Founding Engineer (£60-130k)
Who we are
Jumpstart is a startup hiring platform partnering with a small, curated group of ambitious VC-backed startups in the UK. Our job is not to sell you roles, it’s to make sure that when you do move, it’s into a place where you’ll actually get to build, learn, and have real impact.
About the role
You will join a Seed or pre-Seed VC-backed startup as the first (or one of the very first) engineering hires, working directly with the founders to turn an idea into a real, scalable product.
This is a CTO-type role. You’ll take ownership of the technical foundation of the company: shipping the initial product, making early architectural decisions, and helping set the engineering culture, standards, and direction that future hires will build on.
What you’ll work on
Most “founding engineer” roles are either under-scoped or over-glorified.
This one is real.
At our partner startups, you’ll be trusted as a high-agency senior engineer to build the first version of the product end-to-end, and to think like an owner while doing it. You’ll balance speed with long-term thinking, and execution with strategy.
You will:
- Build and ship the first versions of the product end-to-end
- Design the initial system architecture, data models, and APIs
- Make pragmatic early decisions around tooling, infrastructure, and scalability
- Work directly with founders on product strategy, technical tradeoffs, and roadmap
- Establish engineering standards, patterns, and best practices
- Move fast, learn from real users, and iterate toward product-market fit
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for engineers who are:
- Senior full-stack builders with strong backend and frontend fundamentals
- Comfortable owning ambiguity and making decisions with incomplete information
- Product-minded: you think in terms of users, outcomes, and leverage
- Pragmatic and execution-focused, with good technical taste
- Strong communicators who can collaborate closely with non-technical founders
- Excited by early-stage environments and genuine ownership
You don’t need to have been a CTO before, but you should be comfortable acting like one when it matters.
How our process works
01: Apply to Jumpstart
Apply in ~2 minutes HERE with your CV and anything you’ve built (GitHub, side projects, startups). If it looks like a fit, you’ll have a short call with our in‐house CTO. No live coding. No take‐homes. Just a chat to understand how you think as an engineer.
02: Join the platform
Once accepted, you’ll create a profile and get access to a curated set of early‐stage engineering roles, all from vetted VC‐backed startups.
03: CTOs pitch to you
We share your profile with 100+ CTOs in our network. Strong candidates often receive multiple direct messages from CTOs pitching their role, team, and product.
04: Get support landing your role
You’ll get access to a hotline with our in-house CTO Patrick , with 1-1 support on everything from initial interview support, to case study feedback, all the way through to final offer negotiation & support.
What makes this different
- Unparalleled access: CTOs pitch to you and your profile is shared with 100s of startups
- Curated matching: We filter hard on both sides
- Signal over noise: No mass applications or recruiter spam
- Real ownership: Roles where engineers shape the product and culture
- UK-focused: Leading UK startups, remote-friendly or London-based
What you get
- Access to roles that aren’t publicly advertised
- Optional 1:1 prep with experienced engineers, founders, or CTOs
- A long-term community of builders, potential collaborators & co-founders