Founding Product Engineer

Knowlej; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

An emerging educational technology firm is seeking a Founding Product Engineer to shape its platform. In this remote role, you'll have significant influence over product architecture and direction and will work closely with the founder. The position requires a product-minded full-stack engineer with 4-8+ years of experience in modern web frameworks. You will also help establish engineering standards and contribute to the company's growth during its crucial scaling phase. Attractive compensation with equity is offered.

Qualifications

• 4–8+ years of full‑stack experience.
• Able to take ideas from 0 to shipped without heavy structure.

Responsibilities

• Build and ship full‑stack product features end‑to‑end.
• Own technical architecture and stack decisions.
• Lead integrations across APIs and partner platforms.

Skills

Full‑stack experience

Proficiency in modern frameworks (React, Node)

Intuition for user experience

Ownership and speed

Job description

Founding Product Engineer (Full‑Stack)

Remote (U.S. preferred, open to global talent)

About Knowlej

Knowlej is building the engagement infrastructure for K–12 education.

We connect student actions like attendance, learning, and participation to real-world rewards, financial pathways, and future opportunity.

Our platform powers schools, districts, and partners to drive engagement at scale while giving students access to incentives, experiences, and long‑term economic mobility.

We are moving from early traction to a scalable national platform.

About the Role

We’re hiring our first Founding Product Engineer to build the core of the platform.

You will work directly with the founder to define, build, and scale the product from this stage forward.

This is a high‑ownership role with real influence over architecture, product direction, and speed of execution.

You are not joining a team. You are helping build the team.

What You’ll Do

• Build and ship full‑stack product features end‑to‑end
• Own technical architecture, stack decisions, and system design
• Lead integrations across APIs, SSO, and partner platforms
• Improve performance, scalability, and data infrastructure
• Translate product vision into fast, iterative releases
• Help establish engineering standards and future hiring direction

Who You Are

• 4–8+ years of full‑stack experience
• Strong with modern frameworks (React, Node, or similar)
• Product‑minded with strong intuition for user experience
• Comfortable operating with ownership, ambiguity, and speed
• Able to take ideas from 0 to shipped without heavy structure

Bonus

• Experience at an early‑stage or high‑growth startup
• Experience building platforms, marketplaces, or API‑driven systems
• Interest in education, financial access, or mission‑driven products

Compensation

• $150,000 – $170,000 base salary
• Meaningful equity (1% – 2.5%, depending on experience and scope)

What Success Looks Like

• You take ownership of the product quickly
• You ship consistently and raise the velocity of the company
• You help build a scalable technical foundation for growth
• You become a core leader in the company’s next phase