As the Tech Co-Founder/Founding Engineer, you will own the technological vision and development of Merch Monk from day one. You will architect and build our product MVP from scratch, make all key tech decisions, and set the foundation for a scalable platform. You will work side by side with the founder on strategy and product direction, acting as a true partner in the business. This role will eventually evolve into the Chief Technology Officer as we grow, where you will lead an engineering team and play a key role in shaping our engineering culture.

We’re looking for a visionary tech leader who can design the right system architecture upfront, bring on the right initial team to develop our MVP, and think strategically about how technology can solve customer pain points. This isn’t just a “CTO in title” position. This is a founder-level role with significant autonomy. You will have the freedom to make key technical decisions from day one, and your ideas will directly influence the product roadmap and the future of the business. If you’ve ever wanted to build a platform your way while working on a mission you believe in, this is the opportunity.

About the role

• Help Define & Scope the MVP: Work closely with the founder and designer to translate our vision and user feedback into a clear MVP plan. You’ll help define features, set priorities, and create a roadmap for our first product launch.
• Architect the Platform: Design the overall architecture and tech stack of the Merch Monk platform from the ground up. Make key technological choices (i.e. frameworks, cloud infrastructure, integrations) that set the company up for a scalable and successful product.
• Build the Product: Take a hands-on role in development, coding the front end, back end, and integrations of the MVP, along with the possibility of a junior developer and/or an offshore development team. This can mean everything from implementing the user interface and design studio features, setting up databases and APIs, and integrating with supplier systems. You will own and drive the entire codebase.
• Lead Development Efforts: As needed, lead and mentor junior and offshore developers we bring on to help. You’ll establish coding standards, perform code reviews, and ensure we ship a high-quality product. You will lay the groundwork for our future engineering team.
• Iterate & Scale: Quickly iterate on the product based on user testing and early client feedback. We’ll likely establish a private beta where we will gather feedback, fix bugs, and push rapid improvements in short cycles. By the end of year one, you’ll be preparing the platform for broader scale by optimizing performance, improving security, and making sure we have the infrastructure to grow.

About you

Minimum Qualifications

• Full-Stack Development: Proven experience as a full-stack developer, with comfort owning an entire codebase. You have built significant web applications or platforms before, and you can handle what’s needed to bring a product to life.
• System Architecture: Experience architecting scalable systems and selecting the tech stack from scratch. You know how to design software that can grow, and you’re up to date on modern frameworks, cloud services, and best practices for reliability and security.
• E-Commerce or B2B Platforms: Experience developing e-commerce, marketplace, or B2B products, especially involving product catalogs, ordering systems, shipping, and/or payments.
• Technical Leadership: Ability to lead development efforts and make critical engineering decisions. You write clean, maintainable code and have a solid grasp of software engineering fundamentals. You’re comfortable setting up infrastructure and development workflows from the beginning.
• Product Mindset: Strong product sense and a willingness to co-own product decisions. You think about the end-user experience and can contribute ideas to make the product better, not just technically, but from a user perspective.
• Communication & Collaboration: Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical teammates. You work well with others and can partner closely with a non-technical founder, bringing technical insight while respecting business and user experience considerations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Merch/Promotional Product Industry: Familiarity with the promotional products/branded merchandise industry. (i.e. understanding how swag orders, printing, or fulfillment work).
• Startup Growth: Previous experience at a startup or in an early-stage product environment. You know the imperfect development approach and can navigate ambiguity and changing priorities.
• Third-Party Integrations: Experience integrating with third-party APIs or enterprise systems (i.e. procurement or inventory management systems). This will be beneficial as we connect our platform to vendors and other services.
• Team Leadership: Experience in hiring or mentoring developers or a desire to grow into a team leader/CTO role. We envision this person building and heading an engineering team as the company scales, so an interest in people leadership is a plus.
• Customer Obsessed: You care deeply about solving customer problems and delivering an amazing user experience. You constantly think from the end user’s perspective and are obsessed with finding the right solution for their pain points.
• Mission Driven: You are a missionary, not a mercenary. You don’t just build what you are told to build. You are a true believer in the mission and vision and directly contribute to architecting it. You have a burning passion/desire to build the best client experience imaginable.
• Ownership & Execution: You take initiative and are the type of person who takes ownership and gets work done. Rather than overanalyzing, you prefer to build, test, and iterate.
• Curious & Solution-Oriented: You have the ability to go deep. You genuinely enjoy the idea of truly understanding ideas and processes. When faced with a problem, you’re relentlessly resourceful in figuring it out. “No” is not the default in your vocabulary - you find a way or make one.
• Optimistic, Yet Realistic: You bring positive energy and see opportunities where others see problems. At the same time, you’re pragmatic about what’s feasible and can manage scope intelligently. You can dream big, but execute in reality.

What you’ll get

Our team members fuel our strategy, innovation and growth, so we ensure the health and well-being of not just you, but your family, too! We go above and beyond to give you the support you need on an individual level and offer all sorts of ways to help you live your best life. We are proud to offer eligible team members perks and health benefits that will help you have peace of mind. Simply put: We’ve got your back. Check out our full list of Benefits and Perks.

About us

Powered by Rock Ventures, Merch Monk is building the future of merch through creative design and the greatest client experience imaginable. We began as Jasper Promotions, a Detroit-based creative agency and distributor that delivered intentional, impactful branded merchandise for leading companies. Since 2023, our two-person team has generated $1.2M in sales with no platform, proving clear demand and a bigger opportunity.

Now we’re taking the next step: Transitioning from Jasper’s white-glove service to Merch Monk, a modern platform for merch management. We’re turning a proven concept into a product that makes creating amazing merch simple. Instead of a fragmented, extremely outdated and manual process, clients get a unified solution with real visibility from ideation to delivery.

We’re not just building a platform. We’re redefining how brands connect with people through better merchandise and an even better experience. With a strong client base, deep industry experience, and traction, we’re past the figuring-it-out stage and positioned to lead this space. Join Merch Monk to help shape an industry that touches every company on the planet. If you’re driven by innovation, ownership, and the chance to build something from the ground up (and have a real stake in its success), you’ll find a home here.

Why Join Merch Monk’s Mission?

This is your chance to build something from the ground up while reshaping an entire industry in the process. You will have a partner who knows the industry and customers deeply, and a business model that’s already proven its worth. You’d be joining at the foundational stage to create an amazing product (and an even greater company/engineering culture) using your vision. There’s massive upside in creating a product that could transform this $27B (growing) industry and captivate users who have been stuck with a mediocre process for too long. You’ll have autonomy and influence from day one, a significant equity stake in a venture with real traction, and the reward of seeing your work make an immediate impact on real clients.

This job description is an outline of the primary responsibilities of this position and may be modified at the discretion of the company at any time.  Decisions related to employment are not based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.  The company provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.  Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations in completing the application and/or participating in the application process should contact a member of the Human Resources team, at [email protected].

Colorado, New York City, Jersey City, California, D.C and Washington Candidates only: the compensation for this position is $149,000.00-$318,000.00. The position may also be eligible for an annual bonus, incentives, and other employment-related benefits including, but not limited to, medical, dental, and vision benefits, 401K retirement plan, and paid-time off. More information regarding these benefits and others can be found here. The information regarding compensation and other benefits included in this paragraph is only an estimate and is subject to revision from time to time as the Company, in its sole and exclusive discretion, deems appropriate. The Company may determine during its review of the proposed compensation and benefits provided for this position, that the compensation and benefits for such position should be reduced. In no event will the Company reduce the compensation for the position to a level below the applicable jurisdictional minimum wage rate for the position.

Los Angeles County and San Francisco Candidates only: qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment per the Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act.