Founding Technical Leader (CTO/Founding Engineer), NewCo

Founding Technical Leader: Head of Engineering / CTO Company: Newco (Stealth) Role: Head of Engineering / Founding Engineer (Full-Time) Location: Flexible (US, preference for NYC) S tage: Pre-seed (Venture Studio backed) Comp: Significant equity + competitive cash Who We Are Commerce is undergoing a fundamental shift. For the past decade, ecommerce has been built around static pages, manual optimization, and fragmented tooling: from analytics to experimentation to personalization. Newco is building the AI-native intelligence layer for DTC commerce.

Our platform interprets shopper behavior from the moment of ad click, scores intent in real time, and dynamically personalizes the on-site experience without requiring brands to rebuild their infrastructure. Every interaction compounds: the system learns, adapts, and improves outcomes continuously. The result: higher conversion, stronger retention, and a lasting edge for brands competing in a signal-scarce, AI-native world.

What You'll Do Define system architecture from first principles and own it end-to-end Build the initial product hands-on (this is a 0 to 1 role) Design and scale the decisioning and personalization engine across data, infra, and product layers Work directly with the founder on product direction and technical strategy Hire and lead the early engineering team as the company grows Communicate technical tradeoffs and system design to non-technical stakeholders in outcome-oriented terms Who You Are A builder-leader a