Application Programming Interface (API), Performance Management, Product Engineering, React.js, Scalable System Development, School Attendance, Single Sign-On (SSO), Startup, Team Building, Team Lead/Manager, User Interface/Experience (UI/UX)
LOCATION
Los Angeles, CA
POSTED
30+ days ago
Founding Product Engineer (Full-Stack) Hybrid Remote (U.S. Los Angeles preferred)
About Knowlej Knowlej is building the engagement infrastructure for K–12 education.
We connect student actions like attendance, learning, and participation to real-world rewards, financial pathways, and future opportunity.
Our platform powers schools, districts, and partners to drive engagement at scale while giving students access to incentives, experiences, and long-term economic mobility.
We are moving from early traction to a scalable national platform.
About the Role We're hiring our first Founding Product Engineer to build the core of the platform.
You will work directly with the founder to define, build, and scale the product from this stage forward.
This is a high-ownership role with real influence over architecture, product direction, and speed of execution.
You are not joining a team. You are helping build the team.
What You'll Do
Build and ship full-stack product features end-to-end
Own technical architecture, stack decisions, and system design
Lead integrations across APIs, SSO, and partner platforms
Improve performance, scalability, and data infrastructure
Translate product vision into fast, iterative releases
Help establish engineering standards and future hiring direction
Who You Are
4–8+ years of full-stack experience
Strong with modern frameworks (React, Node, or similar)
Product-minded with strong intuition for user experience
Comfortable operating with ownership, ambiguity, and speed
Able to take ideas from 0 to shipped without heavy structure
Bonus
Experience at an early-stage or high-growth startup
Experience building platforms, marketplaces, or API-driven systems
Interest in education, financial access, or mission-driven products
Compensation
$150,000 – $170,000 base salary
Meaningful equity (1% – 2.5%, depending on experience and scope)
What Success Looks Like
You take ownership of the product quickly
You ship consistently and raise the velocity of the company
You help build a scalable technical foundation for growth
You become a core leader in the company's next phase