About UMP :

UMP is building the next generation of fintech infrastructure, reimagining how financial products are designed, delivered, and experienced. We are a fast-moving startup that believes technology should serve the product not the other way around. Were looking for builders who thrive in ambiguity, move fast with intention, and care deeply about shipping products that matter.

The Role :

Were looking for a Lead Engineer who operates like a CTO someone who can own the entire technical vision, build and scale our engineering team, and drive product outcomes from day one. This isnt a pure management role; youll be hands-on in the code, making architectural decisions, and shipping features alongside the team. You will be the technical co-pilot to the founding team, with a clear path to the CTO seat.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Technical Leadership & Architecture :

- Own the end-to-end technical strategy, architecture, and technology roadmap for UMP.

- Design and build scalable, secure, and high-performance full-stack systems (frontend, backend, APIs, databases, infrastructure).

- Make pragmatic build-vs-buy decisions that balance speed with long-term scalability.

- Establish engineering best practices : CI/CD pipelines, code reviews, testing frameworks, and documentation standards.

2. Product-First Engineering :

- Partner closely with the Founder/CEO and product stakeholders to translate business goals into technical execution.

- Prioritize ruthlessly ship MVPs fast, iterate based on user feedback, and avoid over-engineering.

- Drive product thinking within the engineering team; every engineer should understand the why behind what they build.

- Own key product metrics and use data to inform technical and product decisions.

3. Team Building & Culture :

- Recruit, mentor, and grow a high-performing engineering team from the ground up.

- Foster a culture of ownership, speed, collaboration, and continuous learning.

- Conduct technical interviews, set hiring bars, and build a talent pipeline.

- Lead by example write code, review PRs, debug production issues, and stay close to the craft.

4. Startup Execution :

- Thrive in a resource-constrained environment; wear multiple hats and get things done.

- Manage technical debt strategically know when to take shortcuts and when to invest in quality.

- Ensure system reliability, security, and compliance with fintech regulations (PCI-DSS, data privacy, etc.).

- Own incident response, monitoring, and operational excellence.

What Were Looking For :

1. Must-Have :

- 6-8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience with at least 2-3 years in a senior/lead role.

- Proven experience at a startup (ideally Series A or earlier) where you built products from 0 to 1.

- Deep expertise in full-stack development : React/Next.js (frontend), Node.js/Python (backend), PostgreSQL or similar (databases), and cloud platforms (AWS/GCP).

- Strong fintech domain experience payments, lending, banking, insurance, wealth management, or related verticals.

- Product-first mindset : you obsess over user problems, not just elegant code.

- Excellent system design skills can architect for scale while shipping v1 fast.

- Experience building and managing engineering teams (3-15 people).

2. Nice-to-Have :

- Experience as a founding engineer or first technical hire at a startup.

- Familiarity with fintech compliance and regulatory frameworks.

- Experience with event-driven architectures, microservices, or serverless patterns.

- Contributions to open-source projects or active technical community presence.

- Prior experience working with cross-functional teams (design, product, data).

- Hands-on experience building or tinkering with AI agents, LLM integrations, or applied AI/ML workflows.

Tech Stack (Current / Planned) :

1. Layer Technologies :

- Frontend : React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS.

- Backend : Node.js / Python, REST & GraphQL APIs.

- Database : PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB (as needed).

- Infrastructure : AWS / GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform.

- Payments & Fintech : Stripe, Plaid, or equivalent integrations.

- Monitoring : Datadog / Grafana, PagerDuty, Sentry.

Why Join UMP? :

- Founding-team-level impact : shape the product, the culture, and the technical DNA of the company.

- Clear path to CTO as the company scales.

- Competitive compensation : base salary + meaningful equity.

- Work directly with the founders in a flat, no-politics environment.

- Build fintech products that solve real problems for real users.

- Flexible work setup (hybrid/remote) with a bias for results over hours.