AI Tech Lead

tier-1 founding engineer

not

zero-to-one, early-stage build

Founding Engineer / Tech Lead / Future CTO

The Opportunity

You will:

• Own architecture and core technical decisions from day one
• Lead the

  AI layer and data workflows

• Work closely with an

  external development partner

  , while remaining the

  final authority on tech

• Shape the product, roadmap, and trade-offs alongside the founders

real ownership

What You’ll Do

Architecture & System Design

• Design the overall system architecture (backend, data, AI, web/mobile integrations)
• Choose the

  tech stack, infrastructure, and cloud setup

• Design for scale:

  POC → multi-city rollout → nationwide usage

• Ensure

  reliability, security, and performance

  from day one

AI & Data Workflows

• Design how we use

  LLMs / agents / retrieval systems

  to summarise signals from the field
• Convert raw inputs into

  prioritised tasks, alerts, insights, and decision briefs

• Define evaluation, monitoring, and feedback loops so the AI layer is

  useful, not gimmicky

• Own model architecture choices, prompting strategies, and data pipelines

Owning Tech While Working with a Vendor

• Review and shape

  SOWs, estimates, and technical designs

• Do

  key architecture and code reviews

• Push engineering standards: testing, observability, scalability, documentation
• Act as the technical gatekeeper between founders and the external team

Product & Roadmap Ownership

• Translate messy, real-world problems into

  clean product and technical requirements

• Help prioritise

  v1 vs v2 vs “not now”

• Co-own the

  12–24 month technology roadmap

  with the founders

Building the Internal Tech Spine

• Gradually build a

  small, high-quality internal engineering team

• Help hire and mentor early engineers
• Move from a vendor-heavy setup to a

  balanced internal + external model

  , with you leading the org

What We’re Looking For

Must-Haves

• Tier-1 engineering mindset and background

• Strong preference for

  IIT / top-tier institute / equivalent proven track record

• 4–10 years

  of experience building and shipping real products
• Strong

  backend and system design skills

  (language flexible: Node / Java / Go / Python, etc.)
• Comfortable with

  APIs, databases, caching, queues, web & mobile architectures

• Hands-on experience with

  LLMs / GenAI

  in production-like systems or serious prototypes
• Ability to work closely with non-engineers, clearly explain trade-offs, and confidently say

  “no”

  when needed

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience building

  complex workflows, CRMs, internal tools, or ops platforms

• Time spent at a

  fast-moving startup or strong product company

• You’ve owned something

  end-to-end

  (startup, side project, OSS, or a critical internal system)

What We Offer

• Founding-level equity

  plus a sensible cash component
• A genuine

  zero-to-one problem

  , with users and distribution already in place
• Direct say in

  how the product is built

  and

  what technology we bet on

• Opportunity to

  define engineering culture and standards

  from day one
• Clear path to grow into a

  CTO role

  , leading a scaled internal engineering org

Who This Role Is For

This role is for someone who:

• Thinks in

  systems

  , not just features
• Wants

  ownership, leverage, and long-term impact

• Is excited by ambiguity and real-world complexity