Principal Engineer
Emphyre
Date: 2 weeks ago
City: Cape Town, Western Cape
Contract type: Full time
About the role:
Our client is hiring a Founding Engineer to join them at day zero and help architect, build, and launch their platform. This role is core to the product and technical DNA — you’ll partner directly with the founders, own mission-critical systems, and help shape the technical direction of the business.
We need a capital-B “Builder”—someone who can move from idea to execution with minimal structure, build clean and scalable systems, and create quick-and-dirty MVPs when speed is the priority.
This is a rare opportunity to influence product, engineering, and culture from the ground up.
What You Will Do
They’re early — no legacy, no rigid stack. Current direction includes:
Our client is hiring a Founding Engineer to join them at day zero and help architect, build, and launch their platform. This role is core to the product and technical DNA — you’ll partner directly with the founders, own mission-critical systems, and help shape the technical direction of the business.
We need a capital-B “Builder”—someone who can move from idea to execution with minimal structure, build clean and scalable systems, and create quick-and-dirty MVPs when speed is the priority.
This is a rare opportunity to influence product, engineering, and culture from the ground up.
What You Will Do
- Architect and develop core backend systems, APIs, and data flows
- Build working MVPs that let us test ideas fast with real users
- Deploy and operate your own code (PaaS / AWS environment
- Design for scale and security — the platform will grow fast
- Collaborate directly with the CTO and co-founders to prioritise roadmap items and define the product
- Guide engineering best practices, help us hire future team members, and shape our culture
They’re early — no legacy, no rigid stack. Current direction includes:
- Languages: TypeScript / Node.js
- Hosting: AWS
- Tooling: You help us choose. Comfort working across stacks is a plus.
- Have 5+ years of backend or full-stack experience, ideally in startups or fintech
- Are product-minded, you care about solving the real problem, not just writing code
- Can independently scope, build, and ship working systems without needing layers of support.
- Have worked at recognizable companies or have a strong portfolio of shipped work
- Can adapt quickly — you’re happy in ambiguity and thrive on autonomy
- Love the idea of building for scale, but understand when it’s time to hack something together.
- Are based in Cape Town (or willing to travel there occasionally)
- Have experience with financial platforms, user wallets, or transactional systems
- Are opinionated on startup tooling and infra, but flexible in execution
- Enjoy the chaos and satisfaction of zero-to-one environments.
- Have startup or solo-founder energy: fast, resourceful, no ego.
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