About the Role

At UP.Labs, we partner with leading organizations to build entirely new software businesses from the ground up. This is not a traditional engineering role - you won’t be joining a single product or inheriting a defined roadmap. You’ll work across multiple ventures partnering with one of the world's leading industrial manufacturing companies, helping turn early concepts into real, working products that can stand on their own.

As a Founding Engineer, you’ll operate in high-ambiguity environments where both the problem and solution are evolving. You’ll be responsible for taking ideas from initial concept through to working product and real-world validation. Owning decisions across the stack along the way.

This is a hands-on role with meaningful ownership. Your work will directly shape product direction, technical foundations, and whether a venture gains traction.

What You’ll Do

Take concepts from zero to a working product and real-world validation
Own full-stack development: frontend, backend, APIs, and data layers
Shape product direction alongside venture leads and PMs, not just execute against specs
Design and build rapid validation loops to test assumptions and de-risk ideas early
Architect and implement core systems, models, and integrations from scratch
Use AI as a force multiplier across development and product capabilities
Make deliberate tradeoffs between speed and durability based on venture stage
Operate effectively with incomplete, evolving, or imperfect inputs to get to working solutions quickly
Work directly with stakeholders to validate workflows and refine solutions
Identify and mitigate technical and product risks early
Contribute across multiple ventures, applying patterns and learnings to accelerate future builds
Maintain a high bar for technical quality while moving with urgency

How You’ll Operate

You move fluidly across the stack and don’t rely on narrowly defined ownership boundaries
You turn unclear ideas into concrete implementations without waiting for full direction
You know when to prioritize speed and when to invest in structure
You bias toward action – building, testing, and iterating to create clarity
You’re comfortable abandoning approaches that don’t show signal and redirecting quickly
You think in terms of outcomes and user impact, not just technical output
You can context switch across multiple problems without losing momentum

You Should Have

6+ years of software engineering experience, including time in early-stage 0→1 environments
Proven ability to build and ship full-stack applications end-to-end
Strong judgment around speed vs scalability tradeoffs in early-stage systems
Demonstrated use of AI to accelerate development or product capabilities
Comfort operating in ambiguous environments where both the problem and solution are evolving
Ability to work with incomplete or messy inputs to arrive at practical solutions
Strong communication skills and the ability to influence decisions

What Sets You Apart

You’ve operated in environments where there was no clear playbook
You’re comfortable owning entire systems rather than components
You identify leverage – reusable patterns, shortcuts, and ways to move faster across efforts
You focus on building things that work in real-world conditions, not just ideal ones
You take responsibility for outcomes, not just implementation

This Role Is Not For You If

You prefer strictly defined ownership (frontend-only, backend-only, etc.)
You need well-defined requirements and stable roadmaps
You want to focus on maintaining and scaling existing systems
You rely on structured environments to do your best work

Location: Strong preference for candidates local to our HQ in Santa Monica

Work Environment: Hybrid schedule

Founding Engineer (Full-Stack)