Founding Engineer - Full-Stack (Python, FastAPI & React)

Company : Benana - Free & Open Source AI ERP for Schools & Colleges

Location : Remote

Employment Type : Full-Time

Compensation : Competitive Salary + Significant Equity

Application Deadline : Rolling basis

Preferred Experience : 1 to 2 years

Tech Stack : Python, FastAPI & React

About Benana Benana is revolutionizing educational technology with the world's first truly universal, AI-first school ERP platform. Built with Python and FastAPI for rapid development and featuring our revolutionary FastConfig™ technology, we're creating a new paradigm where any school or college worldwide can deploy enterprise-grade management software in just 10 minutes—completely free.

Benana operates as a non-profit organization, funded by sponsors who believe in democratizing educational technology. This sustainable funding model ensures we remain true to our mission while providing growth opportunities for our team as we secure additional sponsorships.

The Opportunity We're seeking our first Founding Engineer to join the core team and help build Benana from the ground up. This is not just a developer role—you'll be a key early team member with significant influence over technical direction, product strategy, and company culture.

As a Founding Engineer, you'll work directly with the founders to architect the entire platform, make critical technical and product decisions, and establish the engineering foundation that will scale to serve millions of students worldwide. You'll have the autonomy and ownership that comes with being among the first hires, along with equity that reflects your foundational contribution.

This is a rare opportunity to join at the earliest stage, shape the company's trajectory, and build something truly impactful in the education space.

What Makes This Role UniqueFounder-Level Impact Shape the technical architecture and product roadmap from day one

Make strategic decisions about technology choices, infrastructure, and scaling

Define engineering culture, processes, and best practices for the growing team

Influence company direction through direct collaboration with founders

Wear multiple hats : engineer, architect, product thinker, and strategist

Ground Floor Opportunity Join as one of the first employees with significant equity upside

Build features that will directly impact millions of students and educators

Establish yourself as a key technical leader in a fast-growing startup

Experience the full 0-to-1 journey of building a startup from scratch

Create lasting impact on how educational institutions worldwide manage operations

Ownership & Autonomy Own entire features and systems end-to-end

Make technical decisions without layers of approval

Experiment with cutting-edge technologies and approaches

Build the engineering team and culture as we grow

Have a direct voice in product, business, and strategic decisions

What You'll DoTechnical Ownership (70%) Architect the platform : Design and build scalable backend systems using Python and FastAPI

Build core features : Develop the FastConfig™ template system, AI integrations, and ERP modules

Full-stack development : Create intuitive React interfaces connected to robust APIs

Database architecture : Design schemas and optimize queries for PostgreSQL / MySQL

AI / ML integration : Implement LLM capabilities using OpenAI, Anthropic, or open-source models

Infrastructure : Set up CI / CD pipelines, deployment systems, and monitoring

Code quality : Write comprehensive tests and establish engineering standards

Performance : Optimize for speed, scalability, and reliability from the start

Strategic Contribution (30%) Product decisions : Collaborate with founders on feature prioritization and roadmap

Technical strategy : Make architectural choices that will scale with the company

Hiring & mentoring : Help recruit and onboard future engineering team members

Process building : Establish development workflows, code review practices, and documentation

Stakeholder engagement : Work with early adopter schools to understand needs and gather feedback

Community building : Help grow the open source community around Benana

What We're Looking ForEssential Qualities Builder mentality : You love creating things from scratch and seeing them come to life

Ownership mindset : You take full responsibility for your work and its impact

Adaptability : You thrive in ambiguity and can pivot quickly as needs evolve

Strategic thinking : You consider long-term implications of technical decisions

Mission alignment : You're passionate about democratizing education technology

Self-direction : You can work independently and drive projects without micromanagement

Communication : You articulate technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences

Technical Skills Full-Stack Expertise : 1-2 years building production applications with Python and React (or comparable experience through substantial projects)

Python & FastAPI : Strong proficiency in Python, async programming, and building high-performance APIs

React Development : Deep understanding of modern React patterns, hooks, and state management

Database Design : Experience with relational databases, SQL, and ORMs (SQLAlchemy, Tortoise ORM)

API Architecture : RESTful design principles, authentication, and security best practices

System Design : Ability to architect scalable systems and make infrastructure decisions

Version Control : Expert with Git workflows and collaborative development

Problem Solving : Strong algorithmic thinking and debugging capabilities

Preferred Experience Built 0-to-1 products or features, ideally in a startup environment

Experience with TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, or cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)

AI / ML integration or working with LLM APIs and prompt engineering

Open source contributions or maintained projects

Educational technology, SaaS, or B2B platform experience

Led technical projects or mentored other developers

Experience with testing frameworks (pytest, Jest, React Testing Library)

Understanding of DevOps practices and CI / CD pipelines