Founding Head of Engineering

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵.

TravWiz is the Travel Operating System for the AI era — live in production, 100+ beta users, fully built stack, zero paid marketing. We are looking for a Founding Head of Engineering to help scale what's already working. For the right person, this is something more than just a job. 

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝘄𝗻

 • Drive engineering execution across the full stack — backend, ML/AI services, and frontend

 • Own high-priority features end-to-end, from architecture to production

 • Lead the Travel Concierge booking pilot — real users, real transactions, real feedback loop

 • Shape engineering process, code standards, and the hiring bar for the next engineer we bring on

 • Be a thought partner on product and architecture — not just an executor

First 90 days: codebase deep dive, ship 2–3 meaningful features, establish your operating rhythm. No bureaucracy. No committees. Just shipping.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿

 • Full-stack strong — comfortable across Go/Python/React or equivalent; you don't need to have mastered all three, but you need to be technically fearless

 • AI/ML fluent — real experience with LLM integration, agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, or production ML systems 

 • AI-native developer — you use AI coding tools as a force multiplier, not a crutch; your output velocity and quality reflects it

 • Builder-first — you write code. You don't just review it, spec it, or delegate it.

 • Bay Area-based — we meet in person at least weekly; no visa sponsorship available

 • Financially stable enough to work equity-only through the pre-seed raise — this is a founding role, not a salaried position

 • Passionate about travel industry and making travelers' life 10x better

𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁: Staff, Principal, or early Director — experienced enough to own architecture decisions, still close enough to the code to love writing it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸

 • Backend: Go (Gin, Gorm), PostgreSQL

 • ML / AI Service: Python, FastAPI, Anthropic and Vertex APIs

 • Frontend: React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS (PWA)

 • Infra/DevOps: GCP Cloud Run, Docker, GitHub Actions CI/CD

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Equity-only at this stage, commensurate with your caliber and commitment. The founder is not drawing a salary until a funding milestone is reached — same standard applies here.

For the right person, this is a true co-founder relationship with a CTO trajectory. Equity vests over 4 years with a 1-year cliff (standard).

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 — 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀

These are not wall posters. They are the operating system.

 • 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 — you act like it's your company, because it will be

 • 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — a good decision today beats a perfect decision next week

 • 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 — output over activity, always

 • 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 — every technical decision traces back to user impact

 • 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 — through competence, consistency, and honesty

 • 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿 — say what you think, directly and respectfully; no sugarcoating, no politics

 • 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 — debate hard (with evidence) before a decision; execute without reservation after it

 • 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 — resilience is surviving setbacks; we come back stronger because of them

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱?

Apply through LinkedIn or DM me directly:

No recruiters or staffing agencies, please.