Senior Software Engineer (Founding Engineer)

Job description

SpatialChat is redefining how people meet, teach, and work online — from world-class virtual events and hybrid classrooms to immersive offices and thriving communities.

With 6M+ users across 200+ countries and customers like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Google, McKinsey, Mozilla and thousands of universities and Fortune 500 companies, we’re building the future of virtual interactions powered by AI.

We’ve recently expanded our capabilities with community-driven tools and integrations (registration, LMS, payments, analytics, AI agents), putting us at the forefront of the next generation of live video and collaboration platforms.

We’re now taking the next leap with AI for Video Communication :

SpatialChat is creating the context layer for live video a platform that provides rich, real-time data across communication, collaboration, and work processes, enabling AI agents to seamlessly navigate conversations, understand context, and act inside live meetings, classrooms, and events.

This is a rare chance to join the founding engineering team and leave your fingerprint on a product at the cutting edge of live video, AI, and community-driven experiences.

• Own the tech stack end-to-end: Architect, build, and scale the backend, frontend, and infrastructure powering live events, virtual offices, and interactive spaces.
  
  

• Optimize for scale: Design systems that support thousands of concurrent users per virtual space with smooth video/audio streaming and real-time interactions.
  
  

• Prototype fast and iterate: Build and test new features rapidly, balancing speed and quality to enable quick experimentation and shipping.
  
  

• Hands-on architecture: Create robust WebSocket APIs, improve reliability and scalability of our video systems (LiveKit, Dolby, Millicast, Agora), and implement a plugin architecture that allows third-party developers to extend the platform.
  
  

• Shape the product & culture: Collaborate closely with product, design, and leadership to define the technical vision, roadmap, and engineering practices from day one.
  
  

• Security & governance: Build privacy/governance engines to ensure no context is inadvertently leaked between teams or employees.
  
  

• AI superpowers: Prototype internal chatbots, workflow automation tools, and company-specific AI features that showcase the potential of well-structured knowledge systems

• Mentor & inspire: Guide other engineers, help set coding standards, and evangelize creative approaches to AI-native applications.
  
  

• Full-stack expertise: 3+ years building and shipping systems in fast-paced environments; strong focus on Node.js, TypeScript, React , and modern web technologies.
  
  

• Real-time communication skills: Deep understanding of WebSockets, WebRTC , and real-time protocols for live video/audio interactions.
  
  

• Backend & infra chops: Hands-on experience with NoSQL (MongoDB, DynamoDB) , cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure ), and deploying scalable, reliable services.
  
  

• Streaming integrations: Familiarity with LiveKit, Millicast, Agora or similar media platforms to enhance video/audio performance.
  
  

• Startup mentality: Scrappy, self-motivated, and thrive where you’re responsible for solving complex problems with limited resources.
  
  

• AI & emerging tech: Proficiency with AI-native coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor) and experience building AI systems (MCPs, Agents, LLM APIs).
  
  

• Collaboration mindset: Excellent communication skills; able to work cross-functionally with designers, PMs, and engineers.
  
  

• Creative problem solving: Comfort digging into ambiguous problem statements and delivering elegant, performant solutions.
  
  

• GraphQL, feature flags, and trunk-based development.
  
  
• Microservices, Kubernetes, SOA, Event-Driven Architecture (EDA).
  
  
• Elasticsearch/Solr for search and indexing.
  
  
• Message queues like RabbitMQ, Kafka, or SQS.
  
  
• Experience building internal tools for cross-functional organizations.
  
  

In This Role, You Will:

• Be a key player in shaping the product and technical direction.
  
  As a founding engineer, your decisions will directly impact the success of the platform.
  
  
• Work closely with designers, product managers, and other engineers to rapidly develop features that are central to the user experience, with constant iteration and feedback loops.
  
  
• Lead the technical vision and execution, ensuring that performance, scalability, and reliability are prioritized from day one.
  
  
• Create intuitive, interactive, and easy-to-use web applications using React, Node.js, TypeScript, and other modern frameworks.
  
  
• Build out the back-end architecture using REST-based services, NoSQL databases, and real-time WebSocket APIs.
• Work on building secure, scalable systems to ensure a flawless experience for thousands of users.
  
  

• Make an outsized impact: As a founding engineer, your decisions will directly influence our product’s success and technical culture.
  
  
• Shape the future: Build a platform that powers hybrid classrooms, global events, remote workspaces, and vibrant communities.
  
  
• Cutting-edge challenges: Work at the intersection of live video, AI, and immersive collaboration with massive scale.
  
  
• Growth & ownership: Take full ownership of critical features and systems, with opportunities for leadership as we grow.
  
  
• AI-native culture: We’re embracing AI not just in our product but also in our engineering processes you’ll get to experiment with the latest tools and approaches.
  
  
• A supportive team: Work with curious, humble builders who share a bias for action and continuous learning.
  
  

Required Skill Profession

Computer Occupations