Software Developer

Founding Software Engineer (Go & PHP)Location: The Netherlands | Remote | First Engineering HireAbout the roleWe're looking for an exceptional Founding Software Engineer to join us as our very first engineering hire.This is not a typical software engineering role. You'll be joining at an early stage, taking significant ownership of the technical foundation, and helping shape the architecture, engineering practices, and future direction of the product.We're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys understanding how things work under the hood. Someone passionate about algorithms, data structures, performance, and solving difficult engineering problems.You'll work primarily with Go and PHP, building core components of our technology and tackling engineering challenges that require more than simply integrating existing libraries.We value strong engineering fundamentals, algorithmic reasoning, and independent problem-solving more than years of experience with a particular language or framework.What we're looking for1. Strong programming skills: Go & PHP

• Strong proficiency in Go (Golang) and PHP.
• Experience building robust, scalable, and maintainable software.
• Understanding of software architecture, clean code, and testing practices.
• Ability to work comfortably across both languages and understand their strengths and trade-offs.
• Comfortable working close to the underlying mechanics of systems rather than relying exclusively on abstractions and existing libraries.2. Exceptional algorithmic thinkingThis is one of the most important aspects of the role.You should have a solid understanding of algorithms and data structures, ranging from fundamental concepts to more advanced implementations.Examples include:
• Linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, and sorting algorithms.
• Search algorithms and indexing strategies.
• Advanced data structures such as B-trees and HNSW.
• Concurrency-aware algorithms and efficient memory management.
• Understanding algorithmic complexity, performance trade-offs, and scalability.We're not looking for someone who simply knows which library to import. We want someone who understands how these structures and algorithms work and can implement them from scratch when necessary.3. Hands-on engineering and independent problem-solvingAI coding assistants are useful, but they don't always work particularly well with the kind of problems and codebases we're dealing with.You should be comfortable:
• Breaking down complex and unfamiliar engineering problems.
• Reasoning through difficult issues independently.
• Writing and debugging code without relying on AI-generated solutions.
• Profiling applications and identifying performance bottlenecks.
• Understanding unexpected behaviour at a deeper technical level.
• Making informed engineering decisions and explaining the reasoning behind them.We value engineers who can figure things out, not just engineers who know how to use tools.4. Open-source mindsetWe're looking for someone comfortable working in the open.You should be willing to:
• Contribute through your personal GitHub account.
• Review and discuss contributions publicly.
• Participate in open-source communities.
• Share technical ideas and engage in engineering discussions.An existing open-source track record is a plus, but curiosity and willingness to contribute matter just as much.5. Additional experience that would be valuableExperience in any of the following areas is a bonus:
• Distributed systems.
• Concurrency and parallel processing.
• Database internals and storage engines.
• Indexing and search infrastructure.
• Memory management and performance optimisation.
• Low-level systems engineering.What makes this opportunity different?You'll be our first engineering hire.That means you'll have an unusual amount of ownership and influence from the beginning.You'll work closely with the founding team and help:
• Establish the technical architecture and engineering foundations.
• Make important decisions about technology and system design.
• Build and evolve core components of the product.
• Define engineering standards and development practices.
• Shape the engineering culture as the team grows.There is no established engineering department or physical office yet. We're building from the ground up, and we're looking for someone who is excited by that opportunity.This is an opportunity to help build something, not simply maintain something that already exists.Location and working arrangements
• Must be currently based in the Netherlands.
• Remote-first working environment.
• No physical office at this stage.
• Fluent English is perfectly fine; Dutch is not a requirement.
• Comfortable collaborating closely with a small, early-stage founding team.Who would be a great fit?We're deliberately not defining this opportunity by a specific number of years of experience.Someone with ten years of experience building Go or PHP applications might still find implementing a concurrent B-tree or debugging a causal reconstruction algorithm completely unfamiliar.On the other hand, someone with less professional experience in Go or PHP but exceptional algorithmic fundamentals, strong programming skills, and a genuine ability to learn could become productive remarkably quickly.We'd rather hire an engineer who understands how things work than someone who has simply spent more years using a particular technology.If you enjoy digging into difficult technical problems, implementing things from first principles, and building systems where engineering depth really matters, we'd love to hear from you.How to applySend us your CV and GitHub profile, along with a short introduction explaining:
• What is the most technically challenging problem you've solved?
• Which algorithm or data structure have you implemented yourself, and why?
• What kind of engineering problems do you genuinely enjoy working on?We're particularly interested in seeing how you think and approach problems, not just a list of technologies on your CV.

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