Founding Head of Engineering

Agentic Commerce Startup; United States; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Co-founder-level equity

Direct partnership with experienced founder

Job summary

Agentic Commerce Startup is seeking a Founding Head of Engineering to partner with the CEO in building a category-defining platform in AI-driven commerce. This role involves defining technical strategies, making foundational architectural decisions, and shaping the engineering culture.

The ideal candidate will have 15+ years of experience in engineering leadership and a proven track record in building scalable systems. Ownership and a founder mentality are critical for success.

Embrace the opportunity to lead and define the technical backbone of a once-per-generation platform shift with co-founder-level equity.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience building and scaling complex platforms and systems.
• Proven 0→1 engineering leadership.
• Strong architectural judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.

Responsibilities

• Define the core technical strategy and platform architecture.
• Translate an early thesis into a real, working product quickly.
• Hire early engineers, set the technical and cultural bar.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Systems thinking

Commerce platforms

AI-driven systems

Architectural judgment

Education

Computer Science or related field

Job description

Founding Head of Engineering – Stealth Mode

Agentic Commerce | Category-Defining Platform

The way people discover, decide, and buy is being rewritten. I've spent my career at the platforms that defined commerce and AI — and I've never seen a shift this fundamental move this fast. The infrastructure layer is being laid right now, and the team that gets it right in the next 18 months owns the category. I'm looking for one person to build it with me.

– Jacqueline Karlin, Founder & CEO

Company Snapshot

Status: Stealth

Stage: Formation / Pre-Seed

Category: Agentic Commerce

Market: ~$1.3T projected by 2030

Location: (flexible - Hybrid or Remote)

We are building a company at the frontier of Agentic Commerce, where AI becomes the primary interface for discovery, decision-making, and transactions. This is a once-per-cycle platform shift—comparable to mobile and cloud—that requires new technical primitives, architectures, and systems of trust.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Founding Head of Engineering to partner directly with the founder as a true technical counterpart and co-creator—owning the technical execution, architectural foundations, and engineering culture of a category-defining platform.

This is a 0→1 founding role. You will be standing up the entire product engineering stack when you join. You will make early, high-leverage decisions that shape the company for years, balancing speed with durability and ambition with rigor. The role requires deep systems thinking, strong product taste, and hands-on execution—paired with the judgment to know when not to overbuild.

The ideal candidate operates with founder-level ownership — low ego, high accountability, and a bias toward action. They've navigated real platform or interface shifts across commerce and AI, built systems that scale, and have the judgment to know which conventions are worth breaking and which are worth preserving.

What You’ll Own

• Technical execution & architecture: Define the core technical strategy and platform architecture from first principles
• Agent-native foundations: Design and build systems that support AI-driven discovery, decisioning, and transactions—optimized for trust, extensibility, and interoperability
• 0→1 execution: Translate an early thesis into real, working product quickly, keeping things simple while we seek PMF
• Protocol fluency: Architect for emerging agent-to-agent standards (MCP, A2A) and build for interoperability before it's required.
• Judgment under uncertainty: Navigate tradeoffs between speed, quality, and durability in a stealth environment without hiding behind process or perfectionism
• Engineering culture & talent bar: Hire early engineers, set the technical and cultural bar, and model ownership, clarity, and accountability from day one
• Founder-level collaboration: Operate as a thought partner to product and GTM leadership, shaping what gets built—not just how it’s built
• Long-term defensibility: Build systems that accrue durable advantage through data, workflows, and ecosystem integration over time

Who We’re Looking For

Required

• 15+ years of experience building and scaling complex platforms and systems
• Proven 0→1 engineering leadership
• Deep background in commerce platforms, AI-driven systems, marketplaces, or distributed systems
• Strong architectural judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Founder mentality: high ownership, comfort with responsibility, and willingness to make irreversible decisions early

Strong Preference

• Experience operating at startup velocity within the Fintech, AI and/or Commerce Verticals
• Prior founder, co-founder, early-stage CTO experience or 0-1 platforms in Large enterprises
• Demonstrated ability to lead with low ego, strong convictions, and clear decision-making
• Pattern recognition from prior platform or interface shifts (e.g., marketplaces, cloud, AI)
• Strong technical foundation in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related field — through formal training or demonstrated execution.
• Exceptional builders come from non-linear paths. We care about judgment and track record — not pedigree.

What Success Looks Like

• You are an inspirational leader who sets the cultural bar, brings people together, and builds high-trust, highly collaborative teams.
• You turn an early thesis into a credible, scalable, and defensible technical platform
• You make early architectural decisions that age well as complexity grows
• You enable fast product iteration without compromising long-term integrity
• You attract exceptional engineers who value ownership and clarity
• You build technical foundations capable of supporting category leadership

Why This Role

• Founding-team ownership and leadership in a once-per-generation platform shift
• Direct partnership with an experienced founder and former executive at the world’s largest commerce and AI platforms
• Opportunity to lead and define the technical backbone of Agentic Commerce
• Co-founder-level equity, influence, and accountability from day one
• There is one seat at this table.

We are building a small, focused founding team. This search is direct and relationship-driven.