CodeGuild
Founding Software Engineer
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Vacancy: Founding Engineer London | Build embedded finance infrastructure from scratch with Unicorn-potential
Do you want to build an embedded finance platform from scratch, and help reshape how every finance platform in Europe does business?
Would you like to be the founding engineer in a fintech startup, with equity and a genuine shot at unicorn status?
Do you want to build shoulder to shoulder with brilliant engineers, backed by an advisory board with founders who have done this before?
And do you say yes to a base up to €110.000 plus equity, unlimited holidays, and building at the heart of European FinTech in London?
Then read on. This is a unique opportunity!
Your employer: an early-stage fintech infrastructure startup with huge potential
You join an early-stage fintech infrastructure startup that lets payment-platforms offer financial services to the businesses they already serve, while they keep the customer relationship and the economics. This company delivers the technology layer underneath. What makes it special is the approach: it is horizontal, one platform designed to scale across all of Europe, which opens a market big enough for this company to become genuinely large.
The timing is rare. The company recently closed its funding round and is weeks away from going live with its first customer. You come in as the second engineer, a true founding engineer, while the product is still being shaped. The next chapters are clear: prove the platform works with real customers, then scale. You are there for all of it, and your fingerprints are on the foundation.
You work alongside the founding team who previously built embedded lending at a leading global payments company, next to engineers who come from that same payments world and from Amazon. Successful serial entrepreneurs sit on the advisory board and have built and scaled companies before. The culture is based on trust and entrepreneurial, and you get enormous freedom: bring ideas, introduce new tools, and shape how things are built, as long as it adds value to the product.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Your role: Founding Engineer London
As the Founding Engineer, you help build the platform from the ground up, together with the founding team. You make the core architectural decisions, choose the stack and tools, and own how the product is built. Because every choice you make now shapes the company for years, architectural judgment matters as much as writing the code: you weigh what a decision means three to five years out.
This is deliberately lean, product-minded engineering. You keep complexity to a minimum while keeping the door open to serious scale. You speak the language of the business, talk to customers directly, and turn their needs into software that ships. The stack is modern: Java 26 and Quarkus on Google Cloud with GKE, PostgreSQL, IaC with OpenTofu and CI/CD. What matters most is a strong grip on computer science fundamentals and the judgment to know why you reach for each tool.
Because the platform goes live soon with a customer already waiting, your work has immediate, visible impact. You build it, ship it, and see it used, and you help take the company from its first customer to European scale.
Why this role can change your career
As a founding engineer, you get equity, with the option to buy more. That is more than a line on a contract: if the company reaches its potential in a market this size, that stake could mean genuine financial freedom, the life-changing kind. On top of that, you get the freedom and ownership that only exist this early, the chance to build at the heart of European fintech in London, and a front-row seat next to people who have built successful companies before. Few roles let you grow your skills, your network and your equity all at once.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What we're looking for?
- A strong backend engineer with 7+ years of experience
- Product-minded: you care about what customers need and build to create real value
- Sound architectural judgment
- Production experience in Java or Kotlin or a similar OOP language
- An entrepreneurial mindset and the drive to build something from the ground up
- You are comfortable talking to customers directly
- A clear vision on both product and software engineering
- Experience in fintech is a plus
- Experience mentoring or coaching other developers is a plus
- Willing to move to London, or already living there
What's offered?
- Base salary between £85.000 and £95.000
- Equity, with the option to buy more (this could mean financial freedom)
- Unlimited holidays (based on trust, so you take what you need)
- Up to 3 months per year working remotely from a country of your choice
- The freedom and ownership of a true founding role
- Work alongside brilliant engineers and serial entrepreneurs
- A one-year contract followed by an indefinite contract
Do you want to build a company from its foundation, in the heart of European fintech, with equity that can grow into something life-changing?
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location