This role is not for you if You want a large team, clear process, and a well-defined lane. Your backend experience is thin and your real depth is on the frontend. You are attached to a specific vendor tool as your core identity. You are not open to being fully on-site in Austin. Why this one Your work ships immediately to hundreds of thousands of users from day one. You will have direct access to the founders and genuine influence over the product and engineering culture from the start. The company is well-funded at seed stage with equity that means something. Full health cover, 401(k) match, and a relocation package if you are not yet in Austin. The team is building something with a real mission behind it. If that matters to you when choosing where to put your energy, this is worth a conversation. #J-18808-Ljbffr