Founding Engineer

Who We Are Axe was founded by James McElroy and Dan Quill, two exited founders with a track record of building and scaling high-growth companies. In just 7 months, we’ve expanded rapidly across Europe and the U.S. and raised over €3m+ from top-tier VCs who believe in our vision. We’re now assembling a world-class team to build a global AI powerhouse. What We Do Axe is creating the AI operating system for the real economy. Today, logistics and supply chain companies still rely on phone calls, email, and spreadsheets — teams spending hours every day on manual, repetitive workflows. We’re changing that. Axe uses advanced AI agents that can reason, act, and complete complex tasks end-to-end. It’s a trillion-euro opportunity in industries that have been underserved by technology for decades. Join us in transforming how the world moves. Who we're looking for We’re looking for engineers who could start their own company, but have decided (at least for now) to join one instead. You’ll have all of the positive parts of the founder experience: autonomy, direct customer interactions, building from scratch, shaping culture and technical direction, without the months of fundraising and figuring out whether anybody actually wants what you’re building. At Axe, that part is done. ARR is doubling month-on-month; we’re live with the largest auto-shipper in America and we’re working with several of Europe’s leading carriers. Customer demand is outpacing our capacity to onboard them. The question is no longer “does this work”, it’s “how do we build fast enough to meet demand?” What you’ll actually do Forward-deployed engineering: you’ll talk to customers, understand their phone workflows, and build voice agents that automate them. You’ll integrate into their systems, and extend ours when it doesn’t do what you need yet. Who we’re looking for Experience (5y+) at a very early stage, high growth startup: previous founder, founding engineer, or very early employee. AI-native: building with Claude Code/Cursor/Codex etc daily. This isn’t a preference, this is how we work. Exceptional communicator: this is a remote role, so communication with both technical and non-technical team members is critical. Product-minded: You are comfortable talking to customers, understanding their requirements, and figuring out what needs building Curious: You have a genuine interest in voice AI, telephony, and AI agents. Our Tech Stack: Python (FastAPI), TypeScript & React (Next.js), PostgreSQL AWS for infrastructure Various AI models and tooling: OpenAI, LangGraph, Google VertexAI The team James (CEO) built and exited a marketplace to 1M+ users. Dan (CTO) exited an AI lending startup and has deep logistics experience. Chris [Founding Engineer #1] brings telephony expertise. You'd be #2 or #3, working directly with everyone. Remote within UK/Ireland. Daily standups, monthly in-person, lots of pair programming on video. Key Benefits Stock options Health Insurance Life Assurance cover Generous Paid Time Off - work hard and take the time you need Annual company-wide offsite