Founding Engineer
Founding Engineer - sole IC
Location: London, Office-based/Hybrid
Salary: to £160k + 20% bonus + meaningful equity
This is a true greenfield build. The Founding Engineer will be the first technical hire and sole architect building an infrastructure layer for automated vehicle payments, where vehicles seamlessly pay for tolls, parking, and charging without any driver interaction.
The technology – which YOU will build – automatically detects when a vehicle enters a chargeable location and handles payment in the background using vehicle telematics and mobility APIs.
You’ll work directly with an experienced founder to build and scale the platform. A technically hands-on yet entrepreneurial role, you’ll help design the architecture, build integrations with telematics providers and payment systems, create their geospatial decision engine, and lay the foundation for a world-class engineering organization.
This is a role for someone who enjoys building from first principles, moving quickly, and taking ownership of major technical decisions.
What You’ll Work On:
- Design and build the core platform
- Integrate with vehicle telematics providers and OEM APIs
- Build geospatial systems that determine when vehicles enter and exit chargeable zones
- Develop payment orchestration and billing infrastructure
- Build fleet management and operational tooling
- Create scalable backend services and APIs
- Work directly with parking, tolling, and mobility partners
- Establish engineering standards and technical culture
- Help recruit and lead future engineering hires
Required Expertise:
- Building production backend systems using Python, TypeScript, Go, Java, or similar languages
- Designing and operating REST APIs and distributed systems
- Cloud infrastructure and deployment on AWS
- PostgreSQL and data-intensive applications
- Docker, CI/CD, monitoring, and observability
- Third-party API integrations
- Security and reliability best practices
We’re less concerned with specific credentials and more interested in exceptional builders.
Nice-to-Haves, Experience of:
- Payments and fintech infrastructure
- Geospatial systems, mapping, or geofencing
- Fleet management, telematics, or connected vehicles
- Mobility, transportation, or automotive technology
What We’re Looking For:
- Strong product instincts
- Ability to move quickly with limited resources
- Comfortable making decisions with imperfect information
- Excellent communication skills
- Ownership mentality
- Excited by early-stage startup environments
- Interest in eventually leading an engineering team
The successful applicant will be one of the first employees; you’ll have significant ownership and influence over the product and company; the opportunity to build a category-defining mobility infrastructure platform; have direct access to customers and strategic partners; meaningful equity upside; work alongside a founder who has previously built and exited a company in the mobility space.
If you’re excited about solving real-world problems at the intersection of mobility, payments, and software infrastructure, we’d love to hear from you.
Recommended Jobs
Senior Strategist (Commerce)
Who We Are VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its i…
Account Executive 2026
Account Executive London, UK About Us The world’s most pressing problem requires the world’s best talent to fix it, and here at CarbonChain we’re bringing together a superstar team to tackl…
Senior Compliance Business Partner
At Gallagher, we help clients face risk with confidence because we believe that when businesses are protected, they’re free to grow, lead, and innovate. You’ll be backed by our digital ecosystem…
Reception Teacher | Croydon
Are you a reflective and creative Reception Teacher looking for a rewarding Part-Time position from January 2026? A friendly Croydon primary has a Part-Time Reception Teacher vacancy. The successful …
Art Technician - Outstanding School in Merton
Location: Merton, London Start Date: January Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience Are you creative, organised, and passionate about suppo…
School Business Manager - Southwark
A well-established primary in Southwark is recruiting an experienced School Business Manager to join their senior leadership team from January 2026. The appointed School Business Manager will lead th…
F&B Supervisor
Join Our Global Family at RIU Hotels & Resorts! Be part of the RIU Plaza London Victoria team! RIU Plaza London Victoria has quickly become a key player in the UK hospitality scene, offering exce…
PE Teacher - Boys’ Secondary School - Croydon
PE Teacher - Boys’ Secondary School - Croydon Are you a hard-working, motivated and driven teacher who wants good support and career progression? • PE Teacher Role • Teaching up to GCSE Physica…
Education Recruitment Perms Consultant - South London
This role is for an experienced Education recruitment consultant that will be working that will be supplying teachers and NQT’s to Primary and Secondary Schools across the home counties. You wil…