Founding Engineering Lead

Founding Engineering Lead

We are seeking a Founding Engineering Lead to build and scale the technology function for a fast-growing, operations-heavy marketplace startup. This is a high-ownership leadership role for a builder who can translate business vision into scalable technology, build products from scratch, and eventually grow into the technology leader of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Own and define the end-to-end technology vision, architecture, and engineering roadmap.
• Lead the 0→1 and 1→10 journey of building scalable products, platforms, and internal systems from scratch.
• Translate business goals, operational challenges, and founder vision into practical technology solutions.
• Partner directly with founders to shape product strategy, execution priorities, and long-term technology direction.
• Build, hire, mentor, and scale the engineering organization over time.
• Ensure scalability, reliability, security, and performance as the business grows.
• Act as a strategic technology partner in discussions with leadership, investors, and key stakeholders.

Requirements

• 8-13 years of experience in software engineering, product engineering, or technology leadership roles.
• Proven experience building products and platforms from 0→1 and scaling them through 1→10 growth stages.
• Prior experience as an Engineering Manager, Director of Engineering, Founding Engineer, Founding CTO, or equivalent high-ownership role.
• Experience hiring, managing, and scaling engineering teams.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in startup environments with limited resources and high ambiguity.
• Strong understanding of product thinking, business strategy, and translating business requirements into technology solutions.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including interaction with founders, leadership teams, and investors.

Preferred Background

• Experience in marketplace, mobility, logistics, supply chain, automotive commerce, inventory-led businesses, or other operationally complex domains.
• Exposure to scaling businesses from early-stage startup to growth-stage environments.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong builder mentality and long-term ownership orientation.