Lead Engineer @ AI-powered Personal Growth Startup

Role: Lead Engineer
Location: Venice Beach, CA (Remote friendly for exceptional candidates)
They are democratizing what's traditionally been available only to the privileged few: a personal mentor invested in your growth and available whenever you need them.
They combine state-of-the-art AI with cognitive science, powered by proprietary memory technology that truly gets to know you. They help people process daily thoughts, recognize patterns, set meaningful goals, and guide personal growth through tailored content—all while supporting users through daily challenges and triumphs.
They are a passionate team of 11 looking to bring on mission-driven people who value personal growth and excellence in craft.
Our client is seeking a Lead Engineer to own technical execution and architectural decisions for their product engineering team. You'll take over the most senior engineering role from their founding CTO, allowing him to focus on high-leverage creative work, AI strategy, and long-term technical vision.
This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll be in the trenches coding 70%+ of your time while leading significant architectural decisions for a 4-engineer product team. You'll ensure consistent patterns across the codebase, eliminate redundant code, and make sure they can scale from 250K to millions of users without accumulating crippling tech debt.
Establish consistent patterns throughout the codebase and eliminate redundant code
Own code quality standards and technical debt balance
Make critical technology stack decisions on React Native/Expo, state management, and release processes
Build and optimize React Native mobile apps and React web applications using TypeScript
Architect scalable systems using Postgres, Firestore, and modern cloud infrastructure
Build robust CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes
Lead 4 product engineers on complex projects and architectural decisions
Tap engineers for projects that align with their growth goals and skill development
Foster engineering culture emphasizing both technical excellence and user empathy
Product & Engineering Bridge
Translate product vision into technical implementation plans
Break down complex product initiatives into executable engineering tasks
Balance technical debt with feature velocity for users needing immediate support
Participate in developing AI strategy for the engineering organization

8+ years software engineering experience with 3+ years in senior/lead roles
~ Expert-level React Native and Expo experience with deep mobile architecture knowledge
~ Strong full-stack development background with React, TypeScript, and Node.js
~ Database experience with both SQL (Postgres) and NoSQL (Firestore) systems
~ Experience with modern deployment platforms (Vercel, CI/CD pipelines)
~ Strong opinions (loosely held) about release lifecycle, cross-platform quality, and mobile best practices


Led engineering teams of 2-3+ people while maintaining 60%+ personal coding contributions
Track record of leading by example through code quality and technical decisions

Currently coding complex features in production environments
Bias toward shipping and iterating rather than over-engineering
Experience at high-growth startups, post-seed/Series A stage
Understanding of how technical architecture impacts user experience
Ability to make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, and scalability
Experience managing release lifecycle across Android and iOS platforms

Plan before coding - don't dive into implementation without discussion
Open source contributions or technical blog writing
Interest in psychology, personal development, or cognitive science

Work directly with founders in shaping the future of AI-powered personal growth
Equity package (up to 0.8%) with high upside potential
Latest equipment and home office setup
Culture that thrives on self-discovery, introspection, and personal growth
Opportunity to shape engineering culture and practices from early stage
Venice Beach office with flexible remote options
Open to exceptional remote candidates in US time zones

Transform lives through AI-powered personal growth
Lead AI strategy for product engineering team
Build world-class mobile experience with React Native/Expo
Solve complex problems in real-time AI interactions and personalized content delivery

#