Senior Full-Stack Engineer | AI-Native Startup

Location: Austin, Texas Work Arrangement: Primarily On-Site Employment Type: Full-Time Industry: Artificial Intelligence | B2B SaaS | Commerce Technology

About the Opportunity

We are partnering with an ambitious, venture-backed AI-native startup that is reimagining how businesses identify customers, automate commercial operations, and scale their growth.

Operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, commerce, and business automation, the company is developing a proprietary technology platform designed to modernize a traditionally underserved multibillion-dollar industry.

The founding team is seeking an exceptional Senior Full-Stack Engineer to take substantial ownership of the company's core software platform and help shape its technical future.

This isn't a traditional senior engineering position where you'll simply execute tickets or maintain existing systems.

You'll work directly with the founders, influence product strategy, make critical architectural decisions, and personally build the technology powering the business.

The longer-term opportunity is particularly compelling: The founders envision this hire potentially progressing into the CTO position as the organization evolves.

For an ambitious engineer who enjoys building, thrives in early-stage environments, and wants meaningful ownership, this is an opportunity to make an outsized impact.

What You'll Be Doing

End-to-End Product Ownership

• Own the architecture, development, deployment, and evolution of the company's core software platform.
• Build scalable, production-grade applications spanning frontend, backend, and database layers.
• Take complete ownership of important product initiatives, from identifying problems to delivering working solutions.
• Make independent technical decisions while balancing speed, maintainability, scalability, and business impact.

Full-Stack Engineering & System Design

• Develop intuitive, high-performance web applications using modern JavaScript frameworks.
• Build backend services, APIs, data pipelines, and integrations with external platforms.
• Design robust relational database schemas and normalize complex, unstructured business data.
• Develop systems supporting customer acquisition, workflow automation, sales operations, and order management.
• Build integrations with third-party enterprise applications, including ERP and related operational systems.

AI-Native Development

• Leverage modern AI-assisted engineering tools, including Cursor, Devin, and similar technologies, to accelerate development.
• Explore opportunities to incorporate intelligent automation and AI-driven workflows into the product.
• Continuously improve engineering processes, development velocity, and product quality.

Product Strategy & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate directly with company founders and commercial teams to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Gather feedback from actual platform users and rapidly turn insights into product improvements.
• Influence the product roadmap, technical priorities, and long-term platform architecture.
• Help establish engineering practices and contribute to the team's technical direction as the company grows.

What We're Looking For

Essential Qualifications

• Approximately 3–12 years of professional software engineering experience, with a preference for engineers who have demonstrated significant ownership and technical maturity.
• Strong hands-on full-stack engineering experience building and shipping production software.
• Demonstrated ownership of an entire product, platform, or substantial customer-facing product area.
• Proficiency with modern frontend technologies such as React, TypeScript, JavaScript, Next.js, or comparable frameworks.
• Strong backend development experience using Python, Node.js, Java, Go, or equivalent technologies.
• Experience with relational databases, SQL, ORMs, database architecture, and data modeling.
• Understanding of API design, integrations, and scalable application architecture.
• Familiarity with Linux command-line environments and modern development workflows.
• Strong product judgment, problem-solving abilities, and technical decision-making skills.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and execute effectively with limited oversight.
• Willingness to work primarily on-site in Austin, Texas, or relocate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering experience at a credible, high-growth startup, ideally from Seed through Series B.
• Previous experience as a Founding Engineer, early engineering hire, Senior Product Engineer, or technical founder.
• Experience building customer-facing B2B SaaS products, AI-native platforms, or operational software.
• Exposure to data modeling, ETL pipelines, third-party integrations, and complex real-world business data.
• Experience working directly with founders, product stakeholders, or business users.
• Proven ability to translate ambiguous business requirements into practical software solutions.
• Experience mentoring or guiding other engineers while remaining actively involved in coding.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent demonstrated technical expertise.
• Interest in commerce, retail technology, consumer products, or business automation.

Prior experience in consumer packaged goods or retail is advantageous but not required.

Who Will Thrive in This Role?

We're looking for someone who thinks like a founder but still loves writing code.

The ideal candidate:

• Builds, rather than delegates: Enjoys personally designing, coding, testing, and launching products.
• Takes ownership: Treats product success as their own responsibility rather than waiting for detailed instructions.
• Thinks commercially: Understands that great engineering ultimately solves real customer and business problems.
• Moves quickly: Thrives in environments where priorities evolve and decisions need to be made without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Embraces AI: Uses modern development tools and automation to ship better software faster.
• Has entrepreneurial ambition: Wants to help build a lasting company rather than simply move into another senior engineering position.
• Values long-term impact: Is motivated by meaningful ownership, strong collaboration, and building something substantial over several years.

This opportunity is best suited to someone who enjoys the intensity, autonomy, and accountability of an early-stage startup.

Why Join?

Meaningful Ownership

Own a core technology platform and influence both the product and engineering direction of the business.

Potential CTO Progression

The founders envision this position potentially evolving into the company's CTO role. This is a long-term opportunity rather than a guaranteed promotion or fixed succession timeline.

Direct Founder Collaboration

Work closely with an ambitious founding team, making decisions that directly influence the company's growth.

AI-First Engineering Culture

Build with modern technologies, AI-assisted development tools, and an emphasis on rapid product execution.

High-Impact Environment

Join a small, focused engineering organization where your contributions will directly shape the product, customer experience, and technical foundation.

Work Arrangement

• Work Location: Austin, Texas.
• On-Site Expectations: Primarily five days per week, with potential flexibility for exceptional candidates.
• Relocation: Assistance may be available for qualified candidates.
• Work Authorization: Applicants must already have unrestricted US work authorization. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Ready to Build Something Meaningful?

If you're an exceptional hands-on engineer who wants to own more than individual features, influence real product decisions, and help build the technology behind an ambitious AI-native business, we'd love to connect.

This is an opportunity for someone who wants to build like a founding engineer today and potentially lead like a CTO tomorrow.

Let's talk.