Job Specifications
Software Engineer | Full Stack | Industrial / AI Systems | On-site (London)
Eligibility: Only candidates with early-stage startup exposure, high-stakes engineering experience, and strong full-stack delivery ownership will be considered.
Salary: £110k – £200k + meaningful equity
Required Sector Experience: Industrial software / Complex real-world systems / Product-led SaaS
Working Model: On-site - London (5 days per week)
Must-Have Expertise: Full-stack engineering, TypeScript/React, backend systems, production ownership, startup environments, real-world systems
Strict Requirements - Please Read Before Applying
Only apply if you meet every requirement below:
Experience as a founder, founding engineer, early CTO, or engineer in a Tier-1, VC-backed startup operating under real delivery pressure
Prior experience in a mission-critical engineering environment (e.g. industrial systems, aerospace/defence-adjacent, or equivalent real-world production systems)
Proven experience building front-end heavy, user-facing SaaS products with a strong focus on UX and usability
2–5 years’ experience as a full-stack software engineer delivering production systems
Strong hands-on experience with TypeScript and React
Backend experience building scalable, fault-tolerant services
Comfortable owning work end-to-end, from design through deployment
Able to operate independently in high-autonomy, fast-moving environments
Willing to work on-site in London, 5 days per week
Strong communication skills and comfort working directly with leadership and non-technical stakeholders
If you do not tick every box above, this role is not the right fit.
The Opportunity
Optimal have partnered with a fast-growing deep‑tech company building next‑generation industrial software platforms that power real-world operational environments.
Founded by highly technical operators with strong engineering and commercial backgrounds, the company develops proprietary systems that interface directly with physical processes - not dashboards, not internal tools, but software that drives real-world operations.
They are now hiring Full Stack Software Engineers to help build and scale a core platform that underpins automated, software-driven industrial workflows at scale. This is a generalist, high-ownership role for engineers who want to see their code influence real-world outcomes.
Core Focus Areas
Full-Stack Engineering & Systems Ownership
Architect and build critical systems for automation and real-time data processing
Own features across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and monitoring
Deliver fault-tolerant systems operating in demanding, high-stakes environments
Lead projects from conception through to deployment
Factory-First Product Development
Work directly with operators and leadership to identify bottlenecks
Turn operational pain into production-ready software
Deploy and iterate rapidly with real-world feedback loops
See your software running in live operational environments
Scalable Industrial Platforms
Support AI-driven workflows, data pipelines, and real-time monitoring
Optimise utilisation and orchestration across distributed systems
Help scale a network of production environments
Build systems designed for long-term reliability, not short-term demos
Ideal Background
Founder, founding engineer, or early-stage startup engineer with real delivery ownership
Experience in mission-critical, real-world systems (industrial, aerospace, defence-adjacent, or equivalent)
Strong full-stack background with a frontend-leaning product mindset
Comfortable working across infrastructure, backend, and UX
Thrives in high-autonomy, high-expectation environments
Motivated by real-world impact, not comfort or process
Working Model
On-site: London (5 days per week) Factory-first environment where software meets hardware, with a strong ownership culture and minimal bureaucracy.
If this opportunity aligns with your background and you meet all the criteria above, reach out to Optimal for an immediate and confidential conversation.
About the Company
At Optimal, recruitment is more than just matching candidates with roles - it's about building lasting relationships and thriving communities.
Our founder, with over 20 years of technical IT recruitment experience, is a passionate advocate for community engagement and the organiser of the first-ever London Ministry of Testing Meetup. Combining technical expertise with a CT-AI certification, they have made Optimal a true recruitment specialist.
Our core expertise lies in Test, Development, and Quality Engineering. Additiona...
Know more