Founding Backend Engineer (Hybrid, London) - Stealth AI startup
c£100k + Equity + Unlimited holiday
*start-up experience or 0→1 product building exp is critical *
This stealth-mode, venture-backed AI startup is on a mission to reinvent one of the largest, most traditional industries, offering bespoke digital transformation services, bringing speed, intelligence, and automation to a space long overdue for change.
AI-first and future-focused, this transformation consultancy have capabilities in advanced ML, NLP, computer vision, RPA, Cognitive Ops, and agentic AI.
We’re looking for a Founding Backend Engineer to help architect and scale the technical foundation of this early-stage product. This is a unique ground-floor opportunity to work side-by-side with a world-class founding team and build systems that have real-world impact from day one. This is not a role for the fainthearted!
What You’ll Do:
- Build and optimise backend systems from the ground up
- Design and maintain performant, secure APIs
- Integrate AI/ML pipelines into live workflows
- Own and scale cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP)
- Lead on code quality, testing, and CI best practices
- Collaborate directly with the founders
- Help shape product, culture, and engineering excellence
What We’re Looking For:
- 5+ years' experience in backend development (Python preferred, FastAPI a plus)
- Strong with PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, Alembic, and RESTful APIs
- Experience with async I/O, type safety, and distributed systems
- Comfortable with AWS/GCP and security best practices
- Previous exposure to AI/ML products and how to integrate them practically
- A builder’s mindset, proactive, decisive, and motivated by meaningful impact
- Startup experience or 0→1 product building is critical
Why You’ll Love It:
- Backed by a top-tier European VC
- Equity you’ll feel good about
- Autonomy and influence from day one
- Hybrid working (2–3 days/week in a central London office)
- Health benefits, flexible hours, and unlimited holiday
- The chance to shape something from scratch, not just code, but culture!
If you’re excited by impact, autonomy, AI and building tech that actually matters, this is for you!