Technical Co-Founder / Founding Engineer

Stage: Pre-Seed

Location: Hybrid
Compensation: Equity + Co-Founder Title

About UpStar

UpStar is building a skill-first Career Audition Marketplace focused on Cloud and Cybersecurity talent across Southeast Asia and MENA. We replace low-signal resumes with verified skills, real-world projects, and employer-led auditions, helping universities, employers, and early-stage professionals connect through trust and data.

We are looking for a Technical Co-Founder to own the technical vision and execution, from first principles architecture to a scalable MVP that supports a multi-sided marketplace.

Your Mission

Own and build UpStars entire technical foundation, from system architecture and infrastructure to data models and APIs. You will translate product vision into a secure, scalable MVP that can support pilots with universities and employers, and evolve into a production-grade platform.

This is a zero-to-one role with full technical ownership.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Platform Foundation

• Design and implement the core backend architecture for a multi-sided marketplace (employers, universities, candidates, admins).
• Make pragmatic architecture decisions optimized for speed, scalability, and iteration, not over-engineering.
• Own infrastructure setup and deployment using cloud-native services (AWS, GCP, or equivalent).

Core Product & Data Systems

• Build and maintain core APIs and backend logic to support:

• User onboarding and role-based access (students, employers, university admins)

  • Structured skill, project, and profile data

  • Matching and ranking logic between candidates, roles, and projects

• Implement data pipelines that handle high-signal skill data, not just resumes or keywords.

Integrations & Security

• Integrate with:

  • Secure authentication and identity providers (SSO, OAuth)

  • Third-party APIs for learning, assessments, or analytics (as needed)

• Ensure data security, access control, and compliance suitable for enterprise and university partners.

MVP Delivery & Iteration

• Lead the build of a demo-ready MVP, including:

  • Core candidate and employer flows

  • University-facing admin views (e.g., Deans Dashboard)

• Work closely with the founding team to iterate rapidly based on pilot feedback.
• Balance speed vs quality in an early-stage, resource-constrained environment.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 8+ years of experience in backend or full-stack engineering.

• Strong hands-on experience with:

  • Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)

  • REST and/or GraphQL APIs

  • Modern databases and scalable data models

• Proven experience building data-driven, platform, or AI-enabled products.
• Comfortable owning decisions in ambiguity and shipping imperfect but functional MVPs.

• Founder mindset, high ownership, bias toward execution.

Bonus (Nice to Have)

• Experience with:

  • SaaS or marketplace platforms

  • EdTech, HRTech, or hiring-related systems

  • Skill graphs, matching systems, or recommendation engines

• Previous startup or founding experience (not required).

Who This Role Is For

• Builders who want real ownership, not just a job title.

• Engineers ready to be accountable for what ships and why.

• First-time founders or self-taught technologists who want to build something category-defining from the ground up.

How to Apply

Send your resume or portfolio, along with your LinkedIn profile, to
career@upstars.ai, Subject: Technical Co-Founder – UpStar

Lets build the infrastructure for skill-first hiring, together.