Product Engineer / Product Builder - Backend or Full-stack

AI is making software execution faster and more accessible. What remains rare is judgment — knowing what to build, why it matters, which trade-offs to make, and what it takes to turn an idea into real customer and business impact.

The cooperation

Product Engineers own technical solutions end-to-end: from understanding the problem and contributing to technical discovery, through implementation and testing, to release, production and continuous improvement.

Two technical backgrounds are considered:

• Backend-led: strongest in PHP, application architecture, business logic, APIs, data and distributed systems. Responsible for backend solutions and able to contribute to other product areas when practical.
• Full-stack: works across frontend and backend, with strongest skills in TypeScript, Vue.js, user journeys and UX. PHP and Laravel are a regular part of the scope.

Identical depth across every part of the stack is not required. Strong engineering foundations in a primary area, enough range to deliver meaningful outcomes, and judgment about when to work independently, collaborate, or seek specialist depth are expected.

The Product Manager owns product direction and the what and why. The Product Engineer owns the technical how, decides the technical approach, and remains responsible for production quality.

Scope of cooperation

• End-to-end delivery: lead backend services or ship complete user-facing features across frontend and backend, depending on background.
• Technical discovery: validate feasibility, identify constraints and shape the technical approach before scope is locked.
• Technical decisions: select solutions balancing customer value, delivery speed, maintainability and operational risk.
• Production quality: test, release, monitor and stay close to solutions during rollout and hypercare.
• AI-augmented development: use Claude Code daily; MCP servers, custom agents, skills and internal tooling are part of the workflow.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product Managers, QA and engineers; contribute context and trade-offs rather than wait for a fully specified ticket.
• Identify recurring problems and improve products, systems and engineering practices.

Requirements

• Experience shipping software used by real customers and learning what worked, broke and needed to change.
• Interest in understanding customer and business problems before deciding how to solve them.
• End-to-end problem ownership.
• Ability to explain technical trade-offs to Product Managers and business rationale to experienced engineers.
• Strong quality standards beyond code review and QA handoff.
• AI tools used as a natural extension of work.
• Willingness to work outside a primary technical area when needed for a better outcome.
• Outcome-oriented approach before implementation.

Backend-led Product Engineer

• Strong commercial experience with PHP and Laravel or Symfony.
• Experience designing backend systems, not only implementing predefined endpoints.
• Strong understanding of business logic, data modelling, REST APIs and integrations.
• Experience with microservices, event-driven systems or other distributed architectures.
• Practical knowledge of relational and non-relational databases, caching and message queues.
• Familiarity with Docker, CI/CD and production infrastructure.
• Openness to JavaScript or TypeScript and contributing outside the backend when needed.

Frontend specialist depth is not required, but responsibility for the entire product outcome is expected.

Full-stack Product Engineer

• Strong commercial experience with TypeScript, JavaScript and Vue.js.
• Experience with component architecture, state management, performance and maintainable frontend systems.
• Practical knowledge of Tailwind and Pinia, or transferable experience from comparable tools.
• Commercial experience with PHP and Laravel.
• Confidence with APIs, business logic, databases, caching and backend integrations.
• UX sensibility, including identifying interaction problems, accessibility issues and inconsistencies before customers report them.
• Ability to deliver frontend and backend changes within the same feature.

This is not a frontend-only cooperation. PHP and Laravel are a regular part of the scope.

Shared technical environment

Depending on the product and area of focus, work may include:

• PHP, Laravel, Symfony
• TypeScript, JavaScript, Vue.js, Tailwind, Pinia
• REST APIs
• MySQL/MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, RabbitMQ
• Microservices, CQRS, Event Sourcing
• Docker, Kubernetes, GitLab CI/CD
• Claude Code, MCP servers and AI agents

Equal experience with every listed technology is not expected.

AI-native engineering

Hands-on experience with Claude Code, Cursor or an equivalent AI coding environment is important. AI is used for more than autocomplete, including technical discovery, implementation across unfamiliar stack areas, test generation, debugging, codebase exploration, specification-driven development and repeatable engineering workflows.

Experience creating MCP servers, agents, skills or internal AI tooling is a strong advantage.

Bonus points

• Built and shipped a side project for personal or real-user use.
• Independently use AI tools and actively develop personal workflows.
• Built an MCP server, agent or another tool that solved a real problem.
• Production experience with Event Sourcing or CQRS.
• Contribution to a design system or component library.
• Designed solutions involving caching, queues, service boundaries or complex integrations.
• Can demonstrate ownership of a product or feature from the initial problem through production outcomes.

Probably not for you if

• You prefer every decision and implementation detail to be specified in advance.
• You want a strictly backend-only or frontend-only scope.
• You consider work done when code is merged.
• You consider testing and production quality primarily QA responsibilities.
• Your AI experience is limited to autocomplete and occasional summaries.
• You prefer receiving tasks rather than understanding and owning the underlying problem.

Communication

• Comfortable communication in Polish and English.
• Ability to work closely with Product Managers, QA engineers, software engineers and business stakeholders.

Benefits

• B2B cooperation.
• Monthly compensation up to 30,000 PLN net, depending on experience and agreed scope of services.
• Remote-first collaboration model.
• International technology and product projects.
• Flexible project collaboration setup.
• Planned service breaks aligned with contract terms.
• Opportunity to collaborate with experienced product and technology teams.
• Access to selected knowledge-sharing initiatives.

Recruitment process

• Discovery call (up to 45 minutes): background, expectations and mutual fit.
• Business & Mindset Fit interview with the Product Manager and Team Leader (up to 45 minutes): ownership, business judgment, problem-solving and mindset.
• Technical Deep Dive with the Team Leader and a Developer (up to 45 minutes): technical questions, potentially including code review or a system design exercise; judgment and reasoning are valued over keyword recall.
• Decision: in a tie between candidates, this stage acts as a tiebreaker.