Founding Full-Stack Engineer @ Parrot

**San Francisco (In-Person Only)**
Equity: 0.5% – 2.0% · Salary: $150k–$200k

About Parrot

Parrot is building the TikTok for language learning - real native videos, interactive subtitles, and AI-generated activities that help people learn the same way they learned their first language.

We believe in immersion-first learning, grounded in second-language acquisition research and comprehensible input. Our goal is to make learning natural, fun, and effective - powered by real content, not artificial drills.

We launched in February 2025, already have thousands of active users, and are now hiring our first Founding Engineer to join the core team and help us scale to millions.

Why Join Us

As our first Founding Engineer, you will:

• Work in-person with the founders every day in San Francisco
• Own massive parts of the codebase across mobile, web, backend, infra & AI
• Ship fast and see direct impact on thousands of learners
• Influence foundational architecture and engineering culture
• Refine and shape the product experience alongside the founding team
• Join a small, mission-driven team obsessed with helping people connect across cultures

If you care deeply about quality, craftsmanship, and building something people truly love - this is your place.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Golang
• Frontend: Typescript, React Native (Expo), Swift (native modules), Kotlin
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Infra: DigitalOcean droplets, Cloudflare (CDN + video streaming), s3
• AI/ML: LLMs, embeddings, transcription pipelines
• Workflow: Temporal
• Monitoring: Sentry, Posthog
• Tools: Cursor, ChatGPT/Claude, Copilot, GitHub Actions, Codex.

What You’ll Work On

You’ll build across the entire stack, including:

• Full end-to-end product features (backend → UI → deploy)
• High-performance mobile experiences in React Native
• Video streaming + HLS pipelines
• AI-driven learning experiences using LLMs and audio/video models
• Backend services in Go
• Data models, schema design, and performance optimization
• Developer tooling, CI/CD, observability
• Helping refine product direction, UX, and learning effectiveness

We move fast, but with strong attention to quality and detail.

Who You Are

A broad, fundamentals-strong generalist who loves building high-quality software.

Must-Haves

• Strong TypeScript fundamentals
• Deep understanding of two compiled languages (Go, C++, Java, C#, Swift, Kotlin, etc.)
• Expertise in at least one frontend framework (React, React Native, SwiftUI, Android, Svelte, Vue, etc.)
• Strong experience with one scripting language (Python, Ruby, etc.)
• Excellent debugging skills (Chrome DevTools, RN profiler, Xcode Instruments, etc.)
• Solid foundations in HTML, CSS, JS, REST APIs
• Comfortable with Unix, git, and terminal workflows
• Writes testable code (pure functions, mocks, unit/integration/E2E)
• Comfortable using AI tools like Cursor, GPT, Claude, Copilot
• Deep care for quality, craftsmanship, and building things that feel great and perform reliably.

Nice-to-Haves

• Speaks multiple languages
• Actively learning a (spoken) language or interested in doing so
• Familiar with comprehensible input and immersion-first language learning
• Deep Golang knowledge
• Strong React Native or iOS/Android experience
• Cloud experience (AWS/GCP/Azure/DO)
• CI/CD & GitHub Actions
• Profiling & performance optimization
• Prior startup or founder experience

Culture Fit

We’re looking for people who are:

• Curious
• Humble
• Ambitious
• Transparent
• Mission-driven
• Craftspeople who take pride in their work

How to Apply

Send anything that shows your work - GitHub, apps, portfolio, resume, or raw code.

1. Phone call
2. Technical Take Home Assignment
3. Meet the team
4. Work Trial (In person)