Founding Backend Engineer - Stealth AI Startup

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!