Product Engineer (Backend) — 0 to 1 builder wanted
Are you a backend engineer who thinks in systems, owns their decisions, and has the scars to prove it? Have you built something from scratch — as a founder, a founding engineer, or one of the first people in the door at a startup that actually shipped?
A high-growth product team inside a fast-moving fintech is looking for a Backend Product Engineer to help build a new product line from the ground up. This team moves like a startup — lean, fast, and focused on getting things into users’ hands. They’re language-agnostic, but think primarily in Go. More importantly, they think in outcomes.
What you’ll do
- Architect and build the core — own the backend systems, APIs, and infrastructure that power a new product line. No one will hand you the design.
- Ship fast, then make it right — MVPs in weeks, not quarters. They need someone who can make good trade-off decisions quickly and iterate without fear.
- Influence the product — they want engineers who push back, ask why, and bring their own perspective on what should be built and how.
- Take full ownership — from design through deployment. This team has no room for ticket-takers.
The team
This is a moonshot team — operating separately from the company’s day-to-day, with the mandate to build something genuinely new. The successful candidate reports directly to the head of the organisation. No bureaucracy. No waiting for committee sign-off. Strong people, hard problems, fast pace.
The role is in-office in London, 5 days a week. This team works hard — realistically 50–60 hours a week. They’re looking for someone who is genuinely ambitious and wants to build something they’re proud of.
What they’re looking for
- Ex-founder, co-founder, or first-10 engineer at a startup — this is non-negotiable. They need someone who knows what it feels like to own the outcome, not just the ticket.
- Backend-strong, comfortable with infra and devops — the team primarily uses Go, but they care far more about engineering quality than language preference.
- 5+ years of strong engineering experience, with a track record of shipping production systems — not just prototypes.
- Can explain the why behind every product and architecture decision — and the answers get sharper the more you push.
- Uses AI dev tools daily and can speak concretely about how it changes their output and velocity.
- Genuinely ambitious — they want someone who cares about impact, not just craft.
What they offer
- Meaningful equity — a genuine stake in what you’re building
- Pension contributions
- Direct access to leadership and real influence on the product from day one
- The chance to build something from zero — in a high-growth fintech with the resources to back it
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