AVP Open Source

Fountane Archipelago  ·  Island Role

A Little Bit About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Product Engineer (L3) who thrives in complexity. Most engineers build on blank canvases — you build on someone else’s mess and leave it better than you found it.

The majority of your work at L3 will be on existing, live codebases — disorganised, partially documented, built by multiple teams over multiple years. Your job is to enter those systems, understand them before touching them, extend and clean them without breaking what works, and progressively bring them up to a standard where AI tooling can accelerate further development. This is the core of what L3 does at Fountane. If you have only built greenfield projects, this role will be hard.

You are expected to be genuinely full stack: comfortable owning web applications and mobile apps, the frontend, backend, database, state management, and API integration layer — without needing to hand off to a specialist.

You will work closely with the Concept Engineer on your Island — translating their prototypes into production architecture, raising technical blockers early, and keeping the sprint honest. You will also review code, mentor junior engineers, respond to production incidents, and contribute to the network’s shared knowledge base.

All of this is done primarily with Cursor and Claude as your execution and reasoning tools. AI-assisted engineering is not a feature of this role — it is the method.

AI-First Engineering Expectation

Cursor and Claude are your primary tools — not supplements. Engineers at L3 who are not using AI at the codebase level are not operating at this level.

At L3, AI-assisted engineering means:

• Loading full codebase context into Cursor before writing a single line — understanding the system before touching it.
• Writing scoped, precise refactor prompts that isolate changes to one concern at a time.
• Using Cursor to generate tests that document existing behaviour before any restructuring begins.
• Using Claude for architecture reasoning, decision documentation, and translating CE briefs into structured technical plans.
• Producing inline documentation and decision records as part of the AI-assisted workflow — not as an afterthought.
• Sharing effective prompt patterns and Cursor discoveries with the broader Fountane network — kept to yourself, they are a missed contribution.

Key Responsibilities

Legacy Codebase Refactoring & the Cleaning Phase

This is the primary L3 engagement type at Fountane. You will be handed existing, partially documented codebases — built by previous teams, often without tests, with inconsistent patterns — and your job is to refactor them into a clean, AI-promptable state without losing existing functionality. You use Cursor’s codebase context window to navigate safely, write characterisation tests before touching anything, and make changes in small, reviewable increments. The standard is: every module you leave should be easier to extend by AI tooling than when you found it.

Full Stack Development — Web & Mobile

Build and own the full application layer: React / Next.js web frontends, React Native or Flutter mobile apps, Node.js / Python backends, and relational and non-relational databases. You should be able to pick up web or mobile on any engagement without needing a handoff. Schema design, data modelling, and state architecture are yours to own — including diagnosing and fixing broken or leaking state in existing frontends.

Third-Party API Integrations

Integrate complex third-party services — payments (Stripe), communications (Twilio), auth (Auth0), and others — reliably and without creating brittle dependencies. Own the integration layer end to end: error handling, retries, failure modes, and documentation. If a third-party integration is flaky in production, that is your problem to own.

CE Collaboration & Sprint Integrity

Work directly with the Concept Engineer to translate prototypes into buildable technical plans. Review CE briefs before the sprint starts — if the scope is technically unrealistic, the time to say so is before work begins, not on demo day. Raise blockers against acceptance criteria proactively. You are the technical check on what the CE promises the client.

Security Awareness

Write code that does not require the Lead to security-audit every line. This means: input validation by default, no hardcoded secrets, correct auth scoping, safe handling of user data, and awareness of common vulnerabilities (injection, broken auth, insecure direct object references) in the context of the stacks you work in. You are not the security architect — the Lead owns that — but you are expected to produce code that does not introduce obvious vulnerabilities.

Production Incident Response

When something breaks in production, you are on it. Diagnose the issue, apply a safe fix or rollback, document what happened and why, and hand a clear summary to the Lead for the client post-mortem. Speed matters, but a bad fix that causes a second incident is worse than a slow fix that is correct. Response expectation: acknowledged within 1 hour, resolved or escalated with a clear status within 4 hours.

Codebase Navigation & Safe Refactoring

On all engagements — not just Cleaning Phase work — keep changes small, focused, and reviewable. One type of change per commit. Write tests that document existing behaviour before restructuring. Leave every module easier to understand than when you found it.

Code Review

Review pull requests from L1 and L2 engineers with specific, actionable feedback — not rubber-stamp approvals. A good code review at L3 leaves the author understanding what to do differently next time, not just what to fix now. Review weekly; do not let PRs age.

Mentoring

Review junior engineers’ code weekly with specific, useful feedback — this is distinct from quality-gate code review. The goal here is teaching, not gatekeeping. Run monthly pairing sessions to help them grow. The measure of good mentoring is whether they are becoming more capable and less dependent on you over time.

Documentation

Write short decision records when you make significant technical choices. Leave every module you touch easier to understand than when you found it. Treat documentation as part of the engineering work, not a separate task you do at the end.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a software engineer, with a strong track record on real production codebases you did not build from scratch — incomplete documentation, inconsistent patterns, other people’s decisions. If your experience is primarily greenfield, this role will be a difficult fit.
• Genuinely full stack across web and mobile: proficient in React / Next.js and at least one of React Native or Flutter, Node.js or Python on the backend, and comfortable with both relational and non-relational databases including schema design.
• Hands-on, daily Cursor and Claude usage at the codebase level. You should be able to describe concretely how you use AI in your engineering workflow — not in general terms.
• Experience integrating complex third-party APIs in production environments — not just following a quickstart guide. You should be able to describe an integration that failed in production and what you did about it.
• Solid security awareness for the stacks you work in: input validation, auth scoping, safe data handling. You do not need a security specialism, but you should not be writing code that introduces obvious vulnerabilities.
• Has conducted meaningful code reviews that improved the code and the author, not just approved the PR.
• Has coached or mentored junior engineers before, and done it well.
• Comfortable with production incident response — diagnosing issues under pressure, applying safe fixes, and communicating clearly to a Lead or client about what happened.
• Treats documentation as part of the job, not an afterthought.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience.

About Fountane

Fountane is a technology ventures lab - one part product studio, one part startup engine. We build high-quality software and AI products for clients ranging from fast-moving startups to large enterprises, and we co-build and invest in new companies when we see the right opportunity.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Minneapolis, we have grown to 60+ people across four continents and were recognised as one of America’s fastest-growing companies, ranking No. 699 on the Inc. 5000 with 595% three-year growth.

We are radically open-minded, serious about craft, and direct about expectations. If you want to do meaningful work without politics, this is the place.

• Ability to translate Wireframes and PSD Designs into functional web apps using HTML5, AngularJS, React , Node.js, and Mongo, Dynamo
• With 3+ years, Proven experience as a Full Stack Developer or similar role preferably using MERN stack.
• Binding of UI elements to JavaScript object models
• Creating RESTful services with Node.js
• Architect scalable web architectures
• Work in a cross-functional team to deliver a complete user experience
• Create Unit and Integration tests to ensure the quality of code
• Be responsive to change requests and feature requests
• Write code that is cross-platform and cross-device compatible
• Ability to wear many hats and learn new technologies quickly
• Experience in using AWS

Role Objectives 

• Participate in complex design and software development tasks within an appropriate schedule, task, and quality guidelines set in conjunction with the Senior Platform Specialists and Platform Architect  

• Hands-on development and implementation of solutions including the configuration of e.IQ platform components and custom development 

• Tasks associated with testing and documentation of solution implemented 

Academic Qualification
B.E/B.Tech/MCA in computer science Engineering or a related field. 

Experience Profile  

4 -6 years of experience in development or platform implementations.

Required Technical Skillset for Java Development

• core JavaScript, CSS, HTML-5,

• At least one of these frameworks (Angular JS / React /Vue / jQuery / Bootstrap)

• Experience in developing front-end web applications for various devices (responsive) 
  

Good to have:

• Basic Java knowledge /Programming, RDBMS (preferably MySQL or MSSQL), Exposure to Liferay.

• Must be capable of coding and unit testing their own code
  

• Team player with good interpersonal skills

• Should have strong analytical skills                                                  
  

• Good communication skills

• Capable of juggling several priorities and delivering results on time in a high-pressure, dynamic environment.

• Solve complex performance problems and architectural challenges
• Troubleshoot, test and maintain the core product software and databases to ensure strong optimization and functionality.
• Help team in technical challenges
• Code review and deployment
• Technical documentations
• Thorough understanding of React.js and its core principles.
• Familiarity with Restful APIs.
• Build efficient, testable, and reusable PHP modules.
• Should be able to understand the requirements & Develop web application.
• Ability to work on multiple projects at the same time and complete tasks in a timely manner.

Responsibilities:

• Developing high-performance applications by writing testable, reusable, and efficient code.
• Implementing effective security protocols, data protection measures, and storage solutions.
• Recommending and implementing improvements to processes and technologies.
• Designing customer-facing UI and back-end services for various business processes.

Requirements:

• 1-8 years of appropriate technical experience
• Proven experience as a Full Stack Developer or similar role preferably using MEANMERN stack.
• Good understanding of client-side and server-side architecture
• Excellent interpersonal skills and professional approach
• Ability to work in a dynamic, fast moving and growing environment
• Be determined and willing to learn new technologies
• Immediate joiners are preferred

Looking for someone who can take care of all the server-related works, their security, can handle code versions through GitHub, handle the server logs, loads with automated tools.

Hassle-free deploying the code on servers with automated scripts. Should have provision to manage the server downtime efficiently during deployment time on production environment.  Only privileged candidates can access the code and servers with a restricted IP address.

1. Responsibilities

• Serve as a point of cross-functional contact and expertise, providing support to development and QA teams for the build and release process in all environments.
• Provide emergency support for critical issues, research possible cause, and provide solutions.
• Aid DevOps team in the maintenance of existing automated deployment operations as well as the advancement of desired state automated CI-CD Pipelines
• Documents build and deployment process for assigned product and/or tools
• Aid Infrastructure team in the implementation of new resources used by the development, test, and production environments.
• Maintain awareness of best-in-class tools, languages, and practices related to development operations.
• Provides instructions to Infrastructure, Development and Test teams to aid in product development life cycle.

• Participate in discussions regarding new product development and product enhancements.
• 2. Requirements

• Experience working on Linux based infrastructure
• Configuration and managing databases such as MySQL, MongoDB
• Excellent troubleshooting
• Working knowledge of various tools, open-source technologies, and cloud services
• Awareness of critical concepts in DevOps and Agile principles
• Great Experience with public cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Microsoft Azure.
• Must have implementation experience with TLS/SSL, public private key cryptography, how certificates work, and mutual authentication
• Should have deal with IP addressing, firewalls, open ports, DNS & DHCP

• Design and develop solutions to complex technical problems spanning the development of product features, quality validation, and deployment to customers
• Build highly scalable web applications that are designed for high performance
• Lead design and code reviews
• Work closely with senior management, Product Manager, and our team of developers.
• Contribute visibly to product quality, innovation, and customer-centric design across the engineering organization
• Lead, motivate and direct team members to build high-quality software in a fast-paced agile environment
• Actively hire the engineering & product team, & develop the existing team
• Share experiences and skills to aid team members in enhancing their professional skills and career

• 4+ years of experience building large scalable systems
• Strong experience in agile methodologies and test-driven development (TDD)
• Experience in software development using open source technologies
• Knowledge in domain-driven design, design patterns, and enterprise integration patterns
• Must have experience in delivering software via complete Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline

• A history of working on side/hobby projects or contributing to open source projects is a plus
• You have worked in a startup before

Most importantly: Be excited to learn what you don’t already know!