Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine Employment

Uptech is hiring a Founding Engineer

About the Role

Uptech is seeking a Founding Engineer to be the company's 1st in-house technical employee. This role is critical for scaling our platform toward Series A and beyond, requiring you to act as the primary technical decision-maker and take full ownership of all technical outcomes.

What You'll Do

  • Scale the platform toward Series A and beyond.
  • Take full ownership of technical outcomes.
  • Act as the primary technical decision-maker.

What We're Looking For

  • 3-5+ years of professional experience as a back-end engineer or full stack developer, preferably in high-growth startups or product-driven teams.
  • Comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities evolve quickly and execution speed matters.
  • Proven ability to take full ownership of technical outcomes and act as the primary technical decision-maker.
  • Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written.
  • Strong experience with Node.js and NestJS.
  • Solid knowledge of PostgreSQL.
  • Familiarity with NoSQL databases.
  • Experience designing APIs and data models for high-traffic systems.
  • Database performance optimization (indexes, queries, schemas).
  • Hands-on experience with Amazon Web Services.
  • Infrastructure as Code with Terraform or a similar tool.
  • Experience building CI/CD pipelines (tests, builds, deployments).
  • Understanding of containerized deployments and rollback strategies.
  • Experience with automated testing (unit/integration).
  • Familiarity with linters, formatters, and code review practices.
  • A focus on writing maintainable, production-ready code.
  • A CS or Math background.
  • Experience with feed or ranking algorithms.
  • Performance optimization skills: caching, lazy loading, preloading, thumbnails.

Nice to Have

  • High-load experience.
  • Observability: monitoring with the Grafana observability stack (e.g., Prometheus).
  • Experience in social platforms, community-based apps, or messaging products.
  • Strong understanding of startup product cycles, from MVP to scale.
  • Interest in building immersive environments (virtual spaces) or 3D avatar-based interactions.
  • Interest in web applications.

Technical Stack

  • Node.js
  • NestJS
  • PostgreSQL
  • NoSQL databases
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Terraform

Team & Environment

You will be the 1st in-house tech employee, providing a foundational role in shaping the engineering culture and technical direction.

Required Skills
Node.jsNestJSPostgreSQLNoSQLAWSTerraformBackend DevelopmentAPI DevelopmentStartup ExperienceFast-Paced EnvironmentTechnical OwnershipSystem Architecture
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Performance pay that rewards your skills

Iglu's revenue-sharing model means top performers earn significantly more than traditional salaries. Choose your projects, deliver great work, and see it reflected in your pay.

Revenue-sharing compensation
Project choice & autonomy
International client base
Career growth support
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Top earners exceed market rate
About company
Uptech

An international software development company collaborating with startups and established businesses from the US and Europe. Over ten years, they have created over 150 products, including for Dollar-Shave Club, Goat, and Aspiration. Their RnD team has launched 7 successful startups.

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Job Details
Department Software Development
Category backend
Posted 14 days ago