Founding Principal Software Engineer

Description

Job Summary: NAIIAN is seeking a Founding Principal Software Engineer to design and build its AI-powered cloud platform architecture from scratch, directly influencing technical culture and product. Key Highlights: 1. Design and decide the architecture from the ground up together with the CTO 2. Direct impact on architecture, technical culture, and product 3. Autonomy and minimal bureaucracy with the founding team **Location:** Madrid (Preferably on-site, with high flexibility negotiable) **Compensation:** €85,000–€100,000 + Founding Equity + Benefits https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/naiian/59b96f10\-f20e\-4872\-836c\-6b4ee89e9fe0 **About NAIIAN and the Challenge** NAIIAN is a European Deep Tech startup. We are building an AI-applied cloud platform for environments with extremely high operational demands. Here, traceability, security, and auditability are not afterthoughts—they are foundational to the product. We are looking for our **Founding Principal Software Engineer.** You won’t be optimizing a small part of an existing system; you’ll join the first wave of engineering to design, build, and decide the architecture from the ground up alongside the CTO. **Our Approach to Teamwork:** We strongly believe in the magic that happens when working side-by-side in front of a whiteboard during this critical 0-to-1 phase. Therefore, our ideal scenario is having you in our Madrid office. However, we recognize that exceptional talent requires flexibility. If you’re the **Founding Principal** we’re seeking, we’ll collaborate to design a work model (hybrid or concentrated on-site) that fits both your life and the company’s goals. **Why Join Now** * You’ll join NAIIAN’s first wave of engineering, with direct impact on architecture, technical culture, and product. * You won’t maintain inherited decisions—you’ll decide how the platform is built from the ground up. * You’ll work directly with the CTO, CPO, and founding team, enjoying high autonomy and minimal bureaucracy. * You’ll receive a competitive salary, health insurance, meal vouchers, and meaningful founding equity—structured so that upside matters if the company captures the opportunity we’re building. * We seek ambitious individuals who want to build something significant—not just optimize a small part of a pre-decided system. **What Impact Will You Have?** **Building from 0 to 1:** You’ll design the platform’s nervous system (core architecture, APIs, tenancy, authentication, RBAC, background jobs, and audit logs). **Technical Ownership:** You’ll make **build vs. buy** decisions and define internal contracts for AI workflows (RAG, agents, model routing). **Engineering Culture:** You’ll define technical standards, guide the use of **coding agents**, and help train and mentor the future engineering team. **Who Are We Looking For?** **Track Record:** Demonstrable experience building and scaling production SaaS platforms (ideally at stages 0-to-1 or 1-to-N). **Vision and Execution:** You’re an elite generalist. You possess architectural judgment but also enjoy diving into code in critical areas. **Technical Experience:** Strong backend foundation (Java/Spring, Python/Django, or similar), API design, advanced PostgreSQL, messaging, and distributed processing. **AI-First Mindset:** Real experience or genuine interest in working with **coding agents** (Codex, Claude Code, etc.), while maintaining absolute rigor in testing and review. **The Bonus:** Extra points if you come from regulated sectors (Fintech, Healthtech, Cybersecurity) or have prior experience as an **Early Engineer** in startups. **Our Commitment to You** **Competitive Salary:** €85,000–€100,000 gross per year. **Skin in the Game:** Meaningful founding equity aligned with your impact and timing of entry. **High-Performance Setup:** Premium office environment in Madrid, with your ideal team from Day 1 (your choice of MacBook Pro, Dell 40" monitor, Herman Miller chair or equivalent). **Personal Care:** Health insurance and meal vouchers. If you’re ready to stop maintaining legacy systems and start building the future, join us. Data Protection The personal data you share with us during this process (CV, contact details, professional information, communications, and interview-related information) will be processed by Naiian solely to manage your application for this position and, if you provide explicit consent, for future recruitment processes compatible with your profile. The legal basis for processing is the implementation of pre-contractual measures at your request (Art. 6.1.b GDPR) and, where applicable, your consent (Art. 6.1.a GDPR). Your data will be retained only for as long as necessary to manage your application and, unless you exercise your right to erasure, for up to one year if you authorize retention for future opportunities. We do not carry out automated decision-making with significant legal effects. You may exercise your rights of access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction, and data portability, as well as withdraw consent, at any time by writing to the contact address provided in the application form. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (www.aepd.es). — Naiian Recruiting Team