AI Tech Lead

We're looking for a tier-1 founding engineer who can be the technical brain of the platform.

This is not a join a team of 20 devs role.

This is a zero-to-one, early-stage build, where you sit next to the founders and own the core technical decisions end to end.

Title can be Founding Engineer / Tech Lead / Future CTO, depending on fit and trajectory.

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

This is a role for someone who wants real ownership, not just tickets and sprints.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Translate messy, real-world problems into clean product and technical requirements
• Help prioritise v1 vs v2 vs not now
• Co-own the 1224 month technology roadmap with the founders

• 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

• Tier-1 engineering mindset and background
• Strong preference for IIT / top-tier institute / equivalent proven track record
• 410 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

• 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)

• 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

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