At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build a revolutionary payments platform for connected vehicles.
- Company: Join an early-stage venture in Central London with a mission to innovate vehicle payments.
- Benefits: Competitive salary of £120,000 plus bonus, with opportunities for growth.
- Other info: Work closely with an experienced founder and enjoy a dynamic startup environment.
- Why this job: Shape the future of mobility and payments from day one in a hands-on role.
- Qualifications: Experience in building backend platforms and distributed systems, preferably in fintech or mobility.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
An early-stage venture is building the payments layer for connected vehicles - enabling cars to automatically detect, process, and settle real-world road charges without driver intervention. Parking, tolls, congestion charging, and airport drop-offs are currently fragmented, manual, and operationally painful. The mission is to make vehicle payments invisible.
The business is launching where the pain is greatest - rental and fleet operations - helping eliminate unpaid charges, reduce admin overhead, and improve customer experience through intelligent automation. The role will commence in July, so you will need to be available to start quickly.
The Opportunity
This is a rare chance to join at day one and shape both the product and engineering function from the ground up. Working directly with an experienced founder, you will architect and build the platform, make foundational technical decisions, and play a key role in defining the future team and culture. This is a hands-on builder role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and enjoys creating systems from first principles.
What you will own
- Designing and building the core platform and architecture - you decide the technology stack.
- Integrating with telematics platforms, connected vehicle APIs, and payment infrastructure.
- Creating geospatial decision engines to detect vehicle movement and charge events.
- Building billing, orchestration, and operational tooling.
- Developing scalable backend services and APIs.
- Working closely with mobility ecosystem partners.
- Establishing engineering standards and helping scale the team over time.
Ideal Background
We are looking for exceptional builders with start-up experience.
What are we looking for?
- Taking products and teams from 0 to 1.
- Building backend platforms and distributed systems.
- Cloud-native platforms and high-scale APIs.
- And one or more of the below:
- Fintech or payments infrastructure.
- Mobility, telematics, automotive, fleet, or transport technology.
- Geospatial systems and location intelligence.
Technical Environment
Experience across several of the following is valuable:
- Python, TypeScript, Go, Java, or similar.
- REST APIs and distributed architectures.
- AWS and cloud infrastructure.
- PostgreSQL and data-intensive systems.
- Docker, CI/CD, observability, and reliability engineering.
- Third-party integrations and secure production systems.
The Person
- Strong product instincts.
- High ownership mentality.
- Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
- Excellent communicator.
- Energised by startup pace and autonomy.
- Interested in growing into an engineering leadership role.
Why This Role
- Founding-level impact.
- Significant influence across product and technology.
- Direct customer and partner exposure.
- Build in a category with enormous potential at the intersection of mobility, payments, and software infrastructure.
- Partner with a founder who has previously built and exited a business in the space.
Coburg Banks Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Founding Engineer / Technical Lead in City of London employer: Coburg Banks
Join an innovative early-stage venture in Central London, where you will have the unique opportunity to shape the future of vehicle payments from the ground up. With a strong focus on collaboration and autonomy, our work culture fosters creativity and rapid growth, allowing you to make significant contributions while developing your skills alongside experienced founders. Enjoy competitive compensation, a dynamic environment, and the chance to be part of a transformative mission that enhances customer experiences in the mobility sector.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Engineer / Technical Lead in City of London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Coburg Banks or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Coburg Banks.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Coburg Banks.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Coburg Banks that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Engineer / Technical Lead in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Coburg Banks.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Coburg Banks and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Coburg Banks
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Coburg Banks uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
