Founding Engineer

Shared Context Lab

$120K — $180K *
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Strong technical skills in frontend and backend technologies, including React/NextJS/TypeScript and Python FastAPI.
  • Experience with testing and observability tools, focusing on metrics, traces, and structured logs.
  • Proven track record of building and shipping real products in dynamic environments.
  • Demonstrated experience creating your own agents, especially with LLM/agent technologies.
  • Strong design and UX instincts with a human-centered approach to product development.
  • Ability to thrive in ambiguous situations and take full ownership of assigned tasks.
  • Excellent communication skills coupled with a collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

  • Partner with CEO and CTO to build core product and infrastructure.
  • Own major parts of the stack from design to execution.
  • Ship quickly, iterate, and make informed technical decisions.
  • Utilize agentic coding and product development tools effectively.
  • Shape the company culture by defining work processes and core values.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work closely with founding leaders in a startup environment.
  • Hands-on role in building transformative products.
  • Direct impact on company culture and values.
  • Chance to be a pioneer in a growing tech-based organization.
  • In-person collaboration in vibrant locations like San Francisco or New York City.
Full Job Description
Founding Engineer

To make this future possible, we're hiring our first engineer.

What we're looking for is tenacity, creativity, and a refusal to take no for an answer, because we're creating the future.

We want someone highly technical, high ownership, and energized by building with results. Someone who moves fast (It's 4pm on a Friday and you see a bug, and by 5pm it's fixed. We don't have a billing system? No problem), thinks in systems, and improves the status quo.

We care deeply about design, UX, and human-centered thinking. The things you make are not just powerful, but thoughtful, intuitive, and well-crafted.

What you'll do
  • Partner directly with the CEO and CTO on building core product and infrastructure from the ground up
  • Own major parts of the stack end to end from design to execution
  • Ship quickly, iterate constantly, and make smart technical tradeoffs
  • Savvy with agentic coding and product development tools - you can use as many tokens as you need
  • Be a foundational cultural anchor for the company by shaping what we do, how we work, and what values we hold close


What we're looking for
  • Strong technical skills
    • Frontend: React/NextJS/TypeScript; component-driven development, performance profiling, accessibility, data fetching/state, etc.
    • Backend: Python FastAPI, background workers/queues, Postgres, object storage, etc.
    • Experience with testing and observability (unit/integration tests, metrics, traces, structured logs)
    • Experience building and shipping real products in fast-moving environments
    • LLM/agent experience - you must have created your own agents before
  • Great product instincts and genuine care for design, UX, and human-centered product development
  • Comfortable with ambiguity, ownership, and figuring things out without waiting for perfect specs
  • Clear communicator with high standards, low ego, and strong opinions held loosely
  • Curious, growth-oriented, and a tinkerer at heart and ideally have built 0-1 previously


If you want to be early, close to the work, and hands-on in building something people truly love, we'd love to talk.

Please note: This is an in-person role in SF or NY. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide visa sponsorship or visa transfers at this time.

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