Job Description
Job Description
Founding Staff Engineer (Mobile)
Location: New York City (Onsite)
Compensation: $250K–$350K base + equity
About the Opportunity
A rapidly scaling consumer health + AI startup in NYC is hiring a Founding Staff Engineer to architect and own the next phase of its technical platform. The product has already attracted a large and highly engaged user base with clear signs of strong product-market fit, and the company is now expanding its engineering team beyond the founding group.
This role is ideal for a highly entrepreneurial engineer with deep full-stack expertise, strong architectural instincts, and experience owning entire systems end-to-end. You’ll work side-by-side with the technical founder and leadership team to shape engineering culture, velocity, and standards from day one.
This is a full-time, onsite role in Midtown Manhattan (near Bryant Park).
What You’ll Own
- Architect core systems across the entire stack — backend services, APIs, infrastructure, mobile performance, and observability.
- Design for scale and reliability as the user base continues to grow rapidly.
- Build world-class mobile experiences using React Native, with an emphasis on speed, polish, and native-level performance.
- Develop robust backend systems (Node, Python, or similar), ensuring high reliability, strong security, and fast response times.
- Collaborate daily with product and design to turn high-impact features into production-ready experiences.
- Define and enforce engineering best practices across testing, CI/CD, instrumentation, performance, and deployment.
- Lead zero-to-one initiatives with high autonomy and the urgency of a founding engineer.
What We're Looking For
Required Experience
- Background as a CTO, technical founder, staff engineer, or equivalent with clear end-to-end ownership of a commercial product.
- Significant experience across both frontend (React/TypeScript) and backend systems (Node, Python, or similar).
- Strong architectural judgment and the ability to move fluidly between mobile, backend, and infrastructure.
- Ability to implement designs with exceptional accuracy and attention to detail in React/React Native.
- Leverages AI tools to accelerate development, while maintaining strong independent reasoning and decision-making.
- Operates best with high agency, fast decision cycles, and high expectations.
- NYC-based or willing to relocate for an in-office role.
Nice to Have
- Deep expertise in React Native, including advanced performance tuning and debugging.
- Experience building high-fidelity animations using Reanimated, Rive, Lottie, Framer, or similar tools.
- Background in health tech, behavior change, wellness, or AI-driven consumer products.
- Prior experience at high-growth startups or in roles with significant zero-to-one responsibility.
Why This Role Is Unique
This is not a maintenance or incremental engineering role. You’ll be making foundational decisions that influence the product for years to come—and you’ll have real ownership in shaping a fast-growing consumer platform during a phase of explosive demand.
You’ll be working at the heart of a company where:
- Engineering drives product velocity
- Architecture decisions deeply influence growth
- The product is already loved by a large user base
- You can have impact on day one and scale it over time
If you’re a builder who thrives in high-autonomy environments and wants to help define the technical foundation of a breakout consumer company, this role offers that rare opportunity.