Founding Engineer

Thera (YC S22); New York (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A burgeoning fintech company in New York is looking for a Founding Engineer to architect and build core systems for global payroll. This role offers significant ownership, meaningful equity, and a direct impact on product and culture. The ideal candidate has 3–7+ years of experience in building production systems, thrives in fast-paced environments, and is comfortable owning features end-to-end. Compensation ranges from $100K to $180K, underlining the significant role within the startup.

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years building and shipping production systems.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and move extremely fast.
• Experience with 0→1 features ownership.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and scale core systems powering global payroll.
• Work directly with the CEO on product development.
• Shape the engineering culture from day one.

Skills

Building production systems

Typescript

Java/Kotlin

Problem-solving

Ambiguity handling

Job description

About Thera

Thera is building the financial OS for modern SMBs — payroll, payments, treasury, spend, accounting, docs, all in one ecosystem. We're backed by the world9s leading investors including Y Combinator, 10X Founders, Zillionize, Amino Capital, etc.

As a Founding Engineer, you9ll help architect, build, and scale the core systems that power global payroll and money movement. You9ll work directly with the CEO, ship fast, own large pieces of the product, and shape the engineering culture from day one.

What You9ll Build

• New products across our broader ecosystem (Spend, Docs, Cash, Accounting)

About You

• 3–7+ years building and shipping production systems
• You thrive in ambiguity, move extremely fast, and care deeply about craft
• Comfortable owning 0→1 features end-to-end
• Bias toward action, simple solutions, and high standards
• Preferred experience with Typescript + Java/Kotlin

Why Thera

This is a true founding role: huge ownership, meaningful equity, direct impact on product and culture, and a chance to build one of the most important fintech platforms of the next decade.

You can read more about our cultural principles here. (Principles page not included in this description.)

Compensation Range: $100K - $180K