Lead Software Engineer

In this hands-on leadership role you'll help design, build, and scale a core platform for an AI-powered business management product. You'll work across both frontend and backend of applications and mobile experiences, playing a direct role in shaping both the product and the tech stack. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a startup environment: fast-paced, high ownership, and focused on turning ideas into production-quality software. Why This Role
* High ownership and direct product impact
* Real users, real scale, and meaningful problems
* Modern stack with AI-assisted development workflows
* Opportunity to help shape both product and engineering direction
* Competitive Salary depending on experience, equity, monthly stipend for benefits

Location:
* Must be in the Greater-Phoenix area
* Work will be Hybrid ( no office yet... possible plans for collaborative space to be located in Scottsdale or Tempe ) Compensation: 160K-220K plus equity (depending on experience)

What You'll Do
* Own the technical roadmap and deliver against product and revenue goals
* Write production code across backend and frontend
* Review React Native work from mobile contractors and step in when needed
* Mentor developer and direct contract developers
* Help hire and onboard the permanent team as they grow
* Run two-week sprints and give the CEO clear status updates
* Lead code reviews, set engineering standards, and write tests and documentation
* Balance new features against technical debt and explain the trade-offs
* Design secure, scalable architectures and integrate third-party services
* Deploy and troubleshoot on AWS, including Laravel Vapor and serverless
* Partner with designers to deliver polished, usable experiences
* Use AI tools (Cursor, Claude, GitHub Copilot) to ship faster while reviewing output for security, correctness, and maintainability
* Turn customer insights and feature requests into practical solutions with the CEO
* Build a positive, accountable engineering culture Tech Stack
* Backend: PHP, Laravel, MySQL
* Frontend: Vue.js, Vuex, Vuetify, Nuxt.js, React.js
* Mobile: React Native, Expo, Xcode, Android Studio
* Cloud: AWS, Laravel Vapor, serverless
* Workflow: Git, GitHub, Bitbucket, Jira, Slack
* AI: Cursor, Claude, GitHub Copilot Technical Requirements
* 6+ years of software engineering with substantial full-stack ownership (equivalent experience considered)
* Strong production experience with PHP/Laravel, MySQL, and Vue.js
* Background in API design, database performance, secure architecture, and testing
* AWS and serverless experience (AWS DevOps and Laravel Vapor a plus)
* Working knowledge of React Native and Expo, enough to review code and unblock contractors
* Responsible use of AI-assisted development tools
* Agile/Scrum and source control experience Leadership Requirements
* Experience leading and mentoring engineers, including early-career developers
* Experience guiding a product through growth in a start-up or fast-paced environment
* Ability to build a technical roadmap and explain it to non-technical leaders
* Experience with contracted or distributed teams
* Comfort balancing speed, quality, and technical debt
* Prior experience at a company of similar stage, ideally familiar with SaaS
* Strong communication and collaboration skills
* Must be a US Citizen to be considered as no sponsorship is available for this role.