Senior Full-Stack Technical Lead — Real-Time IoT, AI & Mission-Control Platform

Senior Full-Stack Technical Lead — Real-Time IoT, AI & Mission-Control Platform JOB DESCRIPTION: We are developing a real-time mission-control and decision-support platform for autonomous infrastructure across interconnected systems including environment, food production, water, energy, and robotics. We are looking for ONE highly capable Senior Full-Stack Technical Lead who can take ownership of the first working product from initial software architecture through implementation and deployment. This is NOT a standard website or simple dashboard project. We need someone who can independently define the initial architecture, build the technical foundation, develop the frontend and backend, create simulated real-time telemetry, integrate AI/ML capabilities, and deliver a browser-based working MVP. We are not looking for an agency. We want one senior technical person who will personally work on the product and take technical ownership. THE PRODUCT The first release will be a pilot-ready decision-support platform. It will initially operate using simulated telemetry and later connect to real sensors and physical equipment. The core operational loop is: OBSERVE → UNDERSTAND → RECOMMEND → HUMAN APPROVAL → RECORD The system will monitor five domains: • Environment • Food / Controlled Environment Agriculture • Water • Energy • Robotics FIRST MVP CAPABILITIES The MVP should include: 1. MISSION CONTROL A central operational dashboard showing: • Overall system health • Critical alerts • Environment status • Water status • Energy status • Food/CEA status • Robotics status • Current operating mode • Predicted risks • Recommended actions 2. REAL-TIME TELEMETRY The system should continuously process changing data. Initially this will be simulated telemetry. Examples include: Environment: • Temperature • Humidity • CO₂ • Atmospheric pressure • Dust / particulate measurements Food / CEA: • EC • pH • Nutrient temperature • Lighting • Irrigation • Crop stage Water: • Tank level • Flow • Pressure • Pump state • Water-quality proxies Energy: • Generation • Load • Battery status • Reserve • Priority loads Robotics: • Robot/device status • Task • Location • Battery • Fault codes 3. TELEMETRY SIMULATOR Because physical hardware will not initially be connected, you will need to develop a simulation layer capable of generating realistic time-dependent telemetry. The simulator should support: • Normal operation • Sensor abnormalities • Resource shortages • Equipment faults • Cross-domain events 4. ALERT CENTRE Alerts should include: • Severity • Timestamp • Evidence • Affected system/assets • Recommended response • Responsible person • Acknowledgement • Resolution 5. AI / INTELLIGENCE Initial intelligence should focus on practical, explainable capabilities such as: • Sensor anomaly detection • Event correlation • Energy reserve forecasting • Water imbalance / leak-risk detection • Resource-risk prediction • Crop-environment deviation • Maintenance-risk indicators We prefer understandable baseline approaches first rather than unnecessarily complex AI. AI outputs should include: • Recommendation • Reason • Supporting evidence • Confidence • Timestamp • Model/rule version • Limitations 6. HUMAN APPROVAL WORKFLOW For this release, AI is decision-support only. AI must NOT directly control consequential physical equipment. The system should clearly separate: Telemetry ↓ Analysis ↓ Recommendation ↓ Human Decision ↓ Recorded Outcome 7. DIGITAL TWIN LITE A lightweight visual representation of system topology and dependencies between: Environment Food Water Energy Robotics This does not need to be a complex 3D digital twin in the first release. 8. AUDIT / OPERATIONS HISTORY The system should record: • Observations • Alerts • Recommendations • Operator acknowledgement • Decisions • Interventions • Outcomes • User activity FLAGSHIP DEMONSTRATION One of the first scenarios should demonstrate cross-domain intelligence. Example: Temperature rises. Cooling demand increases. Energy consumption increases. Battery reserve begins declining. Irrigation is scheduled. The platform should: 1. Detect the changing conditions 2. Recognise the interaction between systems 3. Forecast the resource risk 4. Identify contributing factors 5. Generate an explainable recommendation 6. Present it to the operator 7. Require human acknowledgement/approval 8. Record the intervention 9. Record the resulting outcome We need more than animated dashboard values. We need to demonstrate a genuine operational decision loop. TECHNICAL RESPONSIBILITY You should be capable of personally owning: • Initial software architecture • Frontend architecture • Backend architecture • Database design • Canonical data model • API design • Real-time telemetry ingestion • Telemetry simulation • Authentication • Role-based access • Alert/event architecture • Audit logging • AI/ML integration • Deployment • Development environments • Security fundamentals • Documentation • Engineering standards PREFERRED TECHNICAL DIRECTION We are open to your recommendations, but the current expected direction is approximately: Frontend: React / Next.js or equivalent Backend: Python / FastAPI or equivalent Database: PostgreSQL + appropriate time-series capability Telemetry: MQTT or equivalent API: REST / OpenAPI Deployment: Containerised / portable architecture AI/ML: Python-based The MVP should use a clean and modular architecture. We do NOT want unnecessary microservices or technical complexity simply for the sake of architecture. However, the system should be structured so that simulated telemetry can later be replaced by real sensor and equipment integrations without rebuilding the entire application. FUTURE HARDWARE INTEGRATION Physical sensors and equipment will later be introduced. Therefore, experience with technologies such as the following is highly valuable: • MQTT • OPC UA • Modbus • IoT gateways • Industrial sensors • PLC integration • Time-series telemetry You do not need to be a hardware engineer, but you should understand how a software platform should be designed to eventually consume real equipment telemetry. FIRST PHASE Your first phase will be to: 1. Review the product requirements 2. Challenge technically weak assumptions 3. Define the initial architecture 4. Define the data model 5. Define API and event structures 6. Build the telemetry simulator 7. Build the backend foundation 8. Build the Mission Control interface 9. Implement alerts 10. Implement initial intelligence / forecasting 11. Implement human acknowledgement/approval 12. Implement audit history 13. Deploy the working prototype 14. Document the system FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE We want a functioning browser-based product where: • Telemetry continuously changes • Five operational domains are represented • Normal and abnormal conditions can be simulated • Alerts appear automatically • A cross-domain resource problem can be detected • A forecast can be generated • The reason behind the forecast can be shown • A recommendation is generated • A human operator can acknowledge/approve it • The action and outcome are recorded The scenario should run without manually editing the database. WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR You should have strong experience with several of the following: • Senior full-stack development • Software architecture • Real-time applications • IoT platforms • Industrial software • Telemetry systems • Operational dashboards • Energy management platforms • Digital twins • Robotics systems • Time-series databases • AI-enabled operational systems We need someone who combines: TECHNICAL JUDGMENT + ARCHITECTURE + HANDS-ON DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANT You must be comfortable defining the initial software architecture yourself. We will provide the product vision, operational requirements, scenarios, expected users, and business direction. We do NOT expect to first hire another software architect who then tells you exactly what to build. You should be senior enough to translate product requirements into a sensible technical architecture and then personally implement it. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF: • Your main experience is WordPress • You primarily build websites or landing pages • Your experience is mainly Figma-to-React • You only work on frontend • You only integrate ChatGPT/LLM APIs • You have no real-time data experience • You have never designed software architecture • You require another architect to define the system before you can work • You intend to outsource the entire project • You are applying as an agency APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Start your application with: MISSION CONTROL Then answer the questions below. Generic or AI-generated applications that do not directly answer these questions will not be considered. SCREENING QUESTIONS 1. What is the most technically similar real-time, IoT, industrial, monitoring, digital-twin, or operational platform you have personally built? Please provide links, screenshots, GitHub, a case study, or a detailed explanation. Clearly explain what YOU personally built. 2. Have you personally designed a software architecture from scratch? Give one concrete example and explain the major decisions you made. 3. If no physical sensors exist yet, how would you build a simulator that generates realistic temperature, water, battery, irrigation, and equipment telemetry? 4. How would you architect the platform so that simulated telemetry can later be replaced by real IoT/sensor data without rebuilding the application? 5. What technology stack would you recommend for this MVP and why? 6. What database architecture would you use for both operational/configuration data and time-series telemetry? 7. How would you provide real-time updates from the backend to the browser? 8. How would you technically ensure that an AI component cannot directly command physical equipment? 9. How would you make an AI recommendation traceable back to the telemetry and model/rule that produced it? 10. What experience do you have with MQTT, OPC UA, Modbus, IoT gateways, or industrial integrations? 11. How would you approach authentication, role-based permissions, and audit history? 12. What would you aim to deliver during your first 10 working days? 13. What is your realistic estimate for delivering the first strong working MVP? 14. Will YOU personally write the architecture and code, or will the work be delegated to other developers? 15. Are you comfortable taking ownership of BOTH the initial architecture and implementation without receiving a finished architecture from another software architect? FINAL QUESTION In the first paragraph of your proposal, answer: “What is the biggest technical mistake you believe we could make when building this MVP?” ENGAGEMENT This begins with the first MVP but may develop into a longer-term technical leadership relationship. We are not searching for the lowest-cost developer. We are looking for one highly capable person with strong technical judgment, ownership mentality, and the ability to build. Please include: • Your proposed approach • Initial architecture recommendation • Development phases • Estimated timeline • Estimated hours • Hourly or fixed-price recommendation • Key technical risks you see