The Studio
Founding Product Engineer — Venture Platform & Infrastructure
8mo ago
80000 –120000 USD / yearWorldwideSeniorfull-stack developmentdata pipelinesplatform engineeringinfrastructureanalyticsmonitoring
Founding product engineer role to build platform and infrastructure for AI-native venture OS, focusing on backend and full-stack development.
Responsibilities
- We're looking for a founding product engineer to build the platform and infrastructure side of Utopia OS. You’ll design, develop, and scale the shared systems, data pipelines, and full-stack applications that power dozens of AI-native ventures launching from Doha for the Global South.
- You’ll combine deep backend expertise with the ability to deliver seamless, data-driven web experiences that make AI-native venture building faster and smarter.
- You will work as part of a product trio with the Design Lead and the Rapid Prototyping Engineer, making joint decisions on discovery, scope, and technical approach.
- Reports to: Studio Director Growth path: Head of AI Platform / CTO track
Other
- Utopia Studio is an AI-native venture builder for the Global South, backed by Qatar Development Bank. We work with domain experts across the GCC, Southeast Asia, and Africa to accelerate venture creation through AI-driven execution and shared infrastructure.
- At the core is Utopia OS — a modular platform that automates what's repeatable, embeds AI agents across workflows, and lets learning compound across ventures.
- Architect, build, and maintain Utopia OS infrastructure: auth, data systems, deployment, monitoring, analytics
- Develop full-stack web apps and plugins for studio-wide decisioning and analytics
- Build and maintain data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and deployment across all ventures
- Develop and maintain robust backend systems and APIs, integrating modern databases (Postgres, Supabase, PlanetScale) and data architectures (Iceberg, Delta Lake).
- Implement data pipelines and transformation workflows (Dagster, Airflow) to enable real-time analytics across ventures.
- Create clear, reusable documentation and internal tooling to standardize engineering practices across the platform.
- Take early-stage products and harden them for scale, reliability, and compliance.
- Collaborate with design and product teams to translate data and infrastructure capabilities into intuitive user experiences and venture-facing tools.
- Implement CI/CD, observability, and security frameworks across the portfolio
- Design deployment templates for multi-tenant environments and enterprise integrations
- Work closely with venture teams to integrate AI workflows and shared infrastructure
- Improve developer experience through modern, intuitive tool design
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers and fellows — fostering a culture of learning, experimentation, and shared standards across the Studio.
- Document architecture, standards, and playbooks so they can be reused across the studio
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both engineering and non-technical stakeholders — turning systems thinking into shared understanding.
- Stay current with advances in generative AI, data infrastructure, and modern web engineering
- Work in a tight loop with the Design Lead on design system needs and with the Rapid Prototyping Engineer to productionize validated prototypes into secure, scalable services.
- Co-own technical discovery with the product trio: define evaluation plans, success metrics, and risks before committing to builds.
- You’ll also help the team build shared capabilities typically owned by dedicated functions — like LLMOps, Data Engineering, and Security — but in a lean, integrated way.
- That means establishing lightweight evaluation pipelines, data ingestion templates, and security practices that can scale across multiple ventures without extra overhead.
- These foundations will later evolve into formalized systems as Utopia grows.
- We operate as a compact, AI-native core team — covering product, design, and engineering end-to-end.
- Each of us contributes to early foundations in areas like evaluation, data, research, and security, ensuring the platform scales responsibly without added layers or headcount.
- Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
- 4–8 years in full-stack and backend development (startup or AI context preferred)
- Strong with modern frameworks (React, Vue, Angular, Next.js, SvelteKit) and backend systems (Postgres, Supabase, PlanetScale)
- Experience with data pipelines (Dagster, Airflow) and modern data lakes (Iceberg, Delta Lake)
- Experience designing data-driven applications — integrating analytics and visualization into user-facing tools.
- Comfortable with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines
- Strong documentation and communication skills — you can explain complex systems clearly
- Strong in full-stack development, with expertise in at least one modern front-end framework (React, Svelte, Vue, Angular, or Next.js)
- Experienced with backend systems, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure (Postgres, Supabase, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes)
- Comfortable developing and deploying in hybrid environments, with CI/CD, monitoring, and observability best practices
- Familiar with data lake architectures (Delta Lake, Iceberg) and workflow orchestration tools (Airflow, Dagster)
- Accelerate venture build cycles through reusable systems and faster deployment
- Improve infrastructure reliability and security across ventures
- Reduce duplication and increase code reuse across the Studio platform
- Enable measurable improvements in venture launch speed, uptime, and developer experience
- Systems + Empathy: You balance deep backend expertise with product intuition and user empathy.
- AI as collaborator: You build infrastructure that learns, adapts, and improves through automation and AI augmentation.
- Outcome focus: You optimize for speed, reliability, and measurable business value across all ventures.
- Continuous learning: You're always exploring new frameworks, architectures, and AI tools that make engineering smarter and more efficient.
- Meaningful Impact : Your work directly contributes to building the core infrastructure behind a new generation of ventures - enabling equitable, AI-native innovation across the Global South.
- Collaborative Culture : We thrive on openness, curiosity, and collective intelligence. Everyone has a voice, and decisions are made transparently.
- Growth Mindset : From AI learning and use budgets to mentorship, we invest in your development and help you grow beyond your comfort zone.
- Competitive Rewards: Tax-free compensation, private health and travel insurance, and a benefits package designed for both security and flexibility.
- Wellbeing First : Generous PTO, flexible hybrid setup, and wellness programs to help you stay balanced.
- Work-Life Integration : Office lunches twice a week, great snacks, and team meetups that keep energy and connection high.
- Global Exposure : Occasional travel across Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East for meaningful, on-ground collaboration with venture teams.
- Inclusive by Design: We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an environment where everyone belongs.
- You'll be building the operating system for AI-native venture creation — the foundation that founders across the Global South will use to build the next generation of companies.
- Your work will power Utopia OS and enable innovation aligned with Qatar's Vision 2030 for a digital, knowledge-based economy.
- Your work will accelerate venture build time and reduce technical duplication across the Studio — measurable through faster deployment cycles, improved reliability, and reusable systems.
- If you prefer working in rigid environments, or need fully defined specs before shipping, this may not be the right fit.
- We move fast, operate with high trust, and expect engineers to take ownership from architecture through to production.
- The Studio is part of Utopia Capital’s integrated venture platform designed to solve the biggest friction points in emerging market venture creation.
- Most founders face a broken journey: they struggle to build with limited resources, chase capital across disconnected investors, and lack the infrastructure to scale across regions. We've built a different system.
- The Studio co-builds ventures with domain experts using AI-native infrastructure, compressing the path from concept to product. The Radical Fund and A-typical Ventures provide fast, aligned capital from pre-seed through Series A, removing fundraising friction at every stage. And Utopia OS — our shared technical backbone — gives every venture access to the same tools, data systems, and regional networks that would normally take years and millions to build.