Head of Engineering (Founding Team)

About TrophyScan

TrophyScan is a new platform built for outdoor enthusiasts to showcase their achievements, compete in virtual competitions, and preserve 3D-scanned replicas of their greatest trophies. Using advanced computer vision and spatial modeling, our app captures precise measurements of animals, racks, and other trophies — creating a digital 3D twin and powering a data-driven leaderboard that recognizes real skill and accomplishment in the field.

We launched our iOS app in October 2025, developed by a 20 person contract engineering team in Eastern Europe. Now we’re looking for a Head of Engineering (Founding Team) based in Austin, TX, to report directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO) and help chart the technical path forward — from product velocity to team scaling, architecture, and cross-platform expansion.

What You’ll Do

• Report to and collaborate closely with the CPO, helping define TrophyScan’s technical strategy, architecture, and roadmap — ensuring speed, stability, and scalability as we grow.
• Act as a player/coach: lead by example through hands-on coding, architecture design, and mentoring engineers while guiding the broader technical vision.
• Take ownership of the existing Swift iOS app and C backend, evolving the stack and evaluating cross-platform frameworks (Flutter, React Native) for Android and web expansion.
• Lead and optimize a 20 person contract engineering team, setting technical standards, improving efficiency, and developing a long-term hybrid staffing model that blends in-house and outsourced talent.
• Design and deliver gamified competition features — leaderboards, scoring systems, and nationwide contests — that celebrate achievement, fuel engagement, and drive viral growth.
• Build a robust analytics and experimentation framework to measure user behavior, refine competitive mechanics, and optimize retention and conversion funnels.
• Integrate and champion AI-powered development tools (e.g., Replit, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Lovable) to enhance velocity and enable even non-technical contributors (“vibe coders”) to prototype, test, and iterate faster.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, marketing, and operations — and represent engineering in discussions with investors, strategic partners, and outdoor industry collaborators.

You Might Be a Great Fit If You…

• Have 5 years of full-stack or mobile engineering experience, ideally with Swift, C , or other high-performance frameworks.
• Are an avid outdoor enthusiast yourself — ideally with personal experience or appreciation for hunting, fishing and outdoor adventure.
• Have built and scaled consumer-facing mobile apps, especially those involving imaging, 3D, AR, or game-like features.
• Thrive as a player/coach — equally comfortable writing code, leading architecture decisions, and mentoring teams.
• Are excited about AI-assisted development workflows and exploring how they can multiply team output and creativity.
• Have managed distributed teams and can design scalable staffing models that balance internal and contractor resources.
• Believe in data-driven growth, gamification, and competition as levers for building an engaged, loyal community.
• Can confidently communicate technical direction to executives, investors, and external partners.
• Are based in or near Austin, TX, and want to help shape both the culture and codebase of an early-stage startup.

Why Join Us

• Founding-level equity and competitive early-stage compensation.
• A live, growing product already available in the App Store — with an exciting roadmap ahead.
• The opportunity to own and evolve the technical foundation of a high-growth outdoor competition platform.
• A chance to blend cutting-edge tech (3D scanning, AR, AI-assisted development) with a mission-driven outdoor community.

A close partnership with an experienced product leader and entrepreneurial founding team, right here in Austin, TX.