Founding Engineer (Python / Next.js)

🏔️ ABOUT SIERRA STUDIO Sierra Studio is an innovative product development firm dedicated to empowering founders and business leaders in their quest to create impactful, meaningful products. Our team of experienced professionals is committed to delivering high-quality solutions that drive business growth. We prioritize a culture of good vibes, open communication, and continuous learning, providing our team members with the opportunities and resources they need to thrive. This role is with one of the teams we help build through our staffing partnerships. When you apply, Sierra manages the hiring process, but you'll be hired directly by and work within the client company. 🏢 ABOUT THE COMPANY You will be embedded at a pre-launch B2B SaaS startup building technology tools to modernize supply chain operations for consumer goods manufacturers — an industry still largely run on pen-and-paper and spreadsheets. The founder spent 6 years building 5 consumer goods brands and is building this product to solve the manufacturer pain points identified firsthand. The first product is a production run management and communication platform, giving brands real-time visibility into their manufacturing runs, with a broader roadmap already mapped out. The company is pre-revenue with soft-committed design partners lined up to test the MVP at launch. The founder is hands-on, highly organized, and detail-oriented — looking for a true technical partner, not just an engineer who executes tickets. You would be the company's first technical hire, working side by side with the founder daily. 🖼️ ABOUT THE ROLE As Founding Engineer, you will be the company's technical co-pilot — a full-stack role spanning front-end, back-end, and architecture. You'll start by auditing the product work already underway, then take ownership of it end to end: deciding how it's built, how it scales, and how the engineering team operates as it grows. 🔨 WHAT YOU'LL DO - Audit, improve, and take full ownership of the product's existing codebase and architecture. - Build and ship features end-to-end using Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, Alembic, WebSockets, and Next.js, making decisions across the entire stack. - Design and evolve the database schema, writing and maintaining Alembic migrations alongside SQLAlchemy models. - Build and maintain real-time features using WebSockets where appropriate. - Own infrastructure and deployment workflows on Railway, ensuring the platform remains reliable and scalable. - Write and maintain unit and integration tests to ensure the reliability and long-term maintainability of the product. - Work hand-in-hand with the founder daily, translating vision into shipped product. - Set technical direction and engineering best practices as the team's first engineer — your standards become the team's standards. - Collaborate with and mentor other developers as the engineering team grows. 🔎 WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 5–6 years of full-stack software engineering experience, with strong system architecture knowledge across front-end and back-end. - Strong professional experience with Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, Alembic, WebSockets, and modern React frameworks such as Next.js. - Strong SQL skills and hands-on experience designing, querying, and optimizing PostgreSQL databases. - Experience designing relational databases and managing schema changes through Alembic migrations. - Experience building or maintaining real-time applications using WebSockets. - Proven experience writing and maintaining unit and integration tests, with a focus on building reliable, well-tested software. - Experience deploying and operating applications in cloud environments (experience with Railway is a plus). - Basic knowledge of AI/LLM technologies (e.g., OpenAI APIs, prompt engineering, retrieval, or AI-powered product features) is a plus, as we'll be building AI capabilities into the product over time. - Founder mindset — someone who challenges ideas, proposes better solutions, and...