Founding Engineer: Build from Zero to One & Own the Tech

People Culture Talent; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

People Culture Talent is seeking founding engineers to join early-stage, venture-backed startups. You will shape the technical direction, own significant product areas, and influence the company’s trajectory while collaborating directly with founders and early team members.

You will build core systems, establish engineering practices, and help scale both product and organization as the company grows. This role suits engineers who thrive in ambiguity and want outsized impact.

Qualifications

• Significant software engineering experience and a track record of shipping high-quality products.
• Strong technical judgment and the ability to make pragmatic decisions in fast-moving environments.
• Comfort with ambiguity and taking ownership without extensive structure.
• A product-oriented mindset with interest in customer and business impact.
• Ability to work across different areas of the technical stack.
• Excitement about early-stage companies and building systems, products, and teams from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Build core products and features from zero to one, collaborating with founders.
• Make foundational architecture and technology decisions that influence scaling.
• Work across the stack based on product and business needs.
• Partner with founders, customers, and early team members to translate ideas into working products.
• Establish engineering practices, systems, and standards as the team grows.
• Identify and solve ambiguous technical and product challenges.
• Contribute to hiring and building the future engineering organization.

Skills

Software engineering

Technical judgment

Ownership & accountability

Product-minded

Systems thinking

Job description

People Culture Talent is seeking founding engineers to join early-stage, venture-backed startups. You will shape the technical direction, own significant product areas, and influence the company’s trajectory while collaborating directly with founders and early team members.

You will build core systems, establish engineering practices, and help scale both product and organization as the company grows. This role suits engineers who thrive in ambiguity and want outsized impact.