Founding Full Stack Engineer (Equity)

Founding Full Stack Engineer (Equity)

Location: Remote (UK preferred)
Commitment: Flexible (part-time or full-time)
Compensation: Equity with potential revenue share

Tvrtle is a small product studio building a portfolio of software products across multiple domains including SaaS platforms, developer tools, and niche consumer applications.

We build quickly, launch early, learn from real users, and iterate continuously. Some ideas will fail, some will evolve, and some may grow into standalone businesses. The goal is simple - build useful products and keep improving them.

We are looking for someone who enjoys building products from scratch and wants meaningful ownership in what we create. You will work directly with the technical founder to design, build, and launch products used by real users.

If you enjoy shipping real products, experimenting with ideas, and seeing software you write used by real people, we should talk.

This role is equity-only initially, with meaningful ownership in Tvrtle and the potential for revenue sharing from products you help build and launch.

This role is flexible and can be part-time alongside another job.

What you'll do

• Design and build full stack web applications from idea to production
• Launch MVPs quickly and iterate based on real user feedback
• Build modern user interfaces and robust backend systems
• Develop APIs and integrations with third-party services
• Implement Test-Driven Development (TDD) using Pest or PHPUnit
• Deploy, operate, and maintain production systems
• Speak directly with customers and users to understand problems and gather feedback
• Help shape product ideas based on real user needs
• Support marketing efforts including product launches, content, and promotion
• Contribute to social media and developer-facing content where appropriate
• Work on multiple products and experiments simultaneously

You will work directly with the founder to build and launch multiple products, not just maintain a single codebase.

Technology we commonly use

• Laravel
• Vue.js
• Inertia
• Tailwind CSS
• Vite
• MySQL

Infrastructure and operations

• AWS (S3, IAM, CloudFront, Route53)
• DigitalOcean
• Laravel Forge
• CI/CD and deployment workflows
• Monitoring, logging, and operational maintenance

Payments and monetisation

• Stripe
• Paddle

How we build software

• Test-Driven Development using Pest or PHPUnit
• Rapid iteration and small, frequent releases
• Clean, maintainable code and pragmatic architecture
• Shipping early and learning from real usage

Who you are

• Strong full stack engineer comfortable across frontend and backend
• Experience with Laravel or modern PHP frameworks
• Experience with Vue.js or similar reactive frameworks
• Comfortable owning systems from development through deployment
• Interested in startups and early-stage product development
• Care about writing clean, well-tested code

Mindset

• Product-minded and entrepreneurial
• Scrappy and resourceful
• Ambitious and excited by building new things
• Pragmatic and able to move quickly without over engineering
• Driven and motivated to ship products used by real people
• Logical and structured in your thinking

Communication and skills

• Comfortable speaking directly with customers and users
• Able to clearly explain ideas and technical concepts
• Strong written and spoken English
• Solid mathematical and logical reasoning skills

Bonus

• You have built and launched side projects
• Experience operating production systems
• Experience integrating payments or SaaS billing
• Interest in product design, marketing, or UX

We care far more about what you have built than where you have worked.

Why this role might be interesting

• Build products from scratch and see them used by real people
• Work directly with the founder and influence technical decisions
• Own meaningful parts of the system and product direction
• Work across multiple products and ideas
• Receive meaningful equity in what we build together

This role is best suited to someone who enjoys building things, experimenting with ideas, and being involved in the earliest stages of product creation.

We are especially interested in engineers who build things outside of work - side projects, experiments, open-source contributions, or small products.

How to apply

1. Send a short introductory email to [email protected] using "Founding Full Stack Engineer (Equity)" as the subject.
2. Include links to projects, GitHub, or things you have built.
3. Include answers to the questions below.

Required questions

1. Do you understand and accept that this role is equity-only initially (no salary at the start)? (Yes / No)
2. How many hours per week could you realistically contribute?
3. In how many weeks could you start?
4. Are you currently employed? (Yes / No)
5. If yes, how many hours per week do you currently work?
6. List the technologies, frameworks, languages, and tools you have practical experience with.

You do not need to answer all optional questions. Please respond to those that are most relevant to you and your reason for applying.

Optional questions

1. Tell us about something you built from scratch.
2. What types of products or ideas would you be most excited to help build?
3. Describe a time you spoke directly with users or customers to improve a product.
4. Walk us through a bug or technical problem you solved recently.
5. What side projects or products have you built outside of work?
6. If a product you helped build started gaining traction, how would you help promote it?
7. How do you approach Test-Driven Development when building a new feature?
8. What is something interesting you have learned recently?
9. How do you decide what the first version (MVP) should include?
10. Tell us about a time something you built did not work or failed.
11. If you had to launch a SaaS product in the next 30 days, what would you build?
12. Why does this opportunity interest you?

Thank you for taking the time to read through this and for considering applying. We appreciate your interest and look forward to learning more about you.