Founding Engineer

This role is for one of our clients

We are seeking a senior engineer who can work independently while collaborating closely with fellow developers and the Head of Engineering.

WHY THIS ROLE

• High autonomy & ownership: Take full responsibility for features from start to finish — including design, architecture, implementation, testing, and deployment — with significant influence on product direction.
• Broad technical exposure: Engage with the entire technology stack — utilizing Next.js 15, React 19, and Tailwind on the frontend; Node.js, TypeScript, Drizzle ORM, and Python 3.11+ with FastAPI on the backend; vector databases and RAG pipelines for AI search; along with DevOps practices for deployment and CI/CD.
• Collaborative environment: Be part of a small, high-trust onsite team where your contributions are recognized and appreciated, working directly alongside the Head of Engineering and other engineers.

Requirements

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and develop features for new modules, including legal research casebase search, agentic workflows, practice management tools, and Word integrations.
• Create and maintain data ingestion and retrieval pipelines by embedding legal documents into vector databases (Pinecone, Qdrant, Milvus) and integrating large language models (LLMs) for natural language search capabilities.
• Collaborate with other engineers to ensure seamless integration across the technology stack, uphold code quality, and deliver projects on time and within budget.
• Participate in DevOps activities such as managing Dockerized environments, setting up CI/CD pipelines (using GitHub Actions), and deploying applications to platforms like Railway or similar PaaS providers.
• Write clean, well-documented, and reliable code, incorporating appropriate testing and performance optimizations.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

• 7 to 10 years of professional software engineering experience, preferably in high-autonomy or startup settings.
• Strong expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript, React/Next.js, Node.js, and Python (FastAPI/Pydantic).
• Experience working with database technologies such as PostgreSQL and MySQL, along with ORMs like Drizzle ORM or comparable tools.
• Familiarity with vector databases, graph databases, and retrieval-augmented generation pipelines; capable of integrating LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic) into products.
• Proficiency with DevOps tools including Docker, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, and cloud deployment platforms like Railway or equivalents.
• Ability to effectively incorporate AI into the product development process without introducing technical debt.

BONUS SKILLS (NICE-TO-HAVE)

• Experience in building legal knowledge systems or search engines.
• Knowledge of LangChain, LlamaIndex, or other open-source retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) frameworks.
• Understanding of Elasticsearch, Weaviate, or other advanced retrieval technologies.
• Experience with prompt engineering, model orchestration, or performance tuning.
• Previous work in legal technology, fintech, or enterprise SaaS products.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Ownership & Accountability: You take initiative, independently manage your projects, and consistently deliver high-quality work without the need for constant supervision.
• Collaboration & Communication: You work effectively with others, communicate your ideas clearly, and remain open to feedback and iterative improvements.
• Quality & Reliability: You prioritize maintainable code and are committed to comprehensive testing and delivering a superior user experience.
• Curiosity & Growth Mindset: You are eager to learn new technologies, such as vector search and LLMs, and contribute to the rapid evolution of a cutting-edge legal AI platform.

BENEFITS

• High-impact Work: Your contributions will have a direct influence on the platform's development and the broader legal industry.
• Competitive Compensation: Salary scales with experience and includes paid holidays along with flexible work arrangements.
• Learning & Growth: Gain hands-on experience with retrieval-augmented generation pipelines, vector databases, AI models, and large-scale data ingestion while growing alongside a scaling team.

Must-have skills

Node.js, Python, FastAPI

Good-to-have skills

TypeScript, ReactJS, LLM