Founding Sr. Software Engineer

HirexHire•Elk Grove Township, IL

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our client is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join their Chicago-based engineering team. This is a highly entrepreneurial, early-stage role for a senior IC who wants to operate in a founding engineer capacity, owning product initiatives end-to-end and helping shape both the technical foundation and product direction. You will work closely with founders and GTM leaders to rapidly identify opportunities, build mobile and web features, and deliver high-impact solutions at speed in a fast-moving startup environment.

Requirements

5+ years of professional software engineering experience, ideally in startups or high-growth environments.
Strong experience building mobile applications using React Native.
Experience with modern frontend development using TypeScript and frameworks such as Svelte or React.
Full-stack experience with backend systems such as Python, Django, Go, or similar.
Proven ability to ship consumer-facing products in fast-paced environments.
Entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership and comfort operating in ambiguity.
Strong technical judgment and ability to make effective tradeoff decisions.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience collaborating closely with founders or senior leadership preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and deployment of mobile and web product features across consumer-facing applications.
Build and maintain scalable React Native mobile applications with a focus on performance and user experience.
Develop full-stack features and APIs supporting seamless cross-platform functionality.
Partner directly with founders and cross-functional leaders to define priorities and execute product initiatives.
Own projects end-to-end from concept through production release in a high-velocity environment.
Balance speed of execution with long-term scalability and engineering quality.
Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural guidance across the engineering team.
Collaborate with product, design, and GTM teams to build intuitive, high-impact user experiences.
Help define engineering standards, workflows, and best practices in an early-stage environment.