Founding Engineer (Full-Stack / AI)

About the company

Clera is a talent-matching platform that replaces traditional job applications by connecting candidates and hiring teams through curated introductions.

About this role

ABOUT THE ROLE Join a fast-moving, early-stage logistics technology startup as a Founding Engineer and help build the AI platform that is making global freight forwarding autonomous. As one of the first engineers, you will own critical architecture decisions, ship full-stack features end-to-end, and push the boundaries of applied AI in a production environment — all while working closely with the founding team in Munich. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role suited to someone with a founder mentality who thrives in ambiguity and wants to shape the technical DNA of a company from the ground up. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own the design, development, and maintenance of the most critical parts of the core product. - Build reliable, scalable full-stack features that make users radically more efficient. - Evaluate, benchmark, and fine-tune AI/ML capabilities to maximise domain accuracy and context. - Continuously experiment with new model releases, frameworks, and agentic techniques in production. - Ship promising approaches quickly and iterate based on data and real user feedback. - Navigate and improve large-scale, complex legacy codebases, adding structure and scalability. - Engineer infrastructure and automation pipelines to support heavy data and AI workloads. - Collaborate directly with founders and teammates as a hands-on, high-ownership contributor. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Required: - 2–3+ years of professional software development experience (strong personal projects or an entrepreneurial track record may substitute). - Strong proficiency in Python; familiarity with Go is a significant plus. - Solid full-stack engineering skills with the ability to move fluidly across backend and cloud environments. - Hands-on production experience with AI/ML systems: benchmarking, fine-tuning, integrating LLMs, and running experiments in live environments. - Experience designing and maintaining production-grade systems with clean, scalable architecture. - Proven end-to-end ownership of features from initial design through to production deployment. - Experience building cloud-scale systems with a focus on scalability, reliability, and observability. - Strong CS fundamentals, intellectual humility, and exceptional self-discipline. - Founder-level drive, adaptability, and a results-oriented, autonomous work style. - Based in Munich or willing to relocate and work on-site. Nice to Have: - Prior startup or entrepreneurial experience. - Experience or genuine interest in logistics, freight forwarding, or autonomous systems. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS - Salary: €60,000 – €80,000 per year - Equity: Meaningful early-employee options package (up to ~1.5%) - Opportunity to define and own the technical direction of a product with real market traction Please note: visa sponsorship is not available for this role. LOCATION This is a fully on-site role based in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Candidates must be able to commute to or relocate to Munich.