Most first engineering roles give you a product to implement. The decisions are made, the architecture is set, and you’re there to build it out. But what if you were brought in before all of that, when none of it existed yet, and asked to shape what gets built?
That’s exactly what the role we’re hiring for on behalf of an AI startup offers.
We at Bamboo X are working with a founder who’s led product at top companies and just raised $2M pre-seed. The company is building an agentic product aimed at rethinking how people manage their finances. Now, they’re hiring their founding engineer to help make it real.
why this role needed a different approach
Founding engineer hires only work when there’s trust. This founder didn’t start from scratch; he came to someone he’s known for years. Neil, our tech partner, has worked with him before, and was the first call when it was time to bring on external help.
The team isn’t looking for a specialist or a silent executor. They’re looking for a builder, someone who can partner with the founder, make technical decisions early, and build something durable from the ground up.
what they needed built, and why this role matters
The team has a strong product vision and early backing, but nothing has been built yet. No stack. No codebase. No systems in place. They’re looking for someone who can take that blank slate and turn it into something real.
This isn’t about waiting on specs. You’ll be working directly with the founder to figure out what gets built and how. That includes:
- Building the first version of the product from scratch
- Choosing the initial stack and setting up core infrastructure
- Developing backend and frontend systems for launch
- Integrating LLMs and agentic workflows into the product
- Laying technical groundwork for future hires and scale
what this role demands from experience
This role sits at the earliest stage of product development, where direction changes quickly and priorities aren’t always defined. It requires someone who can bring structure to uncertainty and move without needing constant input.
The team is focused on candidates with:
- Full-stack engineering experience
- A history of building and shipping from zero
- Technical judgment shaped by real product work
- The ability to take initiative without over-indexing on process
where are we in the hiring process
This search is new, but active. We’ve just kicked it off and are speaking with engineers who’ve built in early-stage environments and know what this kind of role requires.
If this sounds like the kind of work you’ve been looking for, reach out. We’ll tell you more about the founder, the product, and what they need from this hire.
