Technical Lead — Hands-on | Early-Stage AI SaaS Startup İş İlanı

ABOUT THE COMPANY VendiLabs is an early-stage startup building AI-first SaaS products . We are building a small, ambitious, and highly hands-on core team. We value speed, strong engineering judgment, product-oriented thinking, ownership, and the ability to learn and execute quickly. We aim to build an agile and collaborative environment where ideas are tested quickly, decisions are made pragmatically, and products are developed from zero to launch through fast iteration . Joining at this stage means having the opportunity to directly shape the company’s technical foundation, engineering culture, and product direction from the ground up. IMPORTANT NOTE This is a builder-first technical leadership role , not a traditional corporate management position. We are looking for a strong engineer or tech lead who enjoys building from zero, staying close to the product and code, and is ready to take broad technical ownership. Previous executive experience is not required. ABOUT THE ROLE We are looking for a hands-on Technical Lead who will take ownership of the technical direction of our products and help build VendiLabs’ engineering foundation from scratch. You will work closely with the Founder and the rest of the engineering team, taking an active role in architecture, implementation, product development, and critical technical decisions. Your responsibilities will include: • Designing the technical architecture of our products • Leading decisions across backend, APIs, databases, cloud infrastructure, and deployment • Taking products from idea to secure, maintainable, and scalable production systems • Understanding and guiding both web and mobile development • Leading the integration of AI and LLM capabilities into our products • Establishing standards for code quality, testing, security, performance, observability, and reliability • Remaining hands-on and contributing directly to critical production code • Making pragmatic engineering decisions without unnecessary over-engineering • Supporting technical hiring and helping shape the engineering team • Working closely with the Founder on product and technology decisions As the company and engineering team grow, this role is expected to evolve into broader technical leadership with increasing ownership over the engineering organization. An equity-based long-term incentive structure may be considered for the right candidate. QUALIFICATIONS • Strong software engineering and backend fundamentals • Strong technical judgment in system design and application architecture • Experience building and shipping products used by real users • Strong understanding of both web and mobile product development , with the ability to evaluate frontend, backend, and mobile systems as a whole • Experience with APIs, relational databases, authentication, application security, cloud infrastructure, and deployment • Ability and willingness to write production-quality code • Ability to independently analyze technical problems and make sound engineering trade-offs • Ability to balance development speed with technical quality • Strong product thinking and the ability to evaluate technical decisions from the user perspective • Strong communication, problem-solving, ownership, and leadership potential • Professional working proficiency in English • Ability to work in a hybrid setup in Istanbul • Degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Management Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience . PREFERRED TECHNICAL BACKGROUND You are not expected to know every technology listed below, but strong experience with several of them will be a significant advantage: • Backend: Node.js, TypeScript, Python • Frontend / Mobile: React, Next.js, React Native / Expo • Database: PostgreSQL, Supabase, Redis (optional) • Cloud: AWS or GCP • Infrastructure: Docker, CI/CD, monitoring, logging • Architecture: REST APIs, caching, secure API design • Authentication & Security: OAuth, JWT, role-based access • AI / LLM: Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini APIs • AI Systems: RAG, embeddings, pgvector, agent workflows, memory systems • AI Quality: evaluation, observability, latency and cost optimization STRONG ADVANTAGES • Building and shipping your own web/mobile applications, SaaS products, or side projects • Having a portfolio, GitHub profile, or shipped products demonstrating your technical capabilities • Taking a product from 0 → 1 to production • Experience building or scaling SaaS products, including subscription, billing, or multi-tenant systems • Building consumer mobile products and shipping them to the App Store / Google Play • Experience in an early-stage startup or a small, fast-moving product team • Building production AI / LLM systems using RAG, embeddings, agent workflows, or AI memory systems Rather than focusing on titles or years of experience, we care about what you can build, how you think, how quickly you learn, the ownership you take, and your leadership potential . We are currently reviewing applications and starting interviews.