Founding Engineer

<p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>About the Role</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">As a <strong>Founding Engineer</strong> at SANOVIO, you will play a key role in building the AI-powered procurement infrastructure that tackles one of the biggest and most complex cost problems in European healthcare.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">This is a fast-paced, hands-on role for engineers with <strong>high agency</strong>, strong technical depth, and a founder mindset. We’re looking for a <strong>full-stack generalist</strong> with a strong <strong>frontend affinity</strong>. You excel at <strong>designing user flows</strong> and implementing them in <strong>React and TypeScript</strong>, while owning outcomes end-to-end across <strong>backend, data, AI-enabled workflows, and cloud deployment</strong>. You thrive amid <strong>uncertainty and incomplete requirements</strong>, move quickly, and still care deeply about <strong>architecture, clean code, and long-term quality</strong>.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">If you are a passionate builder who thrives at the intersection of full-stack development and AI, this is your opportunity to work closely with the founders, shape the product, and help us scale toward <strong>€10M ARR in 2026</strong>.<br /><br /><strong>Tasks</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Owning <strong>end-to-end product workflows</strong>, from frontend UX to backend systems, data pipelines, and edge cases</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Building world-class <strong>frontend experiences </strong>in React and TypeScript alongside scalable, <strong>reliable backend systems</strong></p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Designing and owning <strong>AI-enabled systems</strong>, including embeddings, retrieval, and agents that create real operational leverage</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Developing and operating <strong>data pipelines</strong> for large-scale unstructured data</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Making pragmatic<strong> technical decisions on architecture, tools, and frameworks</strong> to balance speed and quality</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Deploying, running, and maintaining software in <strong>cloud environments</strong> with a “you ship it, you run it” mindset</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Writing clean, maintainable, and well-tested code with<strong> scalable, reusable components and APIs</strong></p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Collaborating across the stack</strong> and raising the engineering bar through reviews, mentoring, and technical leadership<br /></p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>General Profile</strong><br /><br />We are looking for stellar engineers with a strong background in <strong>full-stack software engineering and AI</strong>, and the potential to grow and lead teams in the future. <strong>3–5 years of experience is a plus</strong>, but we hire for skill, ownership, and output.</p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Generalist engineer with a frontend affinity, capable of building across backend, data, and AI</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">End-to-end product ownership, driving ideas from concept to customer-ready production</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Proactive execution in ambiguous environments, turning unclear requirements into shipped software</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">High-speed delivery paired with a focus on clean code and scalable architecture</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Close iteration with users and clients, including collaboration across different cultures</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong problem-solving ability and fast adoption of new technologies</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Motivation to build excellent software in a fast-paced startup environment</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Willingness to work in-person in Munich with a higher intensity than a traditional 9–5 role</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Technical skillset</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong experience with full-stack software engineering, especially React and TypeScript, with excellent understanding of constructing user flows</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Solid backend engineering skills, ideally with Node.js, and experience designing APIs and data model</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Proven track record of architecting and building production-grade software systems</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Cloud and DevOps experience with Docker</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">AI experience is a plus, especially embeddings and retrieval, structured outputs and tool calling, evals, and agentic workflows beyond prompt engineering</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Leadership and communication</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">You naturally take responsibility and enjoy leading</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">You’re one of the strongest engineers in the team and make everyone else better</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Everyone can come to you for advice on how to fix their hardest problems</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">You communicate clearly and are credible with technical stakeholders and clients</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Bonus if you</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Can share a portfolio of projects, shipped products, or a GitHub with meaningful work</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Have experience scaling systems from early usage to larger production workloads</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Have built workflow-heavy B2B products, internal tools, or operations software</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">You are business proficient in Chinese<br /></p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Benefits</strong></p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Great central office in Munich with regular team events and dinners</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Monthly Wellness budget</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Access to any AI or productivity tools you need to do your best work</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">International scope &amp; travel</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Flexible work setup with time-zone responsibility</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Meaningful compensation package including cash, performance bonus, and shares <em>(Actual offers and compensation are based on specific job duties, experience, performance, total rewards structure, and other considerations).</em></p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"><br /><strong>About the interview process</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Step 1: Intro call</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">Casual intro meeting with one of the founders to get to know each other and introduce SANOVIO.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Step 2: Technical interview</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">The technical interview consists of two parts:</p><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>A take-home exercise, including a short presentation</strong></p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>A system design interview</strong></p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em">For the take-home exercise, we’d provide you with a task. You’ll have 2–3 hours to complete it, focusing on a real SANOVIO workflow and user flow in React and TypeScript, with a light end-to-end angle such as API integration, data modeling, edge cases, and clean architecture. Later, you’ll present your results to us.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Step 3: Personal Fit</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">Meet another co-founder to get a feel for our culture and working style.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Step 4: Offer &amp; Reference Checks</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">If we see a great fit, you will get an offer, including a competitive compensation package. At the same time, we’ll ask you to provide 2–3 references so we can gather additional insights into your strengths and working style.</p><p>Find more <a href="https://www.arbeitnow.com/english-speaking-jobs">English Speaking Jobs in Germany</a> on Arbeitnow</a>