Founding Engineer

About Octozi

Octozi is seeking an exceptional Founding Engineer to join our early-stage team and help shape the future of our platform. As a founding member of our engineering team, you'll have the unique opportunity to build systems from the ground up, make critical architectural decisions, and directly impact the company's technical direction and success.

Check out our recent publication to learn more about the challenge and value our solution brings. 

The Role

As our Founding Engineer, you'll be instrumental in designing, building, and scaling our core technology platform. This is a hands-on role where you'll work directly with the founding team to transform our vision into reality. You'll own significant portions of our technical stack and have the autonomy to make impactful decisions that will shape our product for years to come.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and build scalable web applications from concept to deployment
• Design and implement robust database schemas that support current needs while anticipating future growth
• Develop high-performance backend systems and APIs that power our platform
• Establish engineering best practices, including code quality standards, testing frameworks, and deployment processes
• Collaborate closely with founders to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Make critical technology stack decisions that balance innovation with pragmatism
• Lead technical recruitment efforts as we grow the engineering team
• Mentor future team members and help build a strong engineering culture

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience building and shipping production web applications
• Deep expertise in backend development with proficiency in modern languages (e.g., Python, Node.js, Go, Java, or similar)
• Strong database design skills with experience in both relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL databases
• Full-stack capabilities with the ability to work across the entire technology stack when needed
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern DevOps practices
• Track record of building scalable systems that handle significant user growth
• Strong architectural thinking with the ability to design systems that are maintainable and extensible
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work autonomously in an ambiguous environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Life science industry experience - familiarity with biotech, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, or related fields is a significant advantage
• Experience with regulatory compliance (HIPAA, FDA, etc.) in technical systems
• Previous startup or founding engineer experience
• Expertise in building data-intensive applications
• Experience with microservices architecture and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Knowledge of modern frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Angular)
• Open source contributions or technical thought leadership

What Makes This Special

• Founding Team Member: Join as one of the first engineers with significant equity ownership
• Technical Leadership: Shape the entire technical strategy and architecture from day one
• Impact: Your work will directly influence the product and company direction
• Growth Opportunity: As we scale, grow into senior leadership roles (CTO, VP Engineering)
• Autonomy: Freedom to choose technologies and approaches that best solve our challenges
• Innovation: Work on challenging problems at the intersection of technology and life sciences

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Substantial founding equity stake
• Flexible working arrangements
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Equipment budget for your ideal setup
• Professional development opportunities
• Opportunity to attend relevant conferences and events

The Ideal Candidate

You're not just a skilled engineer, you're an entrepreneur at heart who thrives in the dynamic environment of an early-stage startup. You're excited by the prospect of building something from scratch and seeing your work make a direct impact. You balance perfectionism with pragmatism, knowing when to build for scale and when to ship quickly. Most importantly, you're passionate about using technology to solve meaningful problems.