About the Role
This is a rare opportunity to join a fast-growing, Y Combinator-backed AI SaaS startup in the motion design space as its first engineering hire. The company is building an AI-powered platform that dramatically accelerates animation creation — reducing what once took hours into minutes — and has already seen remarkable early traction since launching earlier this year.
As a Founding Software Engineer, you'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with the founders to shape the technical foundation of the product, own features end-to-end, and help architect a system built to scale to millions of users.
What You'll Do
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Partner directly with the founding team to deliver user-centric product solutions from concept to production.
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Own end-to-end development of full-stack features with a focus on scalable architecture design.
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Build and optimize agentic LLM systems incorporating tool-calling, multi-step reasoning, and MCP protocols.
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Design comprehensive LLM evaluation frameworks including automated benchmarks, human-in-the-loop validation, and A/B testing.
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Optimize LLM inference performance, cost efficiency, and latency across multiple model architectures.
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Develop a high-performance motion graphics engine.
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Drive architectural decisions that support scalable growth to millions of users.
What We're Looking For
Required
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2+ years of software engineering experience with strong CS fundamentals.
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Proficiency in TypeScript (dealbreaker requirement).
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Hands-on experience building or integrating large language models (LLMs), including tool-calling, multi-step reasoning, and MCP protocols.
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Experience designing and implementing LLM evaluation frameworks (automated benchmarks, human-in-the-loop validation, A/B testing).
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Demonstrated ability to deliver end-to-end full-stack features with scalable architecture.
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Proficiency optimizing LLM inference performance, cost efficiency, and latency across multiple model architectures.
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Experience with the full tech stack: TypeScript, React.js, Next.js, PostgreSQL, GCP, AWS.
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Prior startup or early-stage company experience with a strong ownership mindset.
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Willingness to work on-site in Berlin, Germany.
Nice to Have
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Background in animation, motion graphics, or creative tooling.
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High slope / fast-learning profile with a track record of rapid growth.
Compensation & Benefits
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Salary: €80,000 – €160,000 per year, depending on experience.
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Early-stage equity opportunity as the founding engineering hire.
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Visa sponsorship: Not available — candidates must already have the right to work in Germany.
Location
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Berlin, Germany — fully on-site role.
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Remote work is not available for this position.
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