- Spike: databases + product/UX
- Owns parent-facing app end-to-end
- Ships to prod constantly
- Strong mission-fit
Tweets, press, and people that show why this team is worth your time.
The Full Stack Engineer owns Pathfinder's parent-facing experiences (mobile + web) end to end — receipts, claims, reimbursements, statements — designed for clarity and trust, so a parent never wonders whether a reimbursement will go through, whether something's eligible, or what to do when they're lost. This is the person who owns the app, is comfortable with users day in and day out, and could be dropped in the middle of Arizona and figure out how to make the app better. Customers are largely homeschool moms who aren't power users, so the goal isn't a slick-but-hard product — it's something so intuitive a parent gets in, clicks a few buttons, and leaves having saved time. Success is measured in parent output, not time-on-app.
The founders are explicit on the shape: a strong engineer whose spike is product/UX and database sense, not a product manager (that's the trap). Database strength matters — not building from scratch so much as deeply understanding data modeling, latency, API-call patterns, and what/how to measure as the product and user base grow. This role and the Payments role are two separate buckets (app vs. money-movement) that don't overlap much day to day.
What You'll Own
- Parent-facing mobile + web end to end: receipts, claims, reimbursements, statements
- An intuitive, trust-first UX for non-technical parents — maximize output, minimize confusion
- Data modeling and app performance (latency, API patterns, what to store and how) as the user base scales
- Fast product iteration — A/B testing, experiments, shipping constantly to production
Requirements
- Strong full-stack engineer with a spike in databases / data modeling and a genuine eye for design and product (not a PM)
- Ships apps constantly to production — including personal side projects built just because they wanted them to exist
- Attends to detail and the psychology of features; notices surprising user behavior (e.g., enjoys binge-watching PostHog recordings, collects clever flows)
- Frontend competence (not necessarily elite design) — makes the app look and feel right for non-technical users
Execution and Ownership
- Takes real pride and healthy ego in their engineering craft
- Wants to meet users — will get on a flight to Arizona even as an engineer
- High agency, autonomous, thrives flat/super-IC; learns and listens rather than imposing predetermined opinions
- AI-native, not AI-dependent (uses Claude Code etc. to flesh out thinking, doesn't let AI think for them)
Background
- 0–5 years; obsessed about product and UX; a design and/or mobile background is a plus
- University not required, but then something impressive is (founded-and-shipped, high-signal fellowship — Neo, Contrary, Z Fellows, Pear Garage, South Park Commons — or a competition win)
Who Will Thrive Here
- A product-obsessed full-stack engineer who ships relentlessly and sweats UX details for non-technical users
- Someone who wants ownership and autonomy — either never had it and is frustrated, or had it and wants it back
- High-agency, mission-driven, in-person, flat-team builder
- Cares deeply about education as a genuine life thread, not a résumé line