Founding Engineer (Backend-heavy, 3-5 y.o.e)

About company and product

A Singapore seed-stage startup is a platform for fan communities that brings together communities around anime, K-pop, and other subcultures — all in one place. Our goal is to become the go-to fandom platform on the internet where every type of fandom in the world is found.

The mobile app is currently live on iOS and Android after launching our MVP, which was soon followed by Version 2.0, and the company are now building Version 3.0 with the goal of scaling toward our Series A.

📍About the role

At the moment we’re on a mission to find a Founding Engineer — 1st in-house tech employee — to help scale our platform toward Series A and beyond. We seek an ambitious Backend Engineer who’s experienced in building and scaling applications with thousands of users and would like to join us on a mission to build the future of how the world experiences fandoms.

This is a learning-intensive role aimed at building the expertise and foundation needed to eventually steer the company’s architectural direction.

Your core responsibility will be to own, understand, and optimize the backend systems of our mobile app. Your main focus will be to (1) build the algorithms that power our core user experience, and (2) strengthen the cloud infrastructure to support scaling to 1 million users.

What you will do during the first quarter – six months

The founding engineer will work closely with Uptech under the guidance of the Tech Lead, while collaborating within the Huddle team on high-level strategic decisions. 
 

– Design and implement the core recommendation and engagement algorithms.

– Collaborate with the Uptech and Huddle team to integrate algorithms into the system.

– Define data structures and pipelines to support algorithm efficiency and scalability.

– Test and refine algorithms to optimize performance.

– Contribute to high-level technical decisions around algorithm architecture and future enhancements.

📍Requirements for candidates

• You have 3-5 years of professional experience as a back-end engineer or full stack developer, preferably in high-growth startups or product-driven teams.
• You are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, where priorities evolve quickly and execution speed matters.
• You take full ownership of technical outcomes and act as the primary technical decision-maker.

• Excellent communication English skills (both verbal and writing)

   

Backend & Data:

• Strong experience with Node.js and NestJS
• Solid knowledge of PostgreSQL
• Familiarity with NoSQL databases
• Experience designing APIs and data models for high-traffic systems
• DB performance optimization (indexes, queries, schemas)

Infrastructure & CI/CD:

• Hands-on experience with Amazon Web Services
• Infrastructure as Code with Terraform or similar tool
• Experience building CI/CD pipelines (tests, builds, deployments)
• Understanding of containerized deployments and rollback strategies

Code Quality:

• Experience with automated testing (unit / integration)
• Linters, formatters, and code review practices
• Focus on maintainable, production-ready code

Algorithms & Performance:

• CS / Math background
• Experience with feed or ranking algorithms
• Performance optimization: caching, lazy loading, preloading, thumbnails
• High-load experience is a plus

Nice-to-have requirements for candidates:

• Observability: Monitoring with Grafana observability stack (i.e. Prometheus)
• Experience in social platforms, community-based apps, or messaging products.
• Strong understanding of startup product cycles, from MVP to scale.
• Interest in building immersive environments (virtual spaces) or 3D avatar-based interactions.

• Interest in web applications.

   

Stages of communication:

1. Intro Call with recruiter — 30 min
2. Tech pre screen — 30 min
3. Competency-based interview — up to 1 h
4. Technical Assessment (2 stages): Tech Interview (2 h), Design Session (2 h)
5. Executive interview and Offer
    

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1️⃣ Benefits package for a Remote employee (B2) consists of:

• 14 days annual leave + up to 14 days paid sick leave after 3 month probation period pro-rated;
• Public holidays according to remote employee's (B2B) country of residence;
  * Employee covers social security, taxes, and medical insurance.
•  Salary with Equity.

2️⃣ Benefits package for an Onsite employee consists of:

• Relocation package Singapore (PR pathway, settling-in allowance; 
• One free annual round-trip flight to your home country;
• 14 days annual paid leave per calendar year;
• Up to 14 days sick leave and up to 60 days hospitalisation leave after 3 months of employment;
• Full basic medical insurance coverage, including outpatient treatment, hospitalisation, and dental care, subject to the insurer’s policy terms;
• Salary with Equity;
• Post-Funding Benefits;
• Office-based (hybrid flexible).