Lead Backend Engineer | Founding Team | Early-Stage Consumer Startup

Lead Backend Engineer | Founding Engineering Team About Us We are an early-stage consumer technology startup preparing for product development and fundraising. We have completed the initial product vision and are now assembling an experienced founding engineering team to help build the technical foundation of our platform. We're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer who enjoys building scalable products from the ground up and can help shape the architecture, not just write code. Specific product details will be shared with shortlisted candidates during the interview process. About the Role This is an opportunity to help build the core backend of a next-generation consumer technology platform. We're looking for someone who thinks beyond implementation and enjoys designing systems that are secure, scalable, maintainable, and ready for long-term growth. You will collaborate with the founder and technical leadership to establish engineering standards before large-scale development begins. Responsibilities You will help design and build: Backend application architecture Database architecture REST APIs Authentication & user management Cloud infrastructure Payment & subscription architecture Notification services Logging & monitoring Security best practices Performance optimization Scalable infrastructure capable of supporting future growth Preferred Experience We're looking for someone who has experience building modern consumer software products. Experience with one or more of the following is preferred: Consumer applications SaaS platforms Marketplace platforms Subscription platforms High-growth startups PostgreSQL Node.js AWS / Azure / Google Cloud API-first architecture Scalable backend systems Deliverables During this engagement we'd like your help with: Reviewing our product vision Designing backend architecture Database schema recommendations API documentation Authentication strategy Cloud infrastructure recommendations Security recommendations Scalability strategy Development roadmap Technical recommendations for Version 1 To Apply Please answer the following: Describe the most technically challenging backend platform you've helped build. Approximately how many users did the platform support? What backend architecture would you recommend for a modern consumer technology platform and why? What are the biggest backend mistakes early-stage startups make? Please share examples of products you've helped build and describe your role. Potential for Long-Term Collaboration The right candidate may continue with us as we move into full product development and expand our engineering team.