Founding Frontend Engineer

Founding Frontend Engineer

Full-Time 72000 - 88000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead frontend architecture and deliver impactful features in a fast-paced environment.
  • Company: Join a dynamic music tech startup backed by industry legends.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, career growth, and a chance to shape the future of music creation.
  • Other info: Collaborative culture focused on high ownership and rapid learning.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on music creation while working with cutting-edge technology.
  • Qualifications: 5+ years in React, state management, and production-level SSR experience.

The predicted salary is between 72000 - 88000 £ per year.

We are building a world where everyone can feel the joy of creating music, together, in real time. More than 300k users love us, from grandmas using Vibe sessions to Grammy winners using the Studio. Music is having its first explosive moment of creation-driven consumption, and we aspire to shape that world while preserving the social and fun elements of music creation. We've raised over $7m from Balderton Capital and Silicon Valley legends like Kevin Hartz and Emery Wells. It takes one hell of a team to bring the joy of music creation to everyone in the world, and we’re building it from our London office. We operate with high ownership, high velocity, and low-ego. We are all specialist generalists who work hard, learn fast, and ship relentlessly. We care deeply, and we're here to build something that outlives us.

About the Role

This is an intense, in-person role, built for people who want massive impact and grow their careers faster than anywhere else.

What You'll Do

  • Own our client- and server-side rendering architecture. Data fetching, streaming, caching, chunking, and the typed client–server boundary.
  • Own the state management architecture.
  • Own the delivery pipeline. CI/CD across web and mobile, feature flags and canary deploys – users never run stale code against new APIs.
  • Make production observable. Readable stack traces, useful errors, and monitoring that separates engineering signal from product analytics.
  • Propose and lead the refactors that matter. Read the codebase, name the structural changes we need, and execute them with AI agents and the verification systems necessary.
  • Own frontend testing. The right kind of test at every layer – from component stories to visual canvas checks – and lead our agentic end-to-end testing for the frontend.
  • Ship product end-to-end. Real features with taste, instrumentation and fast iteration based on real user signal.

What We're Looking For

  • React depth. You've architected and refactored large React codebases, including design systems, and understand React's internals and trade-offs beyond the API.
  • State management. You've designed production store architectures (e.g., Zustand, Redux, Jotai), kept state predictable at scale, and chosen the right update strategy for each operation.
  • SSR in production. You've shipped and operated SSR (e.g., TanStack Start, Next.js) and understand hydration, streaming, caching, and framework trade-offs.
  • Server-push architecture. You’ve built systems where the server reliably drives the client.
  • Delivery infrastructure. Feature flags, canary deploys, CI/CD across platforms, and production-grade source maps.
  • Refactor leadership. You read large codebases fast, identify the structural changes that matter, and lead migrations to completion, with AI agents as a daily tool.
  • Testing judgment. You know a pure function, a store, a canvas renderer, and a user flow each deserve a different kind of test, you’ve implemented all at scale, including agentic E2E tests that run in CI.
  • Agent-native. You think in agentic workflows and build software that is operable and verifiable by agents, not just humans.
  • Truth seeker. You talk to users, watch sessions, and read analytics – chasing what users need, not what you assume.
  • Product taste. You have strong opinions about motion, sound, and feel, and can defend design decisions on their merits.
  • High ownership, low ego. You ship fast, own outcomes after release, and do whatever needs doing.
  • 5+ years of professional experience.

Nice-To-Haves

  • WebGL and canvas rendering (e.g., PixiJS, Three.js, shaders).
  • React Native (Expo), Swift, or Kotlin.
  • Experience shipping consumer products – you know how building for consumers differs from B2B.
  • CRDT and multiplayer-state experience (e.g., Yjs, presence, conflict resolution).
  • Media-heavy or audio-streaming frontends.
  • You make music – listening, exploring, producing. A big plus.
  • Experience working at an early stage startup or fast-paced environment. A big plus as well.

Founding Frontend Engineer employer: Mozart AI

Join a dynamic team in our London office, where we are passionate about revolutionising music creation for everyone. As a Founding Frontend Engineer, you'll thrive in a high-ownership, low-ego environment that fosters rapid career growth and innovation, while enjoying the unique opportunity to shape a product loved by over 300k users. We prioritise collaboration, creativity, and meaningful impact, making this an exceptional place to advance your career in tech.

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Contact Details:

Mozart AI Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Founding Frontend Engineer

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 Mozart AI 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 Mozart AI.

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 Mozart AI.

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 Mozart AI 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 Frontend Engineer

React
State Management
Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
Delivery Infrastructure
Refactor Leadership
Testing Judgment
Agent-native Workflows

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 Mozart AI.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Mozart AI 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 Mozart AI

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 Mozart AI 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.