Lead Founding Engineer

Dirac (Headquarters: London, Acton)

Lead Founding Engineer Python Django PostgreSQL Hetzner System Design Architecture E-commerce D2C Logistics Purchasing Demand Forecasting Mentoring Visa Sponsorship Scaling Backend Back End Engineer Staff Engineer Management

Dirac is building the next Walmart-sized retail company over 10+ years. We sell d2c and are doing £300k-£500k monthly sales (lots of toys and reasonably seasonal). We're looking for a Lead Founding Engineer, our technical cornerstone, akin to Amazon's Shel Kaphan, to evolve our backend systems for massive scale.

Currently, our backend (purchasing, databases, pipelines etc.) runs on bash scripts coordinated by systemd, with adhoc estimators. This needs to transform into a robust, coherent machine capable of handling £1bn+ sales within four years.

Role & Responsibilities:
*   Lead the design, architecture, and implementation of core backend systems for demand estimation, product matching, warehousing, and purchasing.
*   Write significant amounts of code, primarily using Python (Django) and PostgreSQL, hosted on Hetzner servers.
*   Transition existing systems from bash/systemd to a scalable and maintainable architecture.
*   Mentor and guide two junior developers, fostering best practices in software engineering.
*   Collaborate closely with the founder to align technical strategy with business goals.
*   Build systems to ingest and process data from thousands of suppliers worldwide (pricing, logistics).
*   Develop algorithms and systems to optimize stock placement based on price and demand signals.

Technical Skills Required:
*   Strong proficiency in Python and Django framework.
*   Deep understanding of PostgreSQL, including database design and optimization.
*   Experience managing and scaling infrastructure (experience with Hetzner or similar bare-metal/cloud providers is a plus).
*   Proven ability to design and build complex, scalable backend systems.
*   Familiarity with data pipelines, ETL processes, and potentially basic demand forecasting techniques.
*   Experience migrating legacy systems (e.g., from scripts to a more structured framework).

Ideal Candidate:
*   An experienced engineer passionate about building foundational systems for a high-growth e-commerce company.
*   Someone capable of both high-level architectural thinking and hands-on implementation.
*   A proactive problem-solver who can take ownership and drive technical direction.
*   Enjoys mentoring junior engineers.
*   Excited by the challenge of building a large-scale retail operation from the ground up.

Compensation:
*   £70,000 base salary initially.
*   £100,000 base salary after Series A funding.
*   Significant equity stake: 5%.

Visa sponsorship is possible for the right candidate. This is an in-person role based in Acton, London.