Founding Engineer (Backend)

Founding Engineer (Backend)

New York, USA

Salary: $325,000 OTE ($275,000 Base + $50k Uncapped Performance-Based Bonus). Cash comp flexible for the right fit.

Stock: Founding stock options package at our ground-floor valuation.

USA Work Authorization Required

Intra-USA Relocation Package Available

About Aurora

Aurora is a multi–VC-backed startup building the operating system for $5T of high-performance lifestyle spend.

Our mobile app proactively empowers the world's highest performance individuals and organizations to master their relationships, exploration and longevity across 5 lifestyle categories: travel, dining, experiences, goods & gifting, and longevity.

To date, we have:

• ⁠⁠raised >$4m in funding from tier-1 investors, operators, and athletes behind Supercell, Stripe, Roblox, FaceIt, Deliveroo, Wander, Archer, VistaJet, Mural, Fanfix, Cleo, Flex, Poppi, Salido, the NBA, and the Premier League
• ⁠⁠⁠achieved >3x industry-leading engagement from our paying customers, with an extensive waiting list, currently growing revenue >30% MoM
• ⁠⁠⁠built the V1 of a proactive, prompt-less product described as ‘magic’ by our paying customers

We are now expanding our team as we grow our membership base and expand Aurora's product scope.

The Founding Engineer

Our founding team of 16 is searching for an exceptional Backend Engineer to join as one of Aurora’s founding technical hires.

You’ll work directly with our Co-Founders and product leadership to define and build Aurora’s backend infrastructure and foundations for our agentic functions - intelligent systems that anticipate, curate, and execute on the needs of the world’s highest-performing individuals.

This is a chance to build the infrastructure for the next chapter in prompt-less system architecture, which unlocks human performance, connection, and health, working with one of the world’s most unique proprietary behavioral datasets.

This role reports directly to Aurora’s Co-Founder & CTO, Dmitry Ogurtsov (previously Director of Engineering at conversational AI tool acquired by ZoomInfo), with the opportunity to rapidly grow into a leadership position across Engineering and Product.

Our Principles

We’re a team of tier-1 backed and exited operators united by our five core principles:

1. We seek truth
2. We are high-leverage
3. We are courageous
4. We care deeply
5. We believe impossible is an attitude

Why Aurora:

1. High Leverage: Place a daily-use, proactive, prompt-less product in the hands of the world’s most ambitious and high-achieving individuals and organizations, empowering them to maximize their global impact
2. Cutting Edge AI: Gain hands-on experience working with a revolutionary AI system, redefining high-performing living at the highest level
3. Generationally Defining: Play an essential role in building the "Agentic Apple" of lifestyle operating systems - a >$100bn opportunity at the intersection of technology, high-performance lifestyle, and longevity

About the Founders

Aurora was founded in 2024 by:

• Jonah Lowenstein, serial entrepreneur previously backed by the investors & operators behind Facebook, Spotify and Venmo
• Dmitry Ogurtsov, former Director of Engineering at Workbounce - conversational AI tool acquired by tier-1 acquirer, ZoomInfo
• Aurelius Zwick, UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Aurora’s first investor and Chairman is Alex Macdonald, founder of a premium digital concierge acquired by Capital One for $300M.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities:

• Take full ownership of features from concept to production rollout.
• Design and build backend services and APIs in Python/Django with high reliability and clarity.
• Maintain and evolve our agent orchestration, LLM integrations, and RAG/data pipelines.
• Architect and improve cloud-native systems on GCP (Cloud Run, GKE, Cloud SQL, Redis, GCS).
• Develop and maintain IaC with Terraform to ensure consistent, stable deployments.
• Optimize performance across SQL queries, Celery workloads, and backend endpoints.
• Lead debugging, incident resolution, and root-cause analysis for production issues.
• Implement secure coding practices and support compliance efforts (SOC2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001).
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, curators, and frontend/mobile engineers.
• Review code, mentor teammates, and drive architectural improvements.

Who You Are:

• Deeply product-minded: you care deeply about the customer and think from first principles about how to make their experience seamless and delightful.
• Technically skilled: strong Python experience and a proven ability to build reliable, production-grade features.
• Curious and self-driven: someone who naturally obsessively experiments on weekends, brings new ideas to the table, and gets energy from building real, user-facing systems.
• Hungry and ambitious: you thrive in early-stage, high-ownership environments where speed, creativity, and adaptability matter more than titles or bureaucracy.
• Strong collaborator who communicates clearly and thrives working alongside product managers, designers, and operators.

Technical Requirements:

Mandatory

• 5+ years of experience building and operating production systems.
• Expert-level Django engineer: deep familiarity with DRF, best practices, and common pitfalls.
• Strong command of Python, including data structures, algorithms, system design, and architecture patterns.
• Solid experience with distributed job queues, ideally Celery, and designing resilient background processing.
• Strong understanding of Infrastructure as Code, preferably Terraform, and modern cloud-native tooling.
• Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform, particularly: GCR, GKE, Cloud SQL, GCS, and Cloud Logging.
• Strong SQL skills, including query performance optimization and schema design.
• Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as PCI DSS, SOC2, ISO 27001, and OWASP recommendations.
• A proactive, product-driven mindset, someone who brings energy, ownership, and a get-things-done attitude.

Bonus Points

• Experience with machine learning (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Experience working with LLMs (Vertex AI, OpenAI) and modern AI toolchains.
• Exposure to agentic systems, RAG pipelines, and intelligent automation.
• Basic understanding of Flutter or Vue.js. Not required for the role, but helpful for cross-team collaboration.

Benefits

1. Competitive salary + uncapped performance-based bonus.
2. Founding stock options package on the ground floor of a $10bn+ opportunity.
3. Lifestyle perks and access to exclusive Aurora events and services.
4. Whoop or Oura Ring on us.
5. $2,000 annual education budget.
6. Whatever tech you need to do your best work.
7. Generous parental leave.
8. Comprehensive health benefits, with 90% coverage including dental and vision.