Founding Front-end Engineer

We’re offering a unique opportunity to join our startup as a Founding Engineer with a focus on front-end development. If you are interested to work in a dynamic environment with high levels of responsibility and be part of building a successful company from the very beginning, we have the perfect position for you

As one of our first team members, you’ll play a key role in creating a truly innovative SaaS product. The position comes with a competitive salary and an attractive equity share (VSOP), giving you a stake in the success of the startup.

About Zapdeck

Employees worldwide spend millions of hours every day creating presentations. Zapdeck is set to revolutionize this task with the next generation of AI software that enables users to create professionally designed presentations in minutes.

At the heart of Zapdeck is an innovative AI technology—the first capable of converting text into custom-made slide designs. Our product features an intuitive editor that enables seamless collaboration, helps users craft cohesive storylines, and transforms them into polished slides ready for export.

The presentation creation industry is a multi-billion-dollar market undergoing significant disruption due to advancements in generative AI. Zapdeck has secured substantial pre-seed funding and is building partnerships with leading companies in the industry. We are now on track to becoming one of Germany's leading AI start-ups.

You will be part of a team with extensive experience. Our co-founder / CEO Frederik is a former consultant at BCG and our co-founder / CTO Riccardo is the former technical CPO of InsurTech startup INZMO.

Tasks

• Lead front-end development: Drive the development of our AI product, incl. flexible slide layouts and features like a drag-and-drop slide editor.
• Build our design system foundation: Lead development of a scalable library of reusable and adjustable design components
• Develop interactive UI features: Build innovative features incl. a drag-and-drop slide editor and an AI assistant chat.
• Contribute to product strategy: Play a key role in shaping the product strategy by providing insights into front-end development capabilities and limitations.
• Grow and manage a team: Hire engineering staff, plan the technical product roadmap, and act as a sparring partner for junior team members.

Requirements

Professional requirements

• 4–5 years of experience developing front-end technology for advanced SaaS products, with a focus on React / TypeScript.
• Experience in building custom components libraries and/or complex front-end features (e.g., whitboards, desing tools, video editing, live collaboration)
• Strong knowledge of MVC and MVVM patterns, and proficiency in consuming and integrating RESTful APIs.
• Expertise in writing modular, maintainable CSS with SCSS or CSS-in-JS libraries (e.g., styled-components).
• Bonus: Experience as a former startup co-founder, founding engineer or participant in a startup accelerator.

Other requirements

• Residency in Germany, ideally in Berlin.
• Fluency in English, our main business language.
• Availability to start within a short time frame (ideally within 1 month).

Benefits

• Attractive package consisting of a monthly salary and VSOP shares in a fast-growing AI startup that will significantly increase in value over time.
• The opportunity to work independently and creatively in a young and ambitious team and help build a successful startup from the ground up.
• Flexible hybrid working model in combination with team events in Berlin, where we meet in person and enjoy a fun time together :)
• Opportunity to take on responsibility quickly and develop your professional skills.

Be part of building a breakthrough AI product and shaping the future of a global success story