Founding Backend Engineer — AI Fintech 0→1

FORT; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

FORT is seeking two founding engineers for a backend-heavy full-stack role in New York City. You’ll work directly with the CTO to own architecture, infra, and product development from idea to launch.

You’ll build primarily with Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, TypeScript, Next.js and React, shaping the platform as the company scales toward Series A. Expect strong ownership and meaningful impact from day one.

Qualifications

• 6–12+ years of software engineering experience, backend or full-stack focus.
• Experience building production software as an individual contributor.
• Experience in early-stage startups or 0→1 product development.
• Strong backend fundamentals, including relational databases and API design.
• Proficiency with Python and/or TypeScript.
• Autonomous mindset with ownership and proactive problem solving.
• Product thinking and business/customer problem understanding.
• Comfort operating in a fast-changing environment with large ownership.
• Willingness to work 4 days/week from Tribeca office in NYC.

Responsibilities

• Build and ship products end-to-end, focusing on backend APIs, services, and data pipelines.
• Launch and scale the auto insurance product as beta ends.
• Integrate new products into the platform as the business grows.
• Make architecture and infra decisions for scalability, reliability, and long-term design.
• Develop internal tooling for non-engineering teams.
• Design APIs and relational data models as the platform expands.
• Contribute across stack using TS, Next.js, and React where needed.
• Leverage AI-assisted tools to accelerate development.
• Collaborate with the CTO to translate customer problems into scalable solutions.
• Help establish engineering standards and culture for next growth phase.

Skills

Python

TypeScript

FastAPI

PostgreSQL

API design

React

Next.js

DevOps

AI-assisted coding tools

Tools

AI-assisted coding tools

Job description

FORT is seeking two founding engineers for a backend-heavy full-stack role in New York City. You’ll work directly with the CTO to own architecture, infra, and product development from idea to launch.

You’ll build primarily with Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, TypeScript, Next.js and React, shaping the platform as the company scales toward Series A. Expect strong ownership and meaningful impact from day one.