Founding product engineer — venture platform & infrastructure

The Studio is part of Utopia Capital’s integrated venture platform — combining AI-native venture building, capital, and shared infrastructure to help founders build faster and smarter. Every role here directly contributes to launching and scaling AI-native companies across the Global South, from idea to Series A.About The StudioUtopia Studio is an AI-native venture builder for the Global South, backed by Qatar Development Bank. We work with domain experts across the GCC, Southeast Asia, and Africa to accelerate venture creation through AI-driven execution and shared infrastructure.At the core is Utopia OS — a modular platform that automates what's repeatable, embeds AI agents across workflows, and lets learning compound across ventures.About the RoleWe're looking for a founding product engineer to build the platform and infrastructure side of Utopia OS. You’ll design, develop, and scale the shared systems, data pipelines, and full-stack applications that power dozens of AI-native ventures launching from Doha for the Global South.You’ll combine deep backend expertise with the ability to deliver seamless, data-driven web experiences that make AI-native venture building faster and smarter.You will work as part of a product trio with the Design Lead and the Rapid Prototyping Engineer, making joint decisions on discovery, scope, and technical approach.Reports to:Studio DirectorGrowth path:Head of AI Platform / CTO trackResponsibilitiesPlatform Engineering & InfrastructureArchitect, build, and maintain Utopia OS infrastructure: auth, data systems, deployment, monitoring, analyticsDevelop full-stack web apps and plugins for studio-wide decisioning and analyticsBuild and maintain data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and deployment across all venturesDevelop and maintain robust backend systems and APIs, integrating modern databases (Postgres, Supabase, Planet Scale) and data architectures (Iceberg, Delta Lake).Implement data pipelines and transformation workflows (Dagster, Airflow) to enable real-time analytics across ventures.Create clear, reusable documentation and internal tooling to standardize engineering practices across the platform.Take early-stage products and harden them for scale, reliability, and compliance.Collaborate with design and product teams to translate data and infrastructure capabilities into intuitive user experiences and venture-facing tools.Implement CI/CD, observability, and security frameworks across the portfolioDesign deployment templates for multi-tenant environments and enterprise integrationsCollaboration & Engineering ExcellenceWork closely with venture teams to integrate AI workflows and shared infrastructureImprove developer experience through modern, intuitive tool designProvide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers and fellows — fostering a culture of learning, experimentation, and shared standards across the Studio.Document architecture, standards, and playbooks so they can be reused across the studioCommunicate complex technical concepts clearly to both engineering and non-technical stakeholders — turning systems thinking into shared understanding.Stay current with advances in generative AI, data infrastructure, and modern web engineeringWork in a tight loop with the Design Lead on design system needs and with the Rapid Prototyping Engineer to productionize validated prototypes into secure, scalable services.Co-own technical discovery with the product trio: define evaluation plans, success metrics, and risks before committing to builds.You’ll also help the team build shared capabilities typically owned by dedicated functions — like LLMOps, Data Engineering, and Security — but in a lean, integrated way.That means establishing lightweight evaluation pipelines, data ingestion templates, and security practices that can scale across multiple ventures without extra overhead.These foundations will later evolve into formalized systems as Utopia grows.We operate as a compact, AI-native core team — covering product, design, and engineering end-to-end.Each of us contributes to early foundations in areas like evaluation, data, research, and security, ensuring the platform scales responsibly without added layers or headcount.Experience & SkillsBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field4–8 years in full-stack and backend development (startup or AI context preferred)Strong with modern frameworks (React, Vue, Angular, Next.js, Svelte Kit) and backend systems (Postgres, Supabase, Planet Scale)Experience with data pipelines (Dagster, Airflow) and modern data lakes (Iceberg, Delta Lake)Experience designing data-driven applications — integrating analytics and visualization into user-facing tools.Comfortable with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelinesStrong documentation and communication skills — you can explain complex systems clearlyTechnical FoundationsStrong in full-stack development, with expertise in