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Founding Engineer (Engineer Lead/CTO)

Job title: Founding Engineer (Engineer Lead/CTO)
Location: Jakarta
Specialisation: Information Technology
Salary: IDR 780,000,000 - 960,000,000 (Annual)
Reference: PR/123175
Job published: September 02, 2025 18:49
Work Arrangement: Onsite

Our client is a new stealth startup in Indonesia that are currently looking for a Founding Engineer with hands-on GenAI builder experience to ship LLM-powered customer support automation (RAG + LangChain + WhatsApp/Shopee APIs) from scratch.

 

Their mission is to give businesses their time back. Our client is building an AI-powered co-pilot that integrates with WhatsApp to automate time-consuming tasks for small and medium-sized businesses in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, their vision is to be the default AI support agent for every WhatsApp-powered business in emerging markets, starting with e-commerce brands.

 

Key Requirements:

  • Proven track record building and shipping LLM-powered applications end-to-end (not just research/POCs).

  • Expertise with RAG pipelines, LangChain or LlamaIndex, and vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, FAISS, Milvus).

  • Strong Python development (FastAPI, PyTorch/TensorFlow, Hugging Face).

  • Experience integrating LLMs into production systems (chatbots, copilots, customer-facing workflows).

  • Familiarity with 3rd-party APIs (WhatsApp, TikTok, Shopee, Shopify, Zendesk).

  • Comfortable with 0→1 building in early-stage environments; able to balance speed with scalability.

  • CS/adjacent degree or equivalent coding expertise; strong problem-solving and debugging skills.

  • Stability in past roles; clear evidence of recent hands-on builds.

  • Willing to start hands-on coding full-time, with a path to CTO as the company scales (hiring/managing engineers, shaping tech vision).

 

 

Key Responsibilities: 

Design & Build the AI Core

Develop the intelligence layer using LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, etc.) for e-commerce customer support workflows (order tracking, refunds, cancellations, shipping status).

 

End-to-End Automation Engine

Implement RAG pipelines, vector search, and conversational flows.

Build automation that can independently query APIs (Shopee/TikTok/WhatsApp) and execute actions like refunds, order updates, etc.

 

Integrate with Commerce Platforms

Connect AI workflows with e-commerce APIs (example: Shopee, Tokopedia, TikTok Shop) and messaging platforms (WhatsApp Business).

 

Build the User Experience for Sellers

Develop the interface where sellers can:

  • Monitor AI conversations.

  • Intervene when needed

  • Manage customer interactions in one place.

 

Product Iteration & Feedback Loops

Deploy MVP with first e-commerce pilot users.

Collect data & feedback to refine conversational accuracy, workflow automation, and user trust.

 

Technical Leadership

Define the AI technical vision & architecture.

Own decisions on LLM frameworks, vector DBs, orchestration tools.

Establish coding standards, infra setup, and security.

 

Future Scaling

Transition from sole contributor → team leader / CTO.

Recruit, mentor, and lead engineering hires as company scales.