tl;dr

We’re recruiting a full stack engineer to help us build best-in-class internal tooling. More on us, who we’re looking for, and why you should care below. 👇

About us

We are railblocks.com - the ops engineering team for startups. We develop internal tools, workflows and data to help startups like Lovable, Mercury, On Deck and Lighthouse do more with less, at scale.

At a glance

• Job Title: Founding Engineer, Full Stack Software Engineer or Senior Software Engineer depending on preference and experience level.

• Location: Remote-first.

• Salary range: Depending on experience.

The role

This is a full-stack role with challenges across modern technologies at some of the world's fastest growing startups.

You’ll build custom internal systems (data, workflows & interfaces) that make the work life of operators at these companies smoother. For each company, you’ll treat the systems you build as a product and their team as users.

You'll work directly in client codebases as an extension of their engineering teams, building everything from data orchestration systems to custom platforms.

We're looking for someone who values the craft of software development, enjoys building internal systems, and gets excited about how AI is transforming development. Strong computer science fundamentals are essential.

Key responsibilities

1️⃣ Building & Extending Internal Systems

• Create internal systems: Build systems that solve real operational problems, making teams more efficient and reducing manual work.

• Connect platforms: Orchestrate data syncs and pipelines between CRMs, task management tools, databases, and other systems.

• Automate workflows: Build infrastructure that responds to changes, triggers notifications, and updates downstream systems automatically.

• Transform data into insights: Turn messy operational data into clear analytics and surface them where people need them in their daily workflows.

• Extend existing codebases: Work within client systems to add new capabilities, extend schemas, and implement secure event systems without breaking what's already there.

• Choose the right technology: Evaluate frameworks and tools to make smart recommendations that fit each situation, creating patterns we can reuse across projects.

2️⃣ Creating Reusable Infrastructure

• Build reusable components: Develop modules for common needs like authentication, data sync, notifications, and observability that work across different projects.

• Create complete stacks: Combine individual components into standardized solutions that solve entire categories of operational problems.

• Extract patterns: Learn from every project to strengthen our tooling library and develop better AI-assisted development workflows.

Things we’re looking for

1️⃣ Core Philosophy & Mindset

• Craftsmanship: You take pride in building well-architected systems. Code quality and thoughtful design matter to you.

• Clear communication: You write clearly and know when to be brief versus comprehensive. Your documentation and updates help teams work better together.

• Passion for internal systems: You genuinely enjoy building systems that make operations teams more effective. You understand the value of systems that reduce manual work.

• Proactive ownership: You see problems and fix them without being asked. You think and act like a founding engineer.

2️⃣ Technical Expertise

• Full-stack experience: 4-6+ years building complete systems from database to UI. You architect, implement, and ship end-to-end solutions.

• System integration: You've connected platforms like CRMs, databases, and APIs with two-way data syncs. You understand how to move and transform data between systems.

• Database design: You can extend existing schemas and data models without breaking things. Your decisions are rooted in solid computer science fundamentals.

• Workflow automation: You build systems that trigger actions based on events - sending notifications, updating records, and orchestrating multi-step processes.

• Technical adaptability: You quickly understand new codebases, tech stacks, and architectural patterns. You can work effectively in any client's environment.

• Modern stack proficiency: You're comfortable with React/Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Python, and serverless architectures. You enjoy learning tools like Convex, Trigger.dev, and Airbyte.

• Documentation as code: You document your work clearly - whether through code comments, Loom videos, or workflow annotations. You make complex systems understandable for others.

3️⃣ AI-First Development

• Transformative mindset: You believe AI is fundamentally changing how we build software. You're excited to be at the forefront of this shift.

• AI-enhanced workflow: You use AI tools to accelerate development and learning, while maintaining deep understanding of the code you ship.

• Bonus: You naturally experiment with tools like v0.dev or MagicPatterns, o templates for consistent outputs, and found novel ways to improve your development process.

Why work with us

• Real impact - Build systems at the core of operations for some of the world's fastest growing startups.

• Shape the company - Join early and help define how we build and grow.

• Small, intentional team - We care about who we work with as much as what we build.

• Room to explore - If you're curious about new technologies and approaches, you'll have space to learn and experiment.

Why you shouldn’t work with us

• You need structure and management - This role requires high autonomy and independent decision-making.

• You don't enjoy internal tooling - If building operational systems doesn't excite you, this isn't the right fit.

• You want to specialize narrowly - We need someone who adapts quickly across different tech stacks and patterns.

• You're not interested in AI - We actively explore how AI changes software development.

• You prefer predictable work - Projects range from strategic builds to urgent operational needs.