Senior Lead Software Engineer

About 8beehives

8beehives is an early-stage restaurant technology startup building a modern, AI-powered platform for restaurant operators.

Our founding team combines deep restaurant and technology expertise. It includes experienced restaurant entrepreneurs who own and operate nine restaurants, along with a technology executive who has helped build and scale multiple billion-dollar products.

We are developing the platform alongside a well-known, multi-location restaurant group in the San Francisco Bay Area. This gives our engineering team the opportunity to solve real operational challenges in active restaurant environments and build technology informed by firsthand industry experience.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a hands-on Lead Software Engineer to help build the platform from the ground up.

You will play a central role in shaping our technical architecture, engineering practices, infrastructure, and product. This opportunity is ideal for someone who enjoys writing production code, making pragmatic technical decisions, and turning ambitious ideas into reliable products.

You will work closely with the founders, restaurant operators, early customers, and other members of the engineering team. As an early employee, your work will have a direct and visible impact on both the product and the company.

What You’ll Do

• Design and build backend services using TypeScript and Node.js
• Define APIs, data models, system integrations, and cloud architecture
• Build and operate secure, scalable infrastructure on AWS
• Create and maintain reliable CI/CD pipelines
• Establish automated testing, deployment, monitoring, and incident-response practices
• Make key architectural decisions involving scalability, reliability, security, performance, and observability
• Integrate with restaurant systems such as payments, POS platforms, reservations, messaging, and delivery services
• Build AI-powered product features that provide clear value to restaurant teams and guests
• Develop systems using LLM APIs, tool calling, structured outputs, context management, and agentic workflows
• Use modern AI coding tools to accelerate development while maintaining high engineering standards
• Review and validate human- and AI-generated code for correctness, security, maintainability, and performance
• Help recruit, mentor, and guide engineers as the team grows
• Work directly with restaurant operators to translate operational needs into dependable software

What We’re Looking For

• Strong backend engineering experience with TypeScript and Node.js
• Hands-on experience designing, deploying, and operating systems on AWS
• Strong understanding of APIs, databases, distributed systems, and production operations
• Experience with CI/CD, automated testing, deployment workflows, and infrastructure management
• Ability to make pragmatic technical decisions in a fast-moving, early-stage environment
• Experience leading significant technical projects or mentoring engineers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• A product-oriented mindset and willingness to work across technical boundaries
• Familiarity with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, or similar AI development tools
• Understanding of LLM APIs, tool calling, structured outputs, context management, retrieval, and agentic systems
• Strong judgment when reviewing and validating AI-generated code

Nice to Have

• Early-stage startup experience
• Experience with PostgreSQL, event-driven architecture, or multi-tenant SaaS platforms
• Experience with restaurant, hospitality, payments, reservations, or POS technology
• Experience building voice or conversational AI systems
• Experience shipping AI-powered features into production
• Familiarity with data privacy, security, and compliance requirements
• Experience building multilingual products

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation based on experience, skills, location, and the scope of the role
• Meaningful equity ownership in an early-stage company
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• The opportunity to influence the architecture, product, and engineering culture from the beginning
• Direct access to restaurant operators and real-world product environments
• A collaborative team focused on building technology that delivers measurable value
• Significant opportunities for professional growth as the company expands

Equal Opportunity

8beehives is an equal-opportunity employer. We value different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace.

How to Apply

Send your résumé or LinkedIn profile, along with a short introduction, to [email protected]. Please include Lead Software Engineer in the subject line.

Recruiting Safety Notice

Your safety matters to us. Official 8beehives recruiting communications will come only from an @8beehives.com email address.

8beehives recruiters will never ask you to pay fees or provide banking information before you have accepted a formal written offer and begun the appropriate onboarding process.

If you are unsure whether a communication is legitimate, do not click any links or provide personal information. Visit 8beehives.com directly or contact [email protected] to confirm the opening.