What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Full Stack Engineer position at Jenn Nguyen and Friends?
Lead Full Stack Engineer Compensation: Target ~$180K base equity (flexible based on level and interview performance) Location: San Francisco, CA (Remote within the U.S.; strong preference for Pacific Time Zone) Work Policy: Remote Stage: Pre-seed AI startup | ~$2M funding | Founded 2024Who Are We?Were an early-stage AI startup building tools that help teams create high-quality written content faster and more efficiently. Our platform embeds AI directly into everyday workflows, enabling organizations to scale content creation without sacrificing quality.Were operating in classic early-startup mode: small team, real users, real problems, and no one handing you a perfectly laminated roadmap. If you like shipping meaningful product and seeing direct business impact, you'll feel right at home.What's in It for You?A chance to lead engineering at a pre-seed startup where your decisions shape the product and culture from day one.Ownership over core systems used by real teams, not demo dashboards.Equity that's meant to be earned, not framed.Direct collaboration with the CEO and product stakeholders.A paid, realistic technical assessment that reflects how you'll actually work on the job.The freedom (and responsibility) to build in a messy, fast-moving environment where outcomes matter more than process theater.What Will You Do?Serve as the technical lead for a small engineering team (currently ~4 engineers).Design, build, and evolve backend systems primarily in Python, supporting AI-powered content workflows.Work across the stack, including frontend (React/TypeScript), or be willing to ramp quickly if your background is backend-heavy.Own architecture decisions across APIs, databases, and cloud infrastructure (AWS).Collaborate closely with product and leadership to translate business goals into shipped features.Navigate ambiguous problem spaces and make pragmatic technical tradeoffs.Help set engineering standards while still getting your hands very, very dirty in the codebase.What Will You Need?Strong backend engineering experience with Python (beyond scripting).Technical leadership experience in an early-stage, VC-backed startup environment.Comfort working on both backend and frontend, or a clear willingness to do so.Experience building and maintaining production systems using modern databases (Postgres, MongoDB).Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS); DevOps experience is a strong plus.A track record of working on small, scrappy teams where structure is earned, not given.Product-minded thinking: you care about real users, real metrics, and real outcomes.Ability to work effectively in U.S. time zones, with a preference for Pacific Time.
Salary : $180,000