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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build innovative financial infrastructure for retirement and wealth platforms.
- Company: Join Axial, a pioneering company transforming financial systems.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, and the chance to shape the future of finance.
- Other info: Opportunity to lead engineering efforts in a dynamic and regulated environment.
- Why this job: Be a founding engineer and make a real impact in a modernising financial market.
- Qualifications: Experience in building financial infrastructure and strong technical skills required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 120000 £ per year.
Axial is building the infrastructure layer connecting retirement assets, payments and liquidity. Today, pensions and wealth platforms are optimised for accumulation, not spending. At retirement, assets fragment across wrappers, withdrawal processes are slow, and providers lose engagement precisely when financial decisions matter most.
We are building the control layer between investment platforms and real-world money movement: wallets and accounts, cards and payments, liquidity orchestration, settlement and reconciliation, behavioural and guidance infrastructure. This is not a consumer fintech app. It is regulated financial infrastructure for retirement and wealth platforms.
Traction
- Initial client secured
- Defined rollout roadmap
- Distribution strategy across adviser networks, pension providers and master trusts
- Existing industry relationships and domain expertise
The Role
We are looking for a technical co-founder / founding engineer to design and build the platform architecture from first principles. You will lead: ledger and transaction infrastructure, prefunding and settlement orchestration, payments and card integrations, API infrastructure across banking and pension systems, security, auditability and operational controls, hiring and leading the engineering function.
What We’re Looking For
We are specifically interested in engineers who have built financial infrastructure rather than consumer applications. Relevant backgrounds include: payments infrastructure, digital banking systems, ledger and reconciliation architecture, embedded finance, wealth or custody platform integration. Experience at firms such as: Wise, Stripe, Adyen, Monzo, Starling Bank, Checkout.com, OpenPayd, FNZ.
Why This Is Interesting
Axial sits at the intersection of: payments, retirement infrastructure, liquidity, behavioural data, and regulation. If successful, the platform becomes embedded infrastructure controlling how retirement assets are accessed and used. This is a chance to build: a ledger system, a payments orchestration layer, and a regulated financial control platform inside one of the world’s largest and least-modernised financial markets.
Founding Engineer employer: Stealth Startup
Contact Detail:
Stealth Startup Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to industry contacts, attend relevant meetups, and engage in online forums. The more people you know in the financial infrastructure space, the better your chances of landing that Founding Engineer role.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository that highlights your previous work on financial infrastructure projects. This will give potential employers a clear view of what you can bring to the table.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your knowledge of payments systems, ledger architecture, and API integrations. We want to see that you can think critically about building robust financial platforms.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our mission at Axial.
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion: When writing your application, let your enthusiasm for building financial infrastructure shine through. We want to see that you’re genuinely excited about the role and the impact you can make at Axial.
Tailor Your Experience: Make sure to highlight your relevant experience in payments infrastructure or digital banking systems. We’re looking for engineers who have been in the trenches, so share specific projects or achievements that align with what we’re building.
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so avoid jargon and focus on communicating your skills and experiences effectively. Remember, less is often more!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. We can’t wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Stealth Startup
✨Know Your Financial Infrastructure
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of financial infrastructure, especially in areas like payments and ledger systems. Be ready to discuss your past experiences in building similar systems and how they relate to the role at Axial.
✨Demonstrate Technical Leadership
As a founding engineer, you'll need to show that you can lead and inspire a team. Prepare examples of how you've successfully led engineering projects in the past, particularly in regulated environments, and be ready to share your vision for building a strong engineering function.
✨Understand the Regulatory Landscape
Since this role involves working with regulated financial infrastructure, it's crucial to have a solid understanding of the regulatory requirements in the financial sector. Familiarise yourself with relevant regulations and be prepared to discuss how you would ensure compliance in your work.
✨Showcase Problem-Solving Skills
Be ready to tackle hypothetical scenarios or technical challenges during the interview. Think about how you would approach designing a secure and efficient payments orchestration layer, and articulate your thought process clearly to demonstrate your problem-solving abilities.