Founding Infrastructure Engineer

Popcorn; Eu; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Founding-level ownership of infra

Mentorship from top DevOps engineers

Small elite team making impact weekly

Early-stage equity

Team offsites & activities

Laptop & setup freedom

Popcorn supply

Job summary

Popcorn is seeking its first Infrastructure Engineer to own the entire infrastructure—from the AWS backend to the core of a live mobile network. This is not a maintenance role, but a rare surface area where databases, workers, APIs, and a 50+ VM telco core meet AI workloads.

You'll design, defend, and implement architectural decisions, work closely with a top DevOps engineer, and grow with a bold early-stage startup building a global telco/AI platform.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of DevOps/SRE/infrastructure experience.
• Strong hands-on AWS and Terraform skills.
• Solid Linux internals and networking fundamentals.
• Curiosity about how systems work; prefers reading specs over copying configs.
• High ownership and readiness to work with founders.
• Telco experience with core network, SIP/Diameter, IMS or EPC is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own AWS estate end to end: backend services, databases, workers, queues, networking, IAM.
• Run and evolve production core network with VM-level configs.
• Operate AI/GPU machines used for workloads.
• Build automation: Terraform, observability, deployments to ensure reproducibility.
• Own security across all components, incl. network segmentation and secrets.
• Debug complex issues in traces when deep in the stack.

Skills

AWS

Linux internals

Networking fundamentals

Ownership mindset

Curiosity about systems

Tools

Terraform

Job description

In a nutshell: Full-time remote role based in EU. Join as our first Infrastructure Engineer, owning the infrastructure powering our AI and telco stack.

We Are Popcorn

• Global connectivity with no roaming fees. We’re rebuilding telco from the ground up with a single global phone plan that just works.
• AI at the core. Imagine a telco where AI screens calls, takes notes, or books restaurants for you. It’s what we’re building.
• Momentum speaks volumes. Thousands of customers already rely on Popcorn, and we’re seeing extraordinary growth.
• Raised millions in funding. Backed by investors behind leading consumer and AI companies such as Lovable and Revolut.
• Experienced team with bold ambitions.We’ve previously built consumer products used by 100,000+ people. We’re just getting started here.

The Role

You will own 100% of our infrastructure - from the AWS backend to the packet core of a live mobile network. This is not a "maintain the pipelines" DevOps job. It's rare surface area: databases, workers, and APIs on one side; a 50+ VM telco core network on the other; AI workloads in between. Every architectural decision will be yours to make, defend, and live with.

You'll work directly with and learn from one of the best DevOps engineers in the field. If you're early in your career and want to compress ten years of learning into two, this is that job.

Your mission

• Own our entire AWS estate end to end: backend services, databases, workers, queues, networking, IAM — architecture, reliability, and cost
• Run and evolve a production core network, going deep into VM-level configs and learning the ins and outs of how a real mobile network works
• Operate and optimize our AI/GPU machines
• Build the automation layer: Terraform, observability, alerting, deployment pipelines: making the whole system reproducible, not artisanal
• Own security across everything: network segmentation, secrets, access, and the elevated security bar that comes with running telco infrastructure
• Debug the hard stuff: when something deep in the stack misbehaves, you're the one in the traces

What we’re looking for

• 2–5 years of serious DevOps/SRE/infrastructure experience: early in your career, but already deep
• Strong hands-on AWS and Terraform skills
• Solid Linux internals and networking fundamentalsGenuine curiosity about how systems really work: the kind of person who reads the spec instead of copying the config
• Hunger for ownership: you want to be the person responsible, not one of fifty
• Ready to grind and work hard with founders
• Bonus: Telco experience (core network, SIP/Diameter, IMS, EPC): we'll teach you this, but if you already have it, even better

The perks

• Founding-level ownership of infrastructure most engineers never get to touch: a real production mobile network
• Direct mentorship from a top DevOps engineers
• A small, elite team where your decisions ship the same week
• Early-stage equity and the chance to shape the company from the ground up
• Team offsites (last one Barcelona in March), hackathons and padel tournaments
• Choice of laptop, tools and desk setup
• And of course, a virtually endless supply of Popcorn!

We’d be lucky to hear from you!