Hands-on CTO (Full-Stack, AI)

Location: Fully remote (EMEA timezone)
Start date: ASAP
Language: Fluent English required
Industry: AI / Fintech / B2B SaaS Marketplace

About the Company

Pragmatike is recruiting on behalf of an early-stage startup building an AI-powered fundraising platform that connects startups, incubators, and investors. The platform leverages data and intelligent matching to help founders identify the right investors, secure warm introductions, and manage their fundraising process end-to-end. By combining AI-driven recommendations with workflow tools, the company aims to make fundraising faster, more efficient, and significantly more predictable. They are product-driven, fast-moving, and focused on building a scalable, high-impact platform from the ground up.

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on CTO / Founding Engineer to lead the technical vision and execution of the platform. This is not a managerial-only position — it is a deeply technical, builder role. You will be directly responsible for designing, developing, and scaling the core product, including AI-driven matching systems, user workflows, and the underlying data platform. You will work closely with the founders and play a critical role in shaping both the technology roadmap and the product itself.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end architecture and technical strategy of the platform

• Build and ship core product features across the full stack

• Design and implement AI-powered matching and recommendation systems

• Develop user-facing features for startups, investors, and partners

• Define and optimize scoring, ranking, and data models

• Maintain and improve the existing product and infrastructure

• Lead cloud infrastructure and DevOps (AWS), including deployments, scaling, and reliability

• Ensure performance, scalability, and security of the system

• Make key decisions on tech stack, tooling, and system design

• Collaborate closely with founders on product direction and roadmap

• Gradually build and mentor the engineering team as the company scales

Required Experience & Profile

• 3–5+ years of experience in software engineering (startup experience strongly preferred)

• Proven experience as:

• a CTO, Founding Engineer, or

• a senior full-stack / AI engineer in a scaling startup

• Strong full-stack development skills (frontend + backend)

• Solid experience building and integrating AI/ML-powered features

• Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS) and DevOps practices

• Ability to build, ship, and maintain production systems independently

• Strong understanding of scalable system design and architecture

• Experience or interest in recommendation systems, matching algorithms, or data-driven products

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment

• High ownership, autonomy, and product mindset

Nice to Have

• Experience building marketplaces or two-sided platforms

• Background in fintech, fundraising, or startup ecosystems

• Familiarity with recommendation systems or ranking algorithms

• Experience with data pipelines and analytics-driven products

• Previous experience scaling a product from early-stage to growth

What We Offer

• Founding-level role with high impact on company direction

• Full ownership of the technical vision and product architecture

• Opportunity to build an AI-powered fundraising platform from scratch

• Highly autonomous, fast-moving environment

• Fully remote setup (EMEA) with flexible work style

Pragmatike is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants without discrimination. We recruit on behalf of our clients and prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.We are committed to a fair and inclusive hiring process. We process your personal data solely for recruitment purposes, in accordance with applicable privacy laws, and maintain reasonable safeguards to protect your information. Your data may be shared with our client(s) for hiring consideration, but will not be disclosed to third parties outside of the recruitment process.