Founding Engineer

Founding Engineer | Cambridge | Hybrid | £70,000-£80,000 + Equity

Tech stack:

Python (FastAPI) - the bread & butter!
React & TypeScript
PostgreSQL
Azure
Docker
AI / LLMs

Some startups are trying to make meetings 3% more efficient. This one is tackling a problem that affects millions of people every day, even if they never realise it.

We're working with a AI-native startup building software for one of the UK's most complex and highly regulated industries. Their platform is already live, solving real customer problems, and they're now looking for a Founding Engineer to help scale both the product and the business.

This isn't joining a team of 50 engineers. It's joining a small, exceptionally bright group where your decisions will influence the product, architecture and engineering culture for years to come.

You'll spend as much time solving problems as you do writing code. One morning might involve designing a new backend service. The afternoon could be spent working alongside customers to understand how they actually use the product before shipping improvements into production.

You'll be expected to work backwards from user problems, challenge assumptions, and help decide what should be built in the first place.

You'll be responsible for:

Building scalable backend systems using Python and FastAPI.
Designing clean APIs, data models and software architecture that will stand the test of time.
Building AI-powered product features that deliver real value in production.
Working across the stack with React and TypeScript where appropriate.
Helping shape engineering standards, tooling and technical direction as one of the earliest hires.

They're looking for someone who:

Loves building products from zero to one.
Has strong commercial Python experience and enjoys designing well-structured systems.
Has worked with LLMs or AI features in production (rather than simply experimenting).
Enjoys operating with ambiguity and taking ownership without waiting for perfect requirements.
Thinks about users and product outcomes just as much as technical implementation.
Wants to help build an engineering culture, not just contribute to one.

Why join?

Become one of the earliest engineers in a genuinely mission-driven AI company.
Work on software with measurable real-world impact across critical infrastructure.
Join an exceptionally strong founding team with a very high technical bar.
Shape product, architecture and engineering culture from an early stage.
Meaningful equity alongside a competitive salary.
Greenfield thinking, high ownership and the opportunity to build something that genuinely matters.

If you're excited by difficult engineering problems, real ownership, and building AI products that have genuine impact beyond another productivity tool, I'd love to tell you more.

Apply via this advert or drop me an email at