Backend Engineer (Fullstack) — Systems-first, but you don't stop there!

Are you a backend engineer who thinks in systems and in products? Do you obsess over clean architecture, scalable APIs, and solid data models, but care deeply about what those systems actually enable for the person using them? Have you got the battle scars of building something from scratch, whether as a founder, a founding engineer, or the first person in the room when the codebase was blank?

A high-growth product team inside a fast-moving fintech is looking for a Backend-strong Product Engineer to own the systems powering a new product line and everything behind it when needed. This team operates like a startup within a company. So lean, fast, and building MVPs that matter.

The other engineer on the team handles the frontend. You're the one who makes sure everything behind it is fast, reliable, and ready to scale. They won't hand you a spec. They'll expect you to help write it.

What you'll do

▸ Own the systems: you're the person asking "but how does this actually work at scale?" in every product discussion, and then building the answer. Backend-first thinking, fullstack execution when it counts.

▸ Build fast and iterate: MVPs in weeks, not quarters. This team expects you to move quickly and make good decisions under ambiguity.

▸ Shape the product direction: they don't want someone who just builds what they're told. They want someone who challenges, scopes, and argues for the right thing to build.

▸ Step into the frontend when the product needs it: you're not a back-of-house-only person. You can ship a UI, contribute to the product experience, and think about the end user — you just naturally start from the system and work outward.

The team

This is a moonshot team. A small group operating separately from the day-to-day, with the remit and the freedom to build something genuinely new. The successful candidate will report directly to the head of the organisation. No committee, no lengthy approval chain. Just strong people solving hard problems fast. The role is in-office in London, 5 days a week. This team works hard so if you want a 9-to-5, this isn't it. If you want to build something you're proud of, it might be exactly right.

What they're looking for

️ Ex-founder, co-founder, or first-10 engineer at a startup — this is non-negotiable. They need people who know what it feels like to own something.

⚙️ Backend-strong, with genuine fullstack capability. You're at your best in the systems layer, but you're not precious about it. APIs, data models, infrastructure — that's your home ground, but you can venture forward when you need to. Language? Bring what you're great at.

⏱️ 5+ years of strong engineering experience, with evidence of shipping things that perform under pressure.

Opinionated about product and able to explain not just what was built, but why, and that reasoning holds up under pressure.

Uses AI dev tools daily and can articulate specifically how it changes their output.

Ambitious, so you are someone who wants to see their work move metrics, not sit in a backlog.

What they offer

£100,000 – £160,000 base salary

Meaningful equity, a genuine stake in what you're building

Pension contributions

Direct access to leadership and genuine influence on the product from day one

The chance to build something from zero in a high-growth fintech with the resources to back it