Founding Engineer in London

Founding Engineer in London

London Full-Time 36000 - 60000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
Higher - AI recruitment

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Join a mission-driven startup to build innovative healthcare solutions for women.
  • Company: Hesta Health, a pioneering healthtech startup focused on postnatal care.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity, mentorship from experienced co-founders, and 25 days annual leave.
  • Other info: Dynamic environment with immediate impact and excellent career growth opportunities.
  • Why this job: Be the technical backbone of a company making a real impact in women's health.
  • Qualifications: 5+ years in product teams, strong full stack skills, and ML/data science proficiency.

The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.

Our client, Hesta Health, is reimagining women's healthcare starting with postnatal care. Women spend approximately 25% more of their lives in ill health than men, representing a $1 trillion annual lost opportunity globally. Hesta is changing that, and they want a brilliant engineer to help build it. Fresh from closing their seed round, they’re hiring their first Founding Engineer. You’ll be the technical backbone of the company — working directly with two exceptional co-founders and their founding team to ship Hesta v1 and lay the foundations for what comes next.

The Role

This is a rare chance to join a mission-driven healthtech startup at day zero and own the entire technical build. You’ll work across the stack — frontend, backend, infrastructure — while embedding clinical-grade reliability, data privacy, and AI capabilities from the ground up.

What you’ll own:

  • Build end-to-end product features across the full stack (frontend, backend, infra)
  • Integrate AI/ML capabilities — risk stratification, smart triage, personalisation
  • Build privacy-first, regulatory-compliant infrastructure (UK GDPR, NHS DSPT, MHRA)
  • Shape and evolve the architecture and technical foundations as the company scales
  • Establish a lightweight QMS to enable audit-readiness and regulatory compliance
  • Contribute to a fast, iterative product loop — design, ship, learn

Who You Are

Essential:

  • 5+ years in high-impact, early-stage product teams: you’ve shipped and scaled full stack products
  • Strong backend (Node.js, Python/Flask, FastAPI) and frontend (React, Next.js, Vue) fundamentals
  • ML/data science proficiency: Python, SQL, pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow
  • Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)
  • Proven ability to build data-secure, privacy-compliant infrastructure
  • Product-minded: you think in outcomes, not just code
  • Startup-ready: resourceful, comfortable with ambiguity, bias to action

Bonus:

  • Experience in women’s health, digital therapeutics, or regulated healthtech
  • Deployed LLMs or predictive models in production environments
  • Familiarity with FHIR, HL7, or secure health data pipelines
  • Hands-on LLM work: prompt engineering, RAG, fine-tuning (LoRA/QLoRA)

The Package

  • Competitive salary + meaningful equity
  • Work directly with and be mentored by two highly experienced co-founders
  • Spacious office in Victoria (bike storage, changing facilities, good coffee)
  • 25 days annual leave + public holidays
  • Immediate, company-defining impact — this is day zero

Interview Process

  • Values & Competencies interview (1 hour, virtual)
  • Technical interview — 90 mins (45 min chat + 45 min live task)
  • Final 2-hour in-person interview with co-founders

Hesta strongly encourages applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Interested? Reach out to Kelly Gauthier (kelly@highersearch.co) or George Alexander (george@highersearch.co)

This company is not currently offering sponsorship to foreign candidates. If you are not able to live and work in London without sponsorship, please do not apply.

Founding Engineer in London employer: Higher - AI recruitment

Hesta Health is an exceptional employer for those looking to make a meaningful impact in women's healthcare, particularly in postnatal care. As a founding engineer, you'll enjoy a competitive salary, equity options, and the unique opportunity to work closely with visionary co-founders in a supportive and innovative environment. With a focus on employee growth, a spacious office in Victoria, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, Hesta offers a rewarding workplace where your contributions will directly shape the future of healthtech.
Higher - AI recruitment

Contact Detail:

Higher - AI recruitment Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Founding Engineer in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to people in your industry, especially those connected to Hesta Health. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insights that might just land you an interview.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! If you’ve got a portfolio or GitHub with projects that highlight your full stack capabilities, make sure to share it. It’s a great way to demonstrate your expertise beyond just words.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for the technical interview by brushing up on relevant technologies like Node.js, Python, and React. Practice coding challenges and be ready to discuss how you’ve tackled real-world problems in past roles.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take that extra step to connect with us directly.

We think you need these skills to ace Founding Engineer in London

Full Stack Development
Node.js
Python/Flask
FastAPI
React
Next.js
Vue
Machine Learning
Data Science
Python
SQL
pandas
scikit-learn
PyTorch
TensorFlow
Cloud Platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)
Data Privacy Compliance
Regulatory Compliance (UK GDPR, NHS DSPT, MHRA)
Product Mindset
Startup Agility
Prompt Engineering
Fine-tuning (LoRA/QLoRA)

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 in building full stack products and any relevant work in healthtech or AI. We want to see how your skills align with Hesta's mission!

Showcase Your Impact: When detailing your past experiences, focus on the impact you've made in previous roles. Use metrics where possible to demonstrate how you’ve contributed to product success. We love seeing results that speak for themselves!

Be Authentic: Let your personality shine through in your application. Hesta is looking for someone who fits into their mission-driven culture, so don’t be afraid to share your passion for women’s health and tech. We’re all about genuine connections!

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep track of applications and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates. Let’s get your journey started!

How to prepare for a job interview at Higher - AI recruitment

✨Know Your Tech Stack Inside Out

Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Node.js, Python, and React. Brush up on your full stack knowledge and be ready to discuss how you've used these technologies in past projects.

✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills

Prepare to discuss specific challenges you've faced in previous roles and how you overcame them. Hesta is looking for someone who can think critically and adapt quickly, so have a few examples ready that highlight your resourcefulness.

✨Understand the Mission

Familiarise yourself with Hesta Health's mission to improve women's healthcare. Be prepared to articulate why this mission resonates with you and how your skills can contribute to their goals, especially in building privacy-compliant infrastructure.

✨Practice Live Coding

Since there’s a technical interview with a live task, practice coding under time constraints. Use platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to simulate the experience and ensure you can demonstrate your coding skills confidently.

Founding Engineer in London
Higher - AI recruitment
Location: London

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