Trade Harmonizer
Founding Developer
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At Trade Harmonizer
We think importing goods into the UK shouldn't mean overpaying for it.
Clearing goods through customs is not the same as getting the declaration right. UK businesses overpay an estimated £millions a year in import duty and most never find out. HMRC's three-year lookback means the window to claim it back keeps closing.
Our mission
To make trade compliance accurate, automatic and visible for every importer.
We're building an award-winning platform for global trade compliance. It checks customs data, flags duty overpayments, sends clients automated refund alerts and tells them overnight when a new Free Trade Agreement lowers their duty rates.
We're looking for a Founding Developer
To help architect and build the technology behind it.
This is not a typical developer role.
You'll report directly to the founder, influence product strategy, make architectural decisions and build the systems that become the foundation of a global regtech business.
You'll have real ownership, responsibility and impact from day one.
What You'll Build
As Founding Developer, you'll help create and scale the Trade Harmonizer platform, the engine behind everything we do for our clients.
You'll work on data ingestion and duty analysis, AI-assisted classification and alerting and you'll build products that directly affect how much money our clients recover and save alongside our offshore team.
You won't just ship features.
You'll build systems that replace manual compliance work, unlock scale and become our competitive advantage.
Your Mission
- Build Core Products. Design, build and launch the software that powers duty analysis, refund identification, compliance monitoring, client alerts and reporting.
- Architect the Platform. Make key technical decisions and define the platform's long-term architecture.
- Automate at Scale. Build workflows that turn large volumes of customs declaration data into clear, actionable findings for importers.
- Use AI Properly. Build AI-powered tools and workflows that are accurate, auditable and well architected. In compliance, a confident wrong answer costs money.
- Integrate the Ecosystem. Build and maintain integrations with key ecosystem partners.
- Move Fast. Work with urgency and ownership, turning ideas into production-ready solutions quickly.
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Solve Real Problems
You'll work on challenges such as:
- Ingesting and cleaning customs declaration data at scale
- Commodity code classification and validation
- Duty overpayment detection and refund identification
- FTA and preferential rate monitoring
- Rules of origin logic
- Automated client alerts and reporting
- AI-powered anomaly detection
- Audit-ready data trails
Help Build the Company
As our founding developer, your influence will go beyond code. You'll help shape processes, culture, product direction and the future engineering team.
Tech Stack
We care more about your ability to learn and build than about your experience with any specific technology.
What We're Looking For
Must have:
- Strong software engineering fundamentals
- Experience building production-grade applications
- Strong understanding of APIs, databases and system design
- Comfort working with large, messy, structured datasets
- A product mindset and genuine care for the customer
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Strong problem-solving ability
- A high level of ownership and accountability
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Bonus points:
- Startup experience
- Experience with AI products or LLM integrations
- Experience building B2B SaaS
- Regtech, fintech, logistics or customs experience
- Experience building systems where accuracy and auditability matter
What Success Looks Like
Within your first year:
- Core compliance analysis runs through systems you've built
- The platform becomes a clear competitive advantage
- New products ship quickly and reliably
- AI-powered workflows are embedded across the business
- The platform is ready to scale to more clients and more markets
Why Join Trade Harmonizer
- Real Impact. Your work directly recovers money for UK importers and keeps them compliant.
- Founding-Level Ownership. Significant influence over product, technology and company direction.
- Build Alongside the Founder. Work directly with a founder who has more than 27 years of experience in customs and international trade.
- Learn Faster. Exposure to engineering, AI, product, regulation, growth and company-building.
- Flexible Working. LOCATION – e.g. remote-first, Northern Ireland-based, with occasional in-person team days. We care about results, not hours.
This Role Is Not For You If
- You're looking for a predictable corporate environment
- You'd rather maintain systems than build them
- You need constant direction and supervision
- You avoid ownership beyond your immediate responsibilities
- You're uncomfortable with change, ambiguity and moving fast
If you're excited by building products, solving hard problems, using AI responsibly, and helping build the operating system for global trade compliance, we'd love to hear from you.
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