Founding Software Engineer

Founding Engineer - Quant AI Platform London preferred, open to strong candidates across the UK £80k–£110k + meaningful equity We're working with an early-stage fintech startup building a next-generation platform for professional investors, covering portfolio risk analytics, scenario modelling, and an AI-driven research layer that sits on top of a genuinely massive financial dataset. The company is already live with paying fund clients and closing in on a seed round. They're hiring two Founding Engineers to join at the ground floor. This isn't a "join a team" role, it's ownership of entire systems: from the underlying math and data pipelines through to the APIs and the interfaces that traders and analysts actually use. What you'll be doing Building and owning risk models, backtesting infrastructure, and scenario/stress-testing tools Working with large-scale, point-in-time financial datasets at serious volume Shaping the data and strategy layer that powers an AI research assistant for professional investors Making real architectural calls in a small, fast-moving team What we're looking for Strong Python and production-grade data engineering experience C++ or Rust is a bonus, not a requirement Background in a fund, bank or risk environment (or comparable exposure to serious financial datasets) A working understanding of portfolio risk, backtesting, or systematic strategy concepts, gained through real projects rather than just interest C++ or Rust is a bonus, not a requirement Exceptional recent graduates with strong relevant internships (e.g. at top quant funds) will also be considered Comfortable with ambiguity and genuine ownership in an early-stage environment Process: a Python-based technical exercise focused on working with large datasets, followed by a conversation with the founders. Get in touch if this sounds like you, or if you know someone who fits.