Founding Engineer
Holly · Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid) / New York, NY (Hybrid)
About the opportunity
We're hiring a Founding Engineer to join our small but mighty team as we build upon the platform that's transforming how local governments hire and retain talent. This is a unique opportunity to shape not only our technical architecture, but also how we build and scale our engineering function from the ground up.
Holly's mission is to bring millions of Americans into public service through software that treats them with hospitality and care. We're building the first AI-powered platform to help local governments design and manage their workforces effectively, starting with automated job design and compensation benchmarking.
We’re built by former public servants and civic tech operators who met and incubated the company at Harvard Innovation Labs. We've raised $2.2M from leading investors in government technology and the future of work, including J2 Ventures, Roble Ventures, Gaingels, and prominent govtech founders and operators.
Our platform is live with Long Beach, CA as our first paid pilot customer, with several major jurisdictions in our pipeline. We're seeing strong and growing demand as cities and counties look to replace expensive consultants ($100K+ annually) and reduce their 135-day hiring timelines.
We need a strong builder/problem-solver who excels at turning complex data challenges into elegant solutions while wearing many hats. If you're energized by building data-intensive applications that leverage machine learning to drive meaningful change in the public sector, we'd love to hear from you.
What You’ll Do
- Architect and build out features across our tech stack: PostgreSQL (Supabase), NextJS (Vercel), and TypeScript
- Build responsive, full-stack features end-to-end: from intuitive UIs for complex data workflows to enduring database schemas, deployed with robust CI/CD systems
- Design and implement scalable data architecture: cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, and systems to process job data from thousands of government sources
- Spearhead our AI/ML integration efforts: combine web scraping, document processing, and LLM analysis to build intelligent role matching and job description generation — and identify and deploy ways to build and sell faster using LLMs
- Lead technical decisions and manage relationships with our existing overseas software studio as we transition towards an entirely internal engineering team
- Guide our engineering culture and technical practices as we expand the team, with the opportunity to shape future technical hires
- Collaborate with the team to design the product roadmap, translating business requirements and customer needs into technical solutions
- Contribute to our company culture as a founding team member, participating in strategic decisions beyond engineering
What You’ll Have
We’d love to talk if you:
- Have 3+ years of professional experience in full-stack product development, ideally with strong backend expertise in data modeling and scalable architectures
- Have built and maintained production deployment pipelines and complex database systems
- Know your way around rendering large data sets in performant web applications, with UI frameworks that are built with an emphasis on simplicity and reusability
- Take ownership and move fast – You drive solutions independently, ship often, and thrive in the ambiguity of an early-stage startup
- Have a growth mindset and roll up your sleeves – You eagerly learn new technologies like LLMs, find resourceful solutions to problems, and love teaching others
- Are a true builder at heart – You're excited to shape team culture, bring best practices to the organization, and excel with limited oversight. Bonus points for prior startup exp.
What You’ll Get
- Technical ownership & impact – You'll make foundational architectural decisions that shape our product for years to come, with direct influence on how local governments hire and manage their workforces
- Founding team opportunity – You’ll work directly with us to build our technical foundation, while also contributing to product strategy and company direction
- Growing team leadership – You'll help build our engineering culture from the ground up, with the opportunity to shape and lead the team as we scale
- Mission-driven impact – Your work will directly improve how local governments operate, helping millions of Americans find fulfilling careers in public service
- Competitive package – $140-180K base salary, 0.5-1% equity (depending on experience), comprehensive health benefits (platinum plan, vision, & dental), and hybrid work environment (3-4 days in office)
Our Interview Process
We believe in hiring fast, but thoughtfully. Our interview process is designed to simulate the most important tasks of the job and give you a full perspective on what it’s like to be part of our team.
- Initial call (30 min) – Quick intro with Cherie & Brendan to learn about your background and share more about the company.
- Technical interview (30 min) – Explore your problem solving and data architecture skills.
- Product exercise (45–60 min) – Brainstorm and discuss feature development so we can experience collaborating on a tough question.
- On-site day in NYC – Hands-on hacking session, architecture planning, culture alignment.
- References – Two-way reference checks to ensure mutual fit.
- Offer – Welcome aboard!
Ready to Join Us?
Send us a brief note on why this role excites you to [email protected], along with your resume and links to any personal or professional projects you think may be relevant.
Our commitment to inclusion and belonging: Holly is committed to building a diverse company and working with the broadest talent pool possible. We encourage applications from all races, religions, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and ages, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [email protected]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.
We’re excited to build with you!
~ Team Holly 🌆
