Founding Engineering Lead / CTO @ Stealth Startup
Role: Founding Engineering Lead / CTO
Location: Within 3 hours of the east coast time zone (they are primarily in NYC), and down for in-person offsites every 3-6 months.
Our client is a successful serial entrepreneur who has founded the leading marketplace in their category (profitable and $1B transactions).
Private group apps such as WhatsApp, Discord, Signal, etc. have exploded in popularity becoming bigger than the major social networks. However they’re highly fragmented and fall short for communities that value deeper connections, healing, and growth. They're building a community-owned and AI-first network for these communities. Central to this is a ‘Communal AI’ that privately organizes a community’s wisdom, giving anyone immediate recall from a group’s history, and access to the group’s collective intelligence when asking questions or trying to find resources.
Position Overview:
This company is seeking a world-class founding Engineering Lead / CTO to join at the ground level. The ideal candidate will have experience as a founder or on a founding team, a track record of scaling impactful startups or major products, and a passion for leveraging AI to support healthier online communities.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead engineering efforts as a founding member of the team
Develop and iterate on the core product using the latest AI tools
Build and foster a high-velocity engineering culture
Manage and grow the engineering team
Collaborate closely with other founders and stakeholders
Contribute to product vision, architecture, and technical strategy
Engage with open-source, web3, and community-owned models
Qualifications:
Experience as a founder, founding engineer, or CTO
Demonstrated success scaling startups or major products
Hands-on coding skills with modern AI technologies
Strong collaboration and high emotional intelligence
Experience fostering high-performing engineering teams
Familiarity with open-source and web3/community-owned models
Passion for consumer products and great user experiences
Candidates from diverse, global, and/or marginalized communities are encouraged to apply
What they offer:
Competitive founding team cash and equity package
Potential co-founder level role for the right candidate
Opportunity to work at the forefront of AI and community technology
Chance to create massive positive impact on online communities
Inclusive, heart-centered, and mission-driven team culture
Note:
Our client operates in the digital community and technology sector, developing a platform to support healthier, more connected online groups through AI and community-owned models.