Principle Software Engineer

Founding Engineer | AI Startup | London (In-Office 5 Days/Week) | Up to £160k Base

We’re hiring a Founding Engineer for a high-growth Series A AI startup building and shipping AI products end-to-end.

This is a rare opportunity to join an ambitious team at an early stage, work directly on product and technical decisions, and help shape both the engineering culture and the future of the company.

What we’re looking for

• Strong Python experience, ideally with async Python in production.
• Hands-on experience with LLMs and agentic systems.
• Experience building and shipping AI products end-to-end.
• Early-stage startup experience, ideally in AI.
• A strong product mindset and customer focus.
• Confidence working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.

Nice to have

• Founder, co-founder, or founding engineer experience.
• Customer-facing experience or strong exposure to customers.
• Full-stack experience in Python or TypeScript.
• Experience with modern cloud infrastructure, including Kubernetes, serverless, or distributed systems.
• A Computer Science degree.

What’s important

This is not a pure research or general ML role. We’re looking for someone who can get hands-on with product, infrastructure, and delivery - and who thrives in a startup where ownership really matters.

Why this role

• Up to £160k base
• Early-stage equity upside
• Real ownership from day one
• Opportunity to build at the core of an AI startup
• High impact, high trust, high pace environment

If you’re a strong builder who loves shipping, enjoys working close to customers, and wants to help create something meaningful at an early stage, this could be a great fit.