Founding Product Engineer

OpenAI launched its App Store in December. Anthropic launched Claude apps in January. Google is next. The AI app ecosystem just went from theoretical to real, and the companies that build the infrastructure for it now will define how it works. This is the role where you help build that.

We're hiring a Founding Product Engineer to work directly with the founders (one engineer and one designer) to build the core Layo web application. This is a frontend-focused role, but you'll work across the stack. Your job is to make Layo a world class user experience.

• App editor: design canvas + integrated development environment
• Prompt intelligence and analytics
• Context and memory infrastructure
• Hosted databases and API connectivity
• Publishing and deployment pipeline to AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
• Onboarding, activation, and monetization flows

• 3+ years building and scaling full-stack web products
• You're equally comfortable in Figma and your code editor
• You care about polish, interaction, and how things feel
• You've shipped polished products and know what it takes to get from 90% to 100%
• You ship fast, learn fast, and improve through momentum
• You build with Claude Code, Cursor, and know your way around models and prompts

• Industry experience building developer tools or creative software
• Eye for motion, animation, and micro-interactions (Framer Motion, Rive)
• Background in design or formal design training
• Has built at the early or growth stage before

• Ownership over core parts of the product from day one
• Everything you build ships to real customers immediately
• Beautiful Williamsburg office with in-person builder energy
• Health, dental, and vision insurance

We're a small team with strong opinions about craft. We value agency, truth-seeking, and creative problem-solving.

We work together in-person five days a week, and often on Saturdays, out of our Williamsburg office. Floor-to-ceiling windows, lots of natural light, and the kind of energy that only comes from building side by side.