Founding Engineer (LLM, RAG, AI agents, Node.js)
We are looking for a Founding Engineer to join a fast-growing start-up developing a product for automated lead generation and recruitment outreach.
The ideal candidate has previous startup experience and is passionate about building products from the ground up. We’re looking for someone who genuinely enjoys coding, solving complex technical challenges, taking ownership, and moving fast in a high-impact environment.
About the Role
We are specifically looking for a Founding Engineer who is skilled enough to drive architecture and infrastructure decisions while remaining deeply hands-on in development.
The key requirements are a startup mindset, ownership, autonomy, and strong technical execution.
You’ll work directly with the founder on both technical and product decisions while helping to shape the company’s engineering culture and technical direction.
What You’ll Do
- Architect, prototype, and build product features from scratch.
- Develop integrations with AI platforms (OpenAI, Perplexity, etc.).
- Build integrations with 3rd-party systems and CRMs.
- Design scalable backend services and APIs.
- Work on AI agents, RAG systems, and prompt engineering.
- Design and optimize SQL databases.
- Build cloud-native infrastructure on AWS/GCP/Azure.
- Implement asynchronous task-processing patterns (RabbitMQ, SQS).
- Collaborate directly with the founder on product and business decisions.
- Help define technical standards and engineering best practices.
- Contribute to a fast-moving startup environment with high ownership.
RequirementsMust-Have
- Senior-level software engineering experience
- 1+ year of startup experience (ideally direct hire at a start up)
- 5+ years of commercial development experience
- Strong hands-on experience with:
- TypeScript
- Node.js
- REST APIs
- JSON
- Git
- Experience building AI agents, RAG systems, or LLM-powered products
- Strong prompt engineering skills
- Experience with API integrations
- Strong SQL and database design skills
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- Understanding of asynchronous systems and queues (RabbitMQ, SQS, or similar)
- Strong communication skills and product mindset
- High level of ownership and autonomy
Nice-to-Have
- Previous CTO or technical leadership experience
- Experience with n8n or Make
- Experience building SaaS products
- Experience scaling early-stage startups
- Infrastructure and architecture leadership experience
What We Offer
- Full-time engagement
- Fully remote work
- Long-term cooperation
- Founding member equity
- Opportunity to directly influence company and product strategy
- Fast personal and professional growth
- Freedom, ownership, and real responsibility
- Opportunity to grow into a future CTO role
- Modern AI-first development environment (including Cursor Agent mode)
- U.S. company contract
- Paid vacation days
Recruitment Process
- Pre-screen with a recruitment manager
- Pre-screen call witht the startup founder
- Technical deep-dive interview with a small live coding session
- Call to meet the team
Required skills experience
| SaaS | 1 year |
| Node.js | 5 years |
| TypeScript | 5 years |
| LLM | 1.5 years |
| RAG | 1.5 years |
| MCP Servers | 1.5 years |
| AI Agents Development | 1.5 years |
Required languages
| English | B2 - Upper Intermediate |