AI Tech Lead (Founding Engineer)

🎯 AI Tech Lead | Founding Team About the Company: We are on a mission to unlock global living — helping people move, work and live anywhere in the world. Our all-in-one platform integrates visa, tax and legal services into a seamless experience, empowering individuals and teams to relocate globally with confidence. We’re now building a proprietary AI product focused on helping people discover tailored visa & tax strategies for Portugal , with rapid expansion planned for Spain and Italy . About the Role — AI Tech Lead (Founding Team): We’re looking for an AI-oriented Tech Lead to join our founding team and take ownership of building the first version of our AI product from the ground up. You’ll work closely with the CEO and a small engineering team (currently 1 FE dev), shaping architecture, tech stack, and overall product direction. This is a hands-on role: part backend, part infrastructure, part AI engineering — ideal for someone who wants to build v1, scale it fast, and influence the long-term technical vision of the company. What You’ll Do: Lead end-to-end development of the core AI product (Portugal V1 → ES/IT expansion). Architect and build backend systems, APIs, and microservices (Node.js preferred — but RoR, Python/Django, Laravel also welcome). Design and manage Postgres-based data models and database infrastructure. Prototype and deploy AI features beyond simple API calls — e.g. embeddings, retrieval systems, structured reasoning, personalization engines. Own CI/CD pipelines (Github Actions, CircleCI or Jenkins). Manage infrastructure as code (Terraform) and operate containerized environments (Docker/Kubernetes). Implement testing strategy (unit, integration, regression) with a TDD mindset. Collaborate closely with product & design to iterate quickly. Mentor and support a small but growing engineering team. Help establish engineering standards, architecture principles and long-term tech culture. What We’re Looking For: (Guidelines, not strict requirements — we’re flexible and open to strong builders from diverse backgrounds.) 6–10+ years in backend engineering (Node.js preferred). Experience working with modern FE stacks (React, Next.js, Remix — for collaboration with FE dev). Strong DevOps fundamentals: CI/CD, Terraform, Docker/K8s, scalable infrastructure. Proven experience building and shipping production-ready products from scratch. Hands-on AI prototyping experience (RAG, embeddings, model fine-tuning, LLM pipelines). Comfortable operating in fast-paced, early-stage startup environments. Ideally based in Lisbon or open to relocating. Nice to Have: Experience living abroad or passion for global mobility. Previous startup or founding-team experience. What We Offer: Founding team role: significant influence on product, culture and technology. Ownership & autonomy: lead engineering from day one. Fast career growth: opportunity to build and scale global products. Cutting-edge AI work: real AI systems, not just API wrappers. Flexible work setup: hybrid/remote-friendly; Lisbon HQ; relocation support available. Mission-driven culture: multicultural team passionate about global mobility.