Engineering Manager

Next Ventures; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Next Ventures is seeking a Founding Engineer in New York City to build core infrastructure and integrations for an early-stage startup. Ideal candidates have 4-8 years of experience and a strong emphasis on backend development.

This role involves ownership of projects, designing scalable systems, and contributing to the engineering culture. Applicants should demonstrate experience in a 0-to-1 environment with entrepreneurial spirit.

Qualifications

• 4-8 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong full-stack development experience with a backend emphasis.
• Experience taking products or major features from 0 to 1.

Responsibilities

• Own large, greenfield initiatives from concept through production.
• Design and build scalable backend services and APIs.
• Develop integrations with third-party platforms.

Skills

Full-stack development

Backend systems design

APIs and integrations

React

Node.js / Express

PostgreSQL

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or another STEM discipline

Job description

Founding Engineer (Full Stack, Backend-Leaning)

Location: New York City (5 days/week onsite)

About the Opportunity

We're seeking a Founding Engineer with 4-8 years of experience to join an early-stage, venture-backed startup as one of the first engineering hires. This is a high-impact opportunity for someone who thrives in a 0-to-1 environment and wants to help build both the product and engineering culture from the ground up.

You'll work closely with company leadership to design and build core infrastructure, integrations, and AI-powered workflows that solve complex operational challenges in a rapidly growing industry.

This role is ideal for an entrepreneurial engineer who enjoys ownership, moves quickly, and wants to make meaningful contributions at an early-stage company.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own large, greenfield initiatives from concept through production.
• Design and build scalable backend services and APIs.
• Develop integrations with third-party platforms and external systems.
• Build agentic AI workflows and automation capabilities that support real-time decision-making and operational coordination.
• Develop AI-powered infrastructure, including voice and communication systems.
• Architect and implement scalable services, data models, and system integrations.
• Partner closely with leadership to shape product direction, technical strategy, and engineering best practices.
• Contribute to hiring processes and help establish the foundation of the engineering organization.

Required Qualifications

• 4-8 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong full-stack development experience with a backend emphasis.
• Hands-on experience with:
  • React
  • Node.js / Express
  • PostgreSQL
• Demonstrated experience designing and building scalable systems and services.
• Experience building APIs, integrations, and backend infrastructure.
• Experience taking products or major features from 0 to 1.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as an early engineering hire at a startup, founding engineer, or member of a small, high-growth product team.
• Experience launching new products or initiatives within larger technology organizations.
• Experience building and deploying AI-powered applications, agentic workflows, or automation systems.
• Experience with LLM applications, conversational AI, or voice infrastructure in production environments.
• Experience integrating with complex third-party platforms and external systems.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or another STEM discipline.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Entrepreneurial and highly autonomous.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and wearing multiple hats.
• Strong systems thinker with excellent architecture and design skills.
• Motivated by ownership and building products from the ground up.
• Interested in joining an early-stage company and helping shape both the product and engineering culture.
• Mission-driven and energized by solving meaningful, real-world problems.