Founding Engineer

D

Doubling

Founding Engineer

Chicago, IL
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    We are an early-stage venture developing an AI-powered mobile product in the health and wellness space. We are building a mission-driven platform from the ground up and is seeking a founding engineer to take ownership of the core mobile and backend technology stack.

    The Role

    As the Founding Engineer, you will be the first technical hire, working closely with the founding team to architect, build, and launch the v1 mobile product. This is a true 0-to-1 role that combines mobile development, backend systems, and ML integration, with significant influence over technical direction and product decisions. You will lay the foundation for a scalable consumer-grade platform.

    Employment Type: Full-time
    Location: Chicago, IL (in-office)
    Work Authorization: U.S. work authorization required; no visa sponsorship available.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Mobile Development: Design and build the core mobile application using React Native and Swift, delivering a high-quality mobile experience.
    • Backend Systems: Architect and implement backend services and APIs to support mobile workflows, data storage, authentication, and integrations.
    • ML Integration: Integrate AI and ML capabilities into the product, including image-based analysis workflows that interface with external ML services and model endpoints.
    • End-to-End Ownership: Build and maintain the full stack from mobile UI through backend services and infrastructure, with a strong focus on reliability, performance, and maintainability.
    • Infrastructure & DevOps: Set up cloud infrastructure, environments, and CI/CD pipelines to support rapid iteration and production readiness.
    • 0-to-1 Execution: Make pragmatic technical decisions, write production-quality code, and move quickly from prototype to shipped product.
    • Team Scaling: Contribute to future hiring decisions and help establish engineering standards, processes, and culture.

    Qualifications

    • 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including meaningful 0-to-1 or early-stage startup work.
    • Hands-on experience building and shipping mobile applications, ideally using React Native and TypeScript.
    • Strong backend experience with modern frameworks and languages such as Node.js, Python, or similar.
    • Experience integrating ML or AI capabilities into production systems, including working with external model APIs and data pipelines.
    • Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or similar), containerization, and CI/CD practices.
    • Strong product instincts and the ability to collaborate closely with non-technical founders and stakeholders.

    Bonus Points

    • Experience building consumer health, wellness, or nutrition-related products.
    • Familiarity with native mobile development (Swift or Kotlin) and bridging native capabilities when needed.
    • Prior experience as a founding or first engineer at a startup.