Founding CTO / Technical Co-Founder

Shape Engine is an early-stage fashion-tech venture developing technology to help fashion brands deliver more personalized customer experiences. We’re looking for a hands-on technical co-founder to build and ship our initial product, shape the technical direction and share responsibility for growing the company. We have completed initial product and technical groundwork. Further details will be shared privately with shortlisted candidates. The role Initially, you will personally lead development across backend systems, data workflows, AI integrations and web interfaces. As the company grows, you will lead technical hiring and the development of the engineering function. Your responsibilities will include: - Develop the technical architecture and deliver the initial product. - Build backend services, APIs, databases and cloud infrastructure. - Create reliable data ingestion and processing workflows. - Evaluate and integrate AI models and third-party services. - Build usable web interfaces for business users and customers. - Establish automated testing, evaluation, monitoring and deployment processes. - Implement privacy and security safeguards. - Make technical decisions in collaboration with the founders. - Lead technical hiring and long-term technology strategy as the company grows. Who we’re looking for: You are an entrepreneurial engineer with a strong record of personally building and shipping software. You should have: - Strong Python and backend engineering experience. - Experience building data pipelines with validation and versioning. - Hands-on experience with APIs, databases, cloud infrastructure and production deployment. - Frontend development skills using React, Next.js or an equivalent framework. - Experience evaluating and integrating AI models or services into working products. - Experience testing complex business logic and improving existing software. - A practical understanding of privacy and security. - The ability to work independently, explain trade-offs and keep development focused. - An interest in contributing to product and business decisions as a co-founder. Experience with recommendation systems, computer vision or retail technology would be valuable. Previous startup, founding-engineer or technical leadership experience is a strong plus. We care more about what you have built and delivered than a specific number of years on your CV. The opportunity: This is a full-time founding role, with a modest initial founder stipend and meaningful co-founder equity. The stipend, equity allocation, vesting terms and responsibilities will be discussed transparently during the selection process. Equity will be subject to agreed founder vesting terms, and compensation will be reviewed as the company raises capital and/or generates revenue. We’re looking for someone comfortable with early-stage uncertainty who wants long-term ownership and an active role in shaping the company. Location Remote, with working-hour overlap with Central European Time preferred. How to apply Please apply through this listing with a short introduction, your background and examples of products or systems you have personally built. Tell us what you owned, what reached production and why a technical co-founder role interests you.