The opportunity
We're building a vertical fintech platform for a large, underserved industry that today runs on spreadsheets, legacy software, and manual workarounds. Think Mercury, Ramp and Toast as comps.
The market we're going after has tens of billions of dollars in annual payment volume, no embedded financing solutions, and a regulatory tailwind that's accelerating demand. We're starting with a focused lending wedge and growing into the full vertical banking stack from there.
Two high-achieving co-founders who have known each other for years with Venture Capital & Private Equity / Hedge Fund backgrounds. Angel funding already lined up.
Happy to share specifics once we connect.
The role
You'll be the first technical hire, partnering directly with the founders on architecture, product, and execution. We are looking to build a lean, elite team.
You'll own:
- Shipping the MVP
- Sponsor bank integration and the full lending stack (KYC, credit bureau, fraud detection, and loan management)
- Setting the engineering bar, hiring the next 3–5 engineers, and growing into the CTO seat as we scale
You probably have
- 7+ years of engineering experience, with meaningful time at a top fintech, lending, or payments company
- Direct exposure to consumer or SMB lending infrastructure (origination, servicing, ACH, sponsor bank APIs, or TILA/Reg Z compliance is a major plus)
- Strong judgment on buy-vs-build and a bias toward shipping
- The temperament to be the only engineer in the room for a while
Bonus points
- Experience integrating with sponsor banks or BaaS providers (Column, Cross River, Unit, etc.)
- BNPL, installment lending, or embedded finance background
- Prior founding engineer or CTO experience at a venture-backed startup
Compensation
- Founding engineering equity + cash comp
- Happy to discuss but looking for someone who mission driven, with skin in the game
How to apply
Email [email protected] with a short note on why this problem interests you and links to anything you've built that you're proud of. No cover letter needed.
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

