About the Role
A Y Combinator-backed AI creative tools startup is hiring its founding software engineer. You'll work directly with the founding team to shape the technical foundation of an AI-powered motion design platform — turning what once took hours into minutes for professionals and video teams worldwide. This is a high-ownership, zero-to-one role at a company with strong early traction and rapid revenue growth.
What You'll Do
Partner with the founders to deliver user-centric product features from concept to production.
Own end-to-end full-stack development with a focus on scalable architecture.
Build and optimize agentic LLM systems, including tool-calling, multi-step reasoning, and MCP protocols.
Design and implement comprehensive LLM evaluation frameworks — automated benchmarks, human-in-the-loop validation, and A/B testing.
Optimize LLM inference performance, cost efficiency, and latency across multiple model architectures.
Develop a high-performance motion graphics engine.
Drive architectural decisions to support growth to millions of users.
What We're Looking For
Required:
2+ years of software engineering experience with strong CS fundamentals.
Proficiency in TypeScript (dealbreaker); hands-on experience with React.js, Next.js, PostgreSQL, GCP, and/or AWS.
Proven experience building or integrating LLMs — tool-calling, multi-step reasoning, and MCP protocols.
Experience designing LLM evaluation frameworks with automated benchmarks, human-in-the-loop validation, and A/B testing.
Demonstrated ability to deliver end-to-end full-stack features at scale.
Background in startups or early-stage environments with a strong ownership mindset.
Ability to optimize LLM inference for performance, cost, and latency across multiple model architectures.
Nice to Have:
Experience in AI creative tools, motion graphics, or animation-adjacent products.
High learning velocity and ability to ramp quickly in a fast-moving environment.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: €80,000 – €160,000 annually, depending on experience.
Equity participation as a founding team member.
No visa sponsorship available.
Location
This role is on-site in Berlin, Germany. Candidates must be willing and able to work from the Berlin office full-time.
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Key team members
Sebastian Scott
Kieran O'Connor
Alexander Farr
Daniel Wintermeyer
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