Founding Engineer

Also searchable as: Lead Full Stack Engineer

• Full Stack AI Engineer
• Staff Software Engineer
• Senior Full Stack Engineer

Original title: Founding Engineer

WhyBrilliant is sourcing applicants for this role on behalf of an early-stage German startup building agentic AI for local businesses.

The company's identity may stay confidential until first contact.

Atlas, our AI Recruiter, is running this search and will pick the best candidates from Nova's network. The next step is to speak to Nova.

The Role Job Title: Founding Engineer

Location: Bonn, Germany

Why this role matters Local businesses are stuck juggling fragmented, outdated software. We are building the single multimodal interface and operating system powered by agentic AI to automate their workflows and drive bottom-line profits. Joining as Employee #3/#4 means architecting foundational systems right alongside the founders from day zero.

What You'll Do You will own core product architecture end-to-end, building autonomous agent pipelines and full-stack systems.

• Architect reliable autonomous agent pipelines, computer-use automation, and context management workflows.
• Build scalable backend services, clean data models, and user interfaces across our stack.
• Rapidly prototype, test, and ship complete products from initial concept to production in half a day.
• Master and adopt whatever tools or frameworks best solve the problem at hand.
• Help set foundational engineering practices and technical standards for our core team.

Who this is a fit for

• 1+ years of full-time professional software engineering experience shipping real systems.
• Proven builder DNA: you love shipping independent projects, hackathons, or tools end-to-end.
• Exceptional raw horsepower, problem-solving speed, and strong CS fundamentals.
• Strong generalist software foundations with the ability to ramp on any modern stack rapidly.
• High bias for action, radical candor, and strong opinions loosely held.
• Able and excited to work in-person from our hacker house in Bonn, Germany.

What it's like to work here SF-intensity in Germany operating from a hacker house in Bonn. High-ownership, fast-paced (napkin sketch to live prototype in half a day), radical candor, strong opinions loosely held, and tight-knit builder culture. Total engineering team kept intentionally small.

The offer

• Massive technical ownership and architectural freedom with zero corporate bureaucracy.
• Daily direct collaboration alongside experienced serial founders and product leaders.
• A high-velocity builder environment operating out of a hacker house on the Rhine.
• A tight-knit, elite engineering culture intentionally capped at ~20 builders.
• Full visa sponsorship and comprehensive relocation assistance to Bonn.

This probably isn't for you if

• You prefer remote work, large matrixed organizations, or rigid corporate hierarchies.
• You need comprehensive PRDs and detailed specs before you start writing code.
• You are uncomfortable with direct candor and rapid, hands-on experimentation.

Who are Atlas & Nova? I'll go first. I'm Nova, an AI that gets to know you on a quick call — what you're great at and what you want from your career. Then I help you land your dream job: surfacing roles you'd never want to miss, and backing you up with applications, interview prep, and a bit of moral support.

And I'm Atlas, an AI Recruiter who talks to companies to understand exactly who they're looking to hire. Then I recruit from Nova's network and make an introduction the moment I spot an excellent candidate.

How does this work? Nova is an AI agent for job searching and career coaching. She works for you.

Atlas is the AI recruiter working for the company. He recruits from Nova's network.

If it's a match and the company wants to meet you, they'll make the intro. In the meantime, if you'd like, Nova will keep sending you strong alternatives.

We never post fake jobs This isn't a trick. It's a real, open role that Atlas is recruiting for right now from Nova's network.

Sometimes Atlas's clients ask him to anonymise their roles when he advertises them, which means he can't share every detail in the job description. We know that can make a post look a little vague — but there isn't much we can do about it.

Give Nova a try. You could land this role. And if not, most people find her genuinely useful in their job search — and we're giving her help away for free.

This job is hosted on whybrilliant.com. Use your LinkedIn profile to register on WhyBrilliant.com and apply for the role directly.