Founding Product Engineer

Spoks; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) match

Annual offsites

Equipment provided

Job summary

Spoks in Austin, TX is seeking a full-time software engineer focused on frontend and AI. You will take features from idea to production, building the interface, backend logic and database changes, and ship your own features while collaborating with our Europe team.

We value good design, clear interactions for AI features, and reliable performance for Shopify merchants. You will work with React, Next.js, TypeScript, NestJS, PostgreSQL and Google Cloud Platform on web and mobile, building

Qualifications

• Strong TS/React experience across frontend and backend.
• Ability to design AI-enabled UX and model integration.
• Experience with NestJS and PostgreSQL.

Responsibilities

• Own features from early sketches through release: build the frontend, write backend logic and APIs, make database changes, and test the complete experience.
• Build AI features from the model integration through to the interface, making them useful, responsive and reliable for merchants.
• Design clear interactions around AI: show what is happening, make suggestions easy to edit, and give merchants control over what gets published or sent.
• Test AI features for usefulness and reliability. Build clear loading, empty and error states, and improve the experience when results fall short.
• Watch how merchants use what you ship, remove friction and improve both the feature and its design with the team.

Skills

Frontend development

Backend development

TypeScript

React

AI feature development

Tools

NestJS

PostgreSQL

Google Cloud Platform

Flutter

Job description

You’ll develop AI-powered workflows and product experiences that make email and SMS easier for Shopify merchants. Our platform already combines messaging, automation, CRM, analytics and forms across web and mobile. Your work will make those capabilities simpler to understand and use.

This is a full-stack role with a focus on frontend and AI. You'll take features from an idea to production, building the interface, backend logic and database changes they need. You'll work alongside our established engineering team in Europe, share decisions and review each other's work, while taking responsibility for shipping your own features. Good design matters: clear flows, thoughtful details and fewer steps between an idea and a finished campaign.

The platform and stack

Our technology powers both Spoks for Shopify merchants and Knips for real estate businesses. We build with React and Next.js with TypeScript for web, Flutter for mobile, and NestJS with TypeScript, PostgreSQL and Google Cloud Platform on the backend.

What you will do

• Own features from early sketches through release: build the frontend, write backend logic and APIs, make database changes, and test the complete experience.
• Build AI features from the model integration through to the interface, making them useful, responsive and reliable for merchants.
• Design clear interactions around AI: show what is happening, make suggestions easy to edit, and give merchants control over what gets published or sent.
• Test AI features for usefulness and reliability. Build clear loading, empty and error states, and improve the experience when results fall short.
• Watch how merchants use what you ship, remove friction and improve both the feature and its design with the team.

What you will bring

• You've built working software and can explain the problem it solves and the choices you made. Substantial personal or open-source projects count, as does work used by paying customers.
• You can independently build and debug across the stack: frontend, APIs, backend logic and relational databases. You are strong in TypeScript and React or Next.js, and comfortable working with NestJS and PostgreSQL. Flutter experience is a plus.
• You have an eye for good design and can turn it into a usable interface. Show us thoughtful layout, interaction details, accessibility and an experience that works well across screen sizes.
• You've built or experimented seriously with AI features. You understand model APIs, context, retrieval and evaluation, and can explain what worked, what didn't and how you checked the results.
• You can scope a useful first version, make practical tradeoffs and take it through testing, release and follow-up fixes. You know when to get a second opinion and can keep the work moving yourself.

Early in your career? We'd like to hear from you. Substantial personal projects, open-source work and products you've built yourself can show us what you're capable of. We care about what you can build and how quickly you learn, not a long list of employers.

Coding agents

We expect you to build with coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex. During the interview, you'll demonstrate how you scope a task, provide context, review generated code and test the result. Show how you improve the interface and interaction details as well as the implementation. Be ready to explain where an agent went wrong and how you corrected it.

What to show us

Tell us about a product or feature you built, ideally involving AI. Who was it for, which parts of the frontend and backend did you build, and what made it better? Tell us about a design decision you're proud of and how you used coding agents. A short written explanation is enough. Links to a live product or personal project are welcome too.

Why Spoks

Help build the challenger.

Entrepreneurs need powerful marketing they can afford and use without becoming software specialists. We’re taking on Klaviyo and Mailchimp with email and SMS built for Shopify, a mobile app and AI that helps merchants get the work done.

Hundreds of paying stores already use Spoks, and we’re growing fast. Our goal is 100,000 customers with a lean team. You’ll work directly with our founder in Austin, own a meaningful part of that growth and have experienced colleagues in Norway and Poland to draw on.

Working at Spoks

This is a full-time role. We work hybrid in Austin, with at least three days together in the office each week.

• 15 paid vacation days, 10 company holidays and 5 paid sick days each year.
• Medical, dental and vision insurance.
• A 401(k) employer match of up to 4% of eligible pay.
• Annual offsites with the whole team. Next up: Norway, with fjords, good food and time together. Sauna and a dip in the ice-cold sea are optional.
• Your work computer and the equipment needed for the role.

Your compensation

$120,000–$150,000 annual base salary. Your offer within the range reflects the experience and skills you bring to the work.

Annual company performance bonus tied to net subscription ARR growth.

Bonus targets are agreed before the performance period. Equity may also be discussed as part of your offer.

Meet the rest of the team
we’re building.