Overview

Founding Software Engineer – Consumer AI (Stealth Mode) – London – 2-3 days a week in the office. Up to £120,000 plus generous stock options.

Are you a Backend-focused Software Engineer ready to build something radically new in AI and consumer tech?

We are working with a stealth-mode, consumer AI start-up backed by top-tier US and European VCs to find a Software Engineer to join the Founding team. Their mission is to help people make smarter spending decisions with the help of AI agents that understand their needs, habits and trusted social circles. They are building a completely new kind of shopping experience—deeply personalized, socially intuitive, and powered by the latest in generative AI. This is a massive, untapped opportunity in a $1tr+ category.

They are looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape the product, stack and culture from day one. You don’t need to cover all of the below as what they are looking for most are Software Engineers with a product-mindset, a bias for action who enjoys building things from scratch and learning as you go!

What you’ll do as a Founding Software Engineer:

• You will design and build the alpha version of their AI-powered platform from the ground up.
• Design, prototype and ship fast backend solutions to underpin the customer-validated features.
• Craft scalable and reliable solutions while experimenting with GenAI tooling to supercharge your workflow and product capabilities.
• Collaborate closely with the cofounders in a small, high-trust, mission-driven team.

What they’re looking for in a Founding Software Engineer:

• Strong experience building polished and scalable backend systems, ideally with C#.Net Core or, if you are a polyglot, another OO language.
• A 0→1 mindset: You’ve launched things from scratch, either at startups or on your own and enjoy fast iteration cycles, direct user feedback, and high ownership.
• Comfort using modern AI tools and platforms in your workflow.
• A customer-obsessed, fast-learning engineer who cares about real-world impact.

They are pragmatic about using the right tool for the job and while the backend relies heavily on the Microsoft stack they actively consider other languages like Python for data-heavy tasks, Go for microservices or Rust where performance is key. They are constantly evolving their GenAI toolkit and are currently using Cursor, CLINE, Windsurf.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Founding Software Engineer to join a well-funded AI start-up. Please reply with your CV or call Simon for a chat.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Information Technology

Industries

• Software Development and Technology
• Information and Media