Lead Engineer @ AI-powered Personal Growth Startup
$170k - $210k USD
Role: Lead Engineer
Location: Venice Beach, CA (Remote friendly for exceptional candidates)
Salary/Compensation: $170k – $210k + equity
About our client:
Our client believes everyone deserves to thrive. They are democratizing what's traditionally been available only to the privileged few: a personal mentor invested in your growth and available whenever you need them.
They combine state-of-the-art AI with cognitive science, powered by proprietary memory technology that truly gets to know you. They help people process daily thoughts, recognize patterns, set meaningful goals, and guide personal growth through tailored content—all while supporting users through daily challenges and triumphs.
Having just crossed $1.5M ARR, they are at an inflection point ready for exponential growth. They are a passionate team of 11 looking to bring on mission-driven people who value personal growth and excellence in craft.
Position Overview:
Our client is seeking a Lead Engineer to own technical execution and architectural decisions for their product engineering team. You'll take over the most senior engineering role from their founding CTO, allowing him to focus on high-leverage creative work, AI strategy, and long-term technical vision.
This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll be in the trenches coding 70%+ of your time while leading significant architectural decisions for a 4-engineer product team. You'll ensure consistent patterns across the codebase, eliminate redundant code, and make sure they can scale from 250K to millions of users without accumulating crippling tech debt.
Key Responsibilities:
Technical Architecture Ownership
Lead significant architectural decisions with minimal churn and cycling
Establish consistent patterns throughout the codebase and eliminate redundant code
Own code quality standards and technical debt balance
Make critical technology stack decisions on React Native/Expo, state management, and release processes
Ensure scalable technical foundation from 250K to millions of users
Hands-On Development (70% of time)
Personally implement the most complex features and technical challenges
Build and optimize React Native mobile apps and React web applications using TypeScript
Debug complex issues across the full stack and ensure system reliability
Architect scalable systems using Postgres, Firestore, and modern cloud infrastructure
Build robust CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes
Prototype new technical approaches and validate technical feasibility
Technical Leadership (30% of time)
Lead 4 product engineers on complex projects and architectural decisions
Tap engineers for projects that align with their growth goals and skill development
Lead technical design reviews and architecture discussions
Foster engineering culture emphasizing both technical excellence and user empathy
Make autonomous decisions while involving team at appropriate points for feedback
Partner with founding CTO as sounding board on major technical decisions
Product & Engineering Bridge
Translate product vision into technical implementation plans
Break down complex product initiatives into executable engineering tasks
Balance technical debt with feature velocity for users needing immediate support
Communicate technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders
Participate in developing AI strategy for the engineering organization
Qualifications:
Technical Excellence
8+ years software engineering experience with 3+ years in senior/lead roles
Expert-level React Native and Expo experience with deep mobile architecture knowledge
Strong full-stack development background with React, TypeScript, and Node.js
Database experience with both SQL (Postgres) and NoSQL (Firestore) systems
Experience with modern deployment platforms (Vercel, CI/CD pipelines)
Experience with state management libraries (Zustand, Redux, or similar)
Strong opinions (loosely held) about release lifecycle, cross-platform quality, and mobile best practices
Leadership Experience
Led engineering teams of 2-3+ people while maintaining 60%+ personal coding contributions
Experience making sound architectural decisions with minimal churn
Ability to balance technical debt, feature development, and system reliability
Strong communication skills for collaborating with non-technical stakeholders
Track record of leading by example through code quality and technical decisions
Hands-On Execution
Currently coding complex features in production environments
Excited about being in the trenches, not looking for pure management track
Bias toward shipping and iterating rather than over-engineering
Experience at high-growth startups, ideally post-seed/Series A stage
Comfortable with ambiguity and rapidly changing priorities
Product Sense
Experience building consumer-facing products with high engagement requirements
Understanding of how technical architecture impacts user experience
Ability to make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, and scalability
Experience managing release lifecycle across Android and iOS platforms
Decision-Making Patterns
Outline problems, identify solutions, provide recommendations with clear reasoning
Plan before coding - don't dive into implementation without discussion
Involve team for feedback at appropriate points
Hit deliverable timelines consistently and communicate proactively about blockers
Bonus Points
Experience with AI/ML applications or LLM integration in consumer products
Background in mental health, wellness tech, or mission-driven consumer applications
Previous experience as an early technical hire at a scaling startup
Open source contributions or technical blog writing
Interest in psychology, personal development, or cognitive science
What they offer:
Leadership & Impact
Own technical execution for a fast-growing AI product used by 250K+ people (nearly 1 billion words journaled)
Work directly with founders in shaping the future of AI-powered personal growth
Lead a team that consistently says "this is the best team I've ever worked on"
High autonomy and ownership over architectural decisions
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive salary: $170k – $210k based on experience
Equity package (up to 0.8%) with high upside potential
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
Latest equipment and home office setup
Professional development budget and conference attendance
Culture & Growth
Culture that thrives on self-discovery, introspection, and personal growth
Work with a kind, humble, collaborative team that genuinely listens
Opportunity to shape engineering culture and practices from early stage
Direct mentorship from founding CTO (Y Combinator alum, ex-Google, co-founder of Secret)
Team members are invested in each other's growth and success
Location
Venice Beach office with flexible remote options
Strong preference for LA-based candidates (in-person collaboration with local team)
Open to exceptional remote candidates in US time zones
Why Join Now:
Proven Traction
250,000+ downloads, nearly 1 billion words journaled
Growing 15% month-over-month
$1.5M ARR with 75% of users reporting mental health improvements within 30 days
Strong press coverage (Mashable, KTLA) and backed by Tim Ferriss, Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder)
Mission Impact
Transform lives through AI-powered personal growth
Every day the team receives testimonials about lives being changed
Working at the forefront of AI and mental health intersection
Building technology that makes comprehensive emotional support accessible to everyone
Technical Challenges
Scale architecture from 250K to millions of users
Lead AI strategy for product engineering team
Build world-class mobile experience with React Native/Expo
Solve complex problems in real-time AI interactions and personalized content delivery