Founding Engineer (Full-Stack/AI)

ABOUT THE ROLE This is an early, high-ownership engineering role at a seed-stage vertical AI startup building autonomous tooling for the global freight and logistics industry. You will join a small founding team in Munich to design, build, and scale the core product, shaping technical direction from the ground up. The role combines hands-on full-stack engineering, production AI/ML work, and real product ownership. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own and personally design, build, and maintain the most critical parts of the product. - Build reliable full-stack features that make users radically more efficient. - Evaluate, benchmark, and fine-tune AI capabilities to maximize domain accuracy and context. - Continuously experiment with new model releases, frameworks, and agentic techniques in production. - Ship promising approaches quickly and iterate based on data and user feedback. - Navigate and improve large-scale, complex legacy code to add structure and scalability. - Engineer infrastructure and automation to support heavy data and AI workloads. - Collaborate closely with founders and teammates as a hands-on, high-ownership contributor. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - Practical, hands-on experience with AI/ML and LLM systems: benchmarking, fine-tuning, and running experiments in production. - Strong full-stack engineering skills with fluency across backend and cloud environments. - Fluent in Python; familiarity with Go is a strong plus. - Domain knowledge in logistics or freight forwarding. - Evidence of building robust, real-world production systems. - Comfort working with complex legacy codebases and engineering for scale. - Strong CS fundamentals, intellectual humility, and exceptional self-discipline. - 2 to 3 years of professional experience, or equivalent through relevant projects or a demonstrable track record. - Prior startup or entrepreneurial experience, with a results-oriented and autonomous work style. - Strong spoken English sufficient for fluid technical discussion. - Willingness to work on-site in Munich or to relocate there. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Salary range: 60,000 to 90,000 EUR annually. Equity participation via options (up to 1%, with top-ups possible). Visa sponsorship is not available. LOCATION On-site in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. This role requires regular in-person presence; remote work is not an option.