Founding Engineer (Ref: 198087)

Forsyth Barnes; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Meaningful equity

Early ownership across product

Small, multidisciplinary team

Job summary

Forsyth Barnes is seeking a Founding Engineer in New York City to build and advance the technical foundation of a growing insurance-tech platform. You will own backend architecture, product development, integrations, and internal tooling, delivering scalable systems and enabling rapid launches of new insurance products.

You will collaborate with engineering, data science, and business stakeholders from problem definition through production delivery and ongoing improvement, balancing immediate

Qualifications

• 3–10+ years of professional software engineering experience, founding-level scope.
• Strong backend capability with ability to contribute across the full stack.
• Proven production software lifecycle experience from discovery to iteration.
• Sound architectural judgment in ambiguity and limited resources.
• 自主 work style with initiative and accountability.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted programming to boost speed and quality.
• Effective communicator with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Startup experience or comfort working in a small, fast-moving team; insurance/fintech exposure is a plus.
• Willingness to work in person in New York City or relocate; visa sponsorship not available.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve backend architecture for reliability and growth.
• Build core product capabilities to expand insurance-market reach.
• Design and deliver integrations for new products and partners.
• Develop internal tools to reduce manual work and ticket volumes.
• Lead end-to-end delivery from requirements to release and iteration.
• Establish pragmatic engineering practices in an early-stage environment.
• Collaborate with data science and commercial teams to translate insights into software.
• Identify scalability, reliability, and risk priorities before constraints arise.

Skills

Backend engineering

Full-stack capability

Production lifecycle

Architectural decisions

Independent work

AI-assisted tools

Stakeholder communication

Startup experience

Delivery ownership

Tools

Modern AI tools

Job description

About Us

Our client operates in the insurance sector, developing technology that helps consumers manage the financial uncertainty created by climate-driven changes in insurance pricing. Its platform uses predictive analysis to support price-lock products, enabling customers to maintain greater rate consistency while serving policyholders across all 50 US states. With a compact team and an expanding product agenda, this organisation is building the infrastructure required to modernise insurance distribution and support future market growth.

Job Description

The Founding Engineer will establish and advance the technical foundation behind a growing insurance technology platform. This role carries broad ownership across backend architecture, product development, integrations, and operational tooling, with responsibility for turning complex business needs into reliable software. Success will involve delivering scalable systems, accelerating the launch of new insurance products, and improving internal efficiency while contributing confidently to decisions that shape the product and engineering direction.

Based in New York City, the position suits an engineer who combines strong implementation skills with product judgment and commercial awareness. You will work closely with engineering, data science, and business stakeholders, taking initiatives from initial problem definition through production delivery and continued improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and evolve backend architecture for reliability, maintainability, and sustained growth.
• Build core product capabilities that improve the customer experience and support insurance-market expansion.
• Design and deliver integrations for new insurance products, partners, and operational workflows.
• Develop internal tools that reduce manual work, streamline support processes, and lower ticket volumes.
• Lead end-to-end delivery, from clarifying requirements and assessing trade-offs to implementation, release, and iteration.
• Establish pragmatic engineering practices appropriate for an early-stage environment without slowing product momentum.
• Partner with data science and commercial colleagues to translate predictive insights and business priorities into effective software.
• Identify scalability, reliability, and technical-risk priorities before they become constraints on growth.

Requirements

• Bring approximately 3 to 10 or more years of professional software engineering experience, with depth appropriate to a founding-level role.
• Demonstrate strong backend engineering capability and the versatility to contribute across the full product stack when needed.
• Have delivered production software through the complete lifecycle, including discovery, design, implementation, deployment, and iteration.
• Show sound judgment when making architectural decisions in conditions of ambiguity, limited resources, and changing priorities.
• Work independently, take initiative, and remain accountable for outcomes rather than waiting for narrowly defined tasks.
• Use modern AI-assisted programming tools thoughtfully to improve development speed, quality, and exploration.
• Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders and contribute constructively to product decisions.
• Bring startup experience or demonstrated comfort operating in a small, fast-moving organisation; insurance or fintech exposure would be advantageous.
• Be available to work in person in New York City, or be willing to relocate; new visa sponsorship is not available.

Benefits

• Receive a competitive salary of $150,000 to $300,000, with the final level determined by experience and scope.
• Gain meaningful equity and a direct opportunity to participate in the value created by the organisation’s growth.
• Influence foundational architecture, product priorities, and engineering standards at an early stage of development.
• Work on technology addressing a clear consumer problem in insurance, with the potential for broad market impact.
• Enjoy substantial ownership across product delivery rather than being limited to a narrowly defined technical area.
• Collaborate closely with a small, multidisciplinary group where engineering decisions have visible business consequences.
• Help shape practical systems and processes that can scale as the product portfolio and customer base expand.

Other

This is a high-ownership opportunity for an engineer who wants to influence both what gets built and how it is built. The strongest candidates will pair backend or full-stack expertise with curiosity about insurance, a bias toward practical delivery, and the confidence to make thoughtful decisions without a large support structure.

The role is designed for someone comfortable balancing immediate product needs with the architectural choices that protect future growth. Candidates with transferable experience in complex, regulated, data-led, or rapidly evolving products are encouraged to demonstrate how they have taken meaningful initiatives from concept to measurable result.