Founding Software Engineer

Listo; Greater London; On-site; Confidential; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering technology company in Greater London is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to join their early-stage team. In this role, you will design and build foundational systems while collaborating with the CTO and founders on pivotal technical decisions. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in building production systems, thrive in startup environments, and care about system reliability and product quality. This position offers the chance to influence both engineering culture and product direction.

Qualifications

• Experience building and operationalizing production systems.
• Comfortable with architectural trade-offs in uncertain environments.
• Strong focus on product quality and reliability.

Responsibilities

• Design and build foundational backend and platform systems.
• Own platform parts from design to production.
• Define engineering patterns and best practices.

Skills

System reliability

Influencing technical decisions

Experience in startup environments

Tools

TypeScript

Node.js

Python

Kubernetes

Docker

GCP

AWS

Job description

Listo is building the infrastructure layer for AI-native distribution.

We help companies turn their existing APIs, products, and services into AI-native applications that run inside platforms like ChatGPT and other agentic systems.

We automate the entire lifecycle of AI app integration: MCP server generation, AI-native UI, hosting, deployment, monitoring, and optimisation for invocation and visibility.

Our conviction: AI platforms are the next major distribution channel, much like the App Store was a decade ago and we want to empower any business to participate.

We are an early-stage company operating at the edge of a fast-moving ecosystem. This is not a maintenance role. It’s about designing, shipping, and operating new infrastructure under real-world constraints, with real customers and real stakes.

We’re looking for a Founding Software Engineer to join Listo at the ground floor and help define our technical DNA.

You’ll work hand-in-hand with the CTO and founders on architecture, platform design, and long-term technical decisions. This is a true ownership role: you’ll build systems that must scale, operate them in production, and evolve them as customers and complexity grow.

Tasks

What You’ll Do

• Design and build foundational backend and platform systems
• Own critical parts of the platform from design through production
• Define engineering patterns, standards, and best practices
• Collaborate closely with founders on roadmap and product direction
• Think deeply about scalability, reliability, and maintainability

Requirements

What We’re Looking For

You’ll be a great fit if you:

• Have experience building and operating production systems
• Have worked in a startup or scale-up environment
• Are comfortable making architectural trade-offs in ambiguous situations
• Care deeply about system reliability and product quality
• Enjoy influencing both technical and product decisions

Preferred Tech Stack

Strong experience in several of the following is expected:

• Backend & Platform: TypeScript, Node.js, Python
• System Design: APIs, distributed systems, multi-tenant architectures
• Agentic Systems: LLM-driven workflows, orchestration, evaluation pipelines
• Infrastructure: Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD, GCP or AWS
• Observability: Metrics, logging, tracing, alerting

You Might Be an Excellent Fit If

• You’ve led products from early versions into production
• You’ve built agentic systems, MCP servers, or AI-native apps before
• You’re excited to help shape both the product and the engineering culture
• You enjoy working closely with a driven, early-stage founding team