What I means to be Founding Engineer: My Perspective

More than once, I have firsthand experience as a founding engineer. In my view, being a founding engineer is about much more than just writing code – it's about being a key player in shaping the technical and cultural foundation of a startup.

The Goal: Finding Product-Market Fit

The primary goal of a founding engineer is to help the startup find product-market fit (PMF) before running out of money. This means building something people actually want to use and are willing to pay for. As a founding engineer, your technical decisions should be guided by this overarching goal.

In the early stages, when there is high uncertainty about the product and market, it's important to prioritize flexibility and speed over perfection. Use technologies you're already familiar with, even if they're not the shiniest or most cutting-edge. The key is to iterate quickly based on user feedback until you find that elusive PMF.

Beyond Just Coding

Being a founding engineer requires a broader skill set beyond just coding. You need to collaborate closely with design, user research, sales, and other teams to deeply understand user needs. Don't be afraid to get out of the code and talk to customers directly. Their insights will be invaluable in shaping the product.

You also have to be pragmatic about technical debt, bugs, and product quality. Startups can use technical debt tactically to move faster in a way that larger companies can't. Just be intentional about it and have a plan to pay it down later.

Setting the Technical and Cultural Foundation

As one of the first technical hires, you have the opportunity and responsibility to set the engineering culture and best practices for the startup. The technologies you choose, the development processes you put in place, and the quality bar you establish will have a lasting impact as the team grows.

More than that, as a founding engineer you help set the overall culture through the example you demonstrate – your work ethic, how you communicate and collaborate with others, how you handle adversity, and how you embody the company's values. The habits and norms you establish early on will become the company's culture as new people join.

Thriving as a Founding Engineer

To thrive as a founding engineer, you have to embrace the unique challenges and opportunities of an early-stage startup:

• Be relentlessly focused on finding PMF and don't get distracted by shiny technologies or perfectionism

• Proactively look for ways to have an impact beyond just your coding responsibilities

• Establish strong engineering practices early but balance them with the need to move quickly

• Communicate and collaborate effectively with other teams, especially design and user research

• Demonstrate the culture and work ethic you want to see in the company as it grows

Being a founding engineer is a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience. You have the opportunity to build something meaningful from the ground up and shape the DNA of the company. Embrace the challenge, stay focused on the goal, lead by example, and amazing things can happen.