Job description
Founding Engineer | Platform & AI Foundations
Company Overview
We are an early-stage B2B SaaS startup in Berlin, founded by experienced operators with a strong track record of building and scaling software companies. We are building an AI-native data platform that integrates deeply into complex go-to-market tool landscapes. Our product helps B2B teams understand, measure, and communicate customer value — and enables AI assistants and agents to take real, data-backed actions inside customer workflows.
Job Summary
This is a rare opportunity to join as the first engineering hire and take full technical ownership of a greenfield product. As our Founding Engineer (Platform & AI Foundations), you will define and build the technical backbone of the company. You will design, implement, and own the core platform — from backend services and data architecture to AI integrations and cloud infrastructure. You’ll work closely with the founders, translate product vision into production systems, and set the technical standards for everything that follows. This role is hands-on, high-ownership, and suited to an experienced engineer who enjoys ambiguity and building from zero to one.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and build the core backend platform and APIs
- Own data modelling and storage across transactional, analytical, and AI-driven use cases
- Establish foundational services such as authentication, user management, and data governance
- Build the system with security and future compliance (ISO/SOC2) in mind
- Integrate third-party AI models and services via robust APIs
- Design structured interfaces that allow LLMs to access live data and execute actions
- Implement or evolve Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns where appropriate
- Build with an AI-first mindset, using modern coding assistants to accelerate development
- Set up a pragmatic, cloud-native infrastructure using managed services
- Define containerisation and CI/CD pipelines
- Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting
- Coordinate external specialists for infrastructure hardening or compliance certification when needed
Requirements / Qualifications
- 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience
- Proven ownership of production systems in a startup or scale-up environment
- Comfortable being the technical decision-maker and first builder
- Strong communication skills and a collaborative, low-ego approach
- Deep experience with at least one modern backend stack (e.g. Python, TypeScript/NestJS, Java)
- Solid cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- Strong data engineering fundamentals (SQL + NoSQL)
- Experience designing or operating data-heavy platforms
- Familiarity with AI integration patterns (e.g. RAG, LLM tool/function calling)
- Working knowledge of Docker and containerised environments
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with vector databases, AI agent frameworks, or compliance processes is a plus, but not a requirement.
Location
Berlin (Hybrid, 3+ days onsite)
Employment Type
Founding Team / First Engineering Hire
Salary & Benefits
100.000 EUR + Shares
