Find a job 
Featured Companies 
Featured Universities 
For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead backend development, design APIs, and build scalable services in a fast-paced environment.
- Company: Join Affinity Labs, an innovative AI venture studio transforming company creation.
- Benefits: Equity stake from day one, rapid career growth, and hands-on experience with cutting-edge tech.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by launching multiple products quickly and learning from industry experts.
- Qualifications: 3-6 years of backend experience, strong Python skills, and a startup mindset.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture focused on collaboration and innovation.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
At Affinity Labs, we’re building the future of company creation, a full-stack AI venture studio that partners with content creators to co-found authentic, scalable software businesses. By combining AI-native development with creator-led distribution, we’re pioneering a new model of monetisation to rapidly build, launch, and scale digital ventures aligned with creators and their audiences.
We aim to launch ventures 10x faster and cheaper than traditional methods using our internal "AI factory": a multi-agent architecture, reusable component libraries, and a growing knowledge graph that learns from every product we ship.
Why Affinity Labs:
- Ship at rapid pace with AI-accelerated workflows, see your work distributed to thousands of users at launch, and compound impact across multiple products, not just one.
Role Description
You’ll lead end-to-end backend development across our products: scoping services, designing data models and APIs, building, testing, shipping, and iterating in tight cycles. This is an early-stage, hands-on role with significant autonomy and responsibility to drive backend product development, collaborating closely with founders, creators, and product/design to turn lean specs into reliable, scalable services.
Responsibilities
- Implement features end-to-end on the backend (APIs → data models → integrations) and maintain quality while moving fast.
- Run tight build, test, iterate, ship loops; provide realistic estimates and surface blockers early.
- Manage tech debt pragmatically; record key decisions as lightweight ADRs/notes in the tooling.
- Participate in daily standups and weekly planning, contribute to technical strategy & execute from Linear tickets.
- Contribute to architecture and product discussions; be heard in debate, align to unified decisions.
- Own operability: set up and maintain CI/CD, monitoring/alerting, performance & error budgets, and safe rollback paths.
- Build and integrate AI features (LLM/agent workflows, RAG/vector DB integration, eval hooks, cost/safety guardrails).
Essential Requirements
- 3-6+ years building production backends/services, with shipped work and clear ownership.
- Strong Python (FastAPI) and database skills (PostgreSQL/MongoDB); solid API design fundamentals.
- Familiarity with AWS serverless patterns and Docker for bespoke services; basic CI/CD concepts.
- Comfortable with Redis (caching/sessions) and common queue/messaging patterns.
- Startup mindset: high ownership, pace, ambiguity; willing to burn the midnight oil when needed.
- Growth mindset & flexibility: open to feedback; not rigid about stack/tools.
- Clear communicator & collaborator; lean on your experience to guide product decisions.
- Evidence of shipping quickly in small teams (links to repos, case studies, or live services).
Desired
- Node.js alongside Python for services or integrations.
- Experience with vector databases (e.g., Chroma) and embedding pipelines.
- LangChain or CrewAI for orchestration; MCP servers for integrations.
- Security hygiene (secrets, permissions, least-privilege) and practical data-privacy basics.
- Planning & execution in Linear (or similar).
Tools & Stack
- Backend/Runtime: Python (FastAPI), Node.js.
- Datastores: PostgreSQL, MongoDB (as appropriate), Redis (caching/sessions).
- Vectors/Embeddings: Chroma (or similar).
- AI Models & APIs: Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google); Amazon Nova Canvas (vision), Deepgram (audio).
- AI Dev Tools: LangChain or CrewAI (orchestration), MCP servers (integration), GitHub Copilot / Claude Code.
- Infrastructure: AWS (serverless functions), Docker (primarily for custom MCPs).
- Frontend (when needed): React/Next.js (for dashboards/admins, used selectively).
Competencies & Behaviours
- Communicates clearly with technical and non-technical teammates.
- Takes ownership from concept to deploy and through maintenance.
- Balances technical excellence with pragmatic delivery to meet business needs.
- Adapts quickly to changing requirements and emerging tech; applies AI learnings.
- Sets clear goals, tracks progress, and hits commitments; collaborates across disciplines.
Why this role is a career launchpad
- Own the code & the company. You step in as a Founding Engineer with a meaningful equity stake from day one.
- Ship faster with AI at your side. Our workflow bakes in AI so you spend your time solving real problems—not boilerplate.
- Ride a rocket. Our wider vision is big and the bar is high; we need driven people who can help us achieve an ambitious roadmap.
- Grow like crazy. You’ll architect, build, and launch multiple products each year. The shipping reps you’ll get in 12 months here would take 3–4 years in a typical startup. There’s a lot of work, it’s high intensity, and the expectation is to ship extremely quickly.
- Learn from builders, not bosses. Work shoulder-to-shoulder with a team that has scaled VC-backed startups, closed multi-million-pound term sheets, and collaborated with 1,000+ creators across formats and categories.
Founding Engineer (Full Stack / Backend) in City of London employer: Affinity Labs
Contact Detail:
Affinity Labs Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Engineer (Full Stack / Backend) in City of London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend meetups, tech events, or even online webinars. You never know who might be looking for a Founding Engineer or who can put you in touch with someone who is.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio that highlights your best projects, especially those that demonstrate your backend development prowess. Share links to your GitHub repos or any live services you've built. This will give potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and coding challenges. But don’t just stop there—be ready to discuss your thought process and how you tackle problems. We want to see your approach to building scalable services!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining us at Affinity Labs. Don’t forget to tailor your application to highlight how your experience aligns with our mission!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Engineer (Full Stack / Backend) in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Founding Engineer role. Highlight your experience with backend development, especially in Python and database management, as this will show us you’re a great fit for our team.
Showcase Your Work: Include links to your previous projects or repositories that demonstrate your skills. We love seeing evidence of your work, so don’t hold back on sharing what you’ve built and shipped!
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. We appreciate clear communication, so make sure your points are easy to understand and directly related to the role.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role without any hiccups!
How to prepare for a job interview at Affinity Labs
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Python (FastAPI) and database skills like PostgreSQL and MongoDB. Brush up on your API design fundamentals and be ready to discuss how you've used these tools in past projects.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along examples of your previous work, such as links to repositories or case studies. Be prepared to explain your role in these projects, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them. This will demonstrate your hands-on experience and ownership.
✨Emphasise Your Startup Mindset
Affinity Labs is looking for someone with a startup mentality, so highlight your ability to work in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. Share experiences where you’ve had to adapt quickly, take ownership, and deliver results under pressure.
✨Prepare for Technical Discussions
Expect to engage in technical strategy discussions during the interview. Brush up on your knowledge of CI/CD, monitoring, and error budgets. Be ready to discuss how you would approach building and integrating AI features, as this is a key part of the role.
