Full Stack Engineer

We're looking for a full stack engineer to work directly with our CTO with significant ownership and impact. You'll be maintaining and extending Spotlight (our video storytelling platform) while collaborating on LvlUp (our AI coaching product) as we scale both products from early customers to production.

We're looking for someone who can take full ownership of product areas-from concept to code to deployment to production diagnostics-while moving with the speed and quality that AI-native development enables.

You'll be successful here if you:

• Thrive in environments where you own the full lifecycle of features
• Are comfortable figuring things out independently without extensive documentation
• Can move fast without sacrificing quality
• Use AI tools like Cursor/Claude to accelerate development
• Think like an operator: asking "why are we building this?" not just "how do I build this?"

What You're Walking Into

Our technical landscape is modern, pragmatic, and built for speed:

Products:

• Spotlight: Video storytelling platform
• LvlUp: AI agentic coaching for retail

Tech Stack:

• Backend: Laravel 12, PHP
• Frontend: Livewire (TALL stack: Tailwind, Alpine, Laravel, Livewire)
• Databases: MariaDB, Postgres, Redis
• Infrastructure: AWS (EC2, S3, Redis)
• Video Processing: FFmpeg-based rendering pipeline
• Development: AI-assisted development using Cursor/Claude Code/Windsurf

Codebase Reality:

• Production-quality code that works well, but minimal documentation
• Moving fast means some technical debt
• You'll need to be comfortable diving in and figuring things out

On the Horizon:

• Potential migration to AWS Fargate for video rendering at scale
• Building out advanced CI/CD, testing infrastructure, and documentation as we mature

What You'll Do

Immediate Priorities (First 90 Days)

• 30 days: Deploy your first meaningful code change (feature, improvement, or fix)
• 60 days: Own and ship a complete feature independently
• 90 days: Lead a significant technical initiative or product area

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Maintain and extend Spotlight: Take ownership of the platform-ship features, refactor as needed, keep it running and improving
• Collaborate on LvlUp: Work alongside the CTO on new AI coaching features
• Full-stack ownership: Backend logic, frontend UI, infrastructure deployment, production debugging
• Move fast with AI tools: Use Cursor, Claude Code, or other AI-native development tools to execute quickly and efficiently
• Own the full lifecycle: Concept * code * testing * deployment * diagnostics
• Challenge assumptions: Interrogate features and ask "why are we building this?" to ensure we're solving the right problems
• Scale with us: As we grow, this role can evolve into an engineering lead position where you'll help build and lead the team

Day-to-Day Expectations

• Work autonomously on features and product areas with strategic guidance from the CTO
• Deploy code confidently to production environments
• Debug and diagnose issues using terminal
• Review code (your own and others' as the team grows)
• Collaborate on product decisions and technical architecture
• Participate in shared on-call rotation (response expectation: as soon as reasonably possible), * Can pick up a codebase and make it your own
• Think like a product owner, not just an engineer
• Move fast, ship quality code, and iterate based on feedback
• Ask the right questions and challenge our assumptions
• Take full ownership of features from concept to production
• Operate independently while collaborating strategically with the CTO

You'll struggle here if you:

• Need extensive documentation and processes to be productive
• Prefer deep specialization over generalist problem-solving
• Want clearly defined tasks without thinking about the "why"
• Aren't comfortable with AI development tools or rapid iteration

Work Environment

• Hybrid (mix of remote + in-person collaboration as needed)
• Minimal travel

Why Join XQ

• XQ is building the world's first Execution Intelligence Platform (EIP).
• We are direct, transparent and operate with integrity.
• We are passionate about building a team of people who are great to work with. Not just technically sharp, but genuinely enjoyable to collaborate with.

Do you have experience in Software engineering?, * 7+ years of professional software engineering experience

• PHP/Laravel expertise: Strong Laravel experience preferred, OR deep experience with modern PHP frameworks (Symfony, etc.) and ability to pick up Laravel quickly. Note: If your PHP experience is limited to CakePHP or similar legacy frameworks, this likely isn't the right fit
• Full-stack capabilities: Comfortable working across backend (60%), frontend (30%), and infrastructure (10%)
• Frontend development: Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks and component-based architecture (Livewire, React, Vue, or similar)
• Infrastructure experience: Must have deployed applications on servers, SSH'd into environments to diagnose issues, and managed deployments end-to-end
• FFmpeg experience: Previous work with FFmpeg for video processing/rendering (doesn't need to be deep, but you must have used it)
• Database proficiency: Experience with relational databases (MySQL/MariaDB/Postgres), query optimization, schema design
• AWS familiarity: Experience with EC2, S3, and basic AWS services
• AI-native development: Comfortable using AI tools (Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, etc.) to accelerate development
• Self-directed problem solver: Ability to figure things out independently, research solutions, and unblock yourself without extensive handholding

Must-Have Work Style & Mindset

• Startup thinking: Ability to wear multiple hats and move between backend, frontend, infrastructure, and product thinking
• Ownership mentality: You don't just execute tasks: you own problems, challenge assumptions, and drive solutions
• Speed + quality: Comfortable moving fast and iterating without sacrificing code quality
• Comfort with ambiguity: Thrive in environments where documentation is sparse and you need to figure things out
• Generalist over specialist: We need breadth, not depth in one area (at this stage)
• Collaborative but autonomous: Work well with others but don't need constant direction

·Nice-to-Have

• Experience with TALL stack (Tailwind, Alpine, Laravel, Livewire)
• React background (for potential future migration)
• Exposure to customer-facing work or customer conversations
• Experience in retail or restaurant technology
• Previous startup or founding engineer experience
• Familiarity with video processing pipelines beyond FFmpeg

Deal-Breakers

• No infrastructure/deployment experience
• Specialist who only works in one layer of the stack
• Requires extensive handholding or documentation to be productive
• Uncomfortable with AI-assisted development tools
• Prefers slow, process-heavy environments
• Just wants a task list to execute without thinking about "why", * Professional Software Engineering : 7 years (Required)

Pulled from the full job description

• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Dental insurance, * Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

XQ.ai (www.goXQ.ai) helps companies execute better. We build AI-powered tools and systems that improve how organizations train teams, manage operations, analyze performance, and drive results - from frontline retail to enterprise workflows. Our platform combines data, AI, training, and execution tooling to help businesses move faster and smarter. We're a fast-growing, builder-driven team working across product, AI, analytics, and operational transformation.