Founding Engineer (AI startup)
Salary - £80k - £130k
Location – London Hybrid 2 days a week in office
Tech Stack - Node, Python, React, Next.js and TypeScript, AWS, LLM’s
Neulinx have partnered with an early stage, VC backed AI start up in the food industry to hire a Founding Engineer.
The business is building intelligent commerce infrastructure designed specifically for independent food makers and retailers. Their platform removes operational friction across ordering, payments and communication by embedding AI directly into day to day workflows.
The company is led by a female founder who previously built a world renowned ecommerce platform, and is now applying that experience to reimagining how independent food businesses operate. The team is small, senior and ambitious, with two engineers already in place reporting into an experienced Head of Engineering. This hire will be instrumental in shaping what comes next.
The Role
This is a true 0 to 1 opportunity with meaningful ownership.
As a Founding Engineer you will be part of the Founding Team, and will work across the full stack, helping to define architecture, build core product features and influence technical standards from the ground up. You will collaborate closely with the Head of Engineering and the existing team, contributing to product decisions as well as delivery.
You will be involved in:
* Designing and building core features across ordering, payments and discovery
* Backend development in Node and Python
* Frontend development using Next.js, React and TypeScript
* AWS infrastructure, CI/CD and tooling such as Terraform
* Integrating AI and agent based systems into production
* Supporting deployments, monitoring and platform reliability
This is a hands on role suited to someone who enjoys autonomy, fast iteration and solving real world problems for non technical users.
What We Are Looking For
Must have:
* Strong full stack capability across Node, Python, React, Next.js and TypeScript
* Solid experience with AWS and modern infrastructure practices
* Exposure to AI driven systems or LLM integrations
* Comfortable operating in ambiguity within an early stage environment
* A builder mindset with end to end ownership
Nice to have:
* Experience integrating LLMs or agent frameworks into production
* Exposure to payments infrastructure
* Previous 0 to 1 start up experience
* Empathy for non technical users and a focus on clear product experiences
Why Join
* Foundational role in a high growth AI platform within the food sector
* Real ownership and influence over architecture and product direction
* Backed by leading European VCs
* Small, senior team with direct access to leadership
* Meaningful early stage equity
If you are looking for a genuine founding level engineering role where your impact will be visible across the entire platform, this is a rare opportunity to build something ambitious from the ground up.