Hiring Fullstack Engineers: The Complete Guide

# Fullstack Engineer

**Location:** Austin, TX (Hybrid) · **Employment Type:** Full-time · **Level:** Mid-Senior

## About [Company]

[Company] is building the next generation of project management tools for distributed teams. We believe remote work shouldn't mean scattered work—our platform brings together tasks, docs, and communication into one unified workspace.

We're a 45-person team backed by $18M in Series A funding. Over 8,000 teams use our product daily, including companies like Shopify, Notion, and Linear. We've grown 3x in the past year and are just getting started.

**Why join [Company]?**

- Work on a product loved by thousands of teams worldwide
- Small engineering team (12 people) where your work has direct impact
- Strong product-engineering collaboration culture
- Competitive compensation with meaningful equity upside

## The Role

We're looking for a Fullstack Engineer to join our Core Product team. This role is approximately **60% frontend, 40% backend**—though the split varies by project. You'll own features end-to-end, from designing database schemas to polishing UI interactions.

We believe in fullstack ownership because context matters. When one person understands both sides of a feature, they make better decisions about where logic belongs, catch edge cases earlier, and ship faster without handoffs.

The ideal candidate enjoys variety, can context-switch between React components and Node.js services, and takes pride in shipping complete features that users love.

## Objectives of This Role

- Ship high-quality features spanning frontend and backend every sprint
- Improve our API performance and reduce page load times
- Contribute to our shared component library and backend services
- Own features from concept to production without needing handoffs
- Collaborate with product and design to shape what we build next

## Responsibilities

- Build user-facing features using React and TypeScript
- Design and implement REST APIs using Node.js and Express
- Write database queries and migrations in PostgreSQL
- Collaborate with designers during implementation, catching edge cases early
- Participate in code reviews for both frontend and backend changes
- Debug production issues across the entire stack
- Write tests at all levels: unit, integration, and E2E
- Document technical decisions and share knowledge with the team

## Required Skills and Qualifications

**Frontend:**

- 3+ years building production web applications with React
- Proficiency with TypeScript and modern JavaScript (ES6+)
- Strong CSS skills including Flexbox, Grid, and responsive design
- Experience with state management (Redux, Zustand, or React Query)
- Understanding of accessibility fundamentals

**Backend:**

- 2+ years building APIs with Node.js (Express, Fastify, or similar)
- SQL proficiency: can write complex queries, design schemas, optimize performance
- Experience with PostgreSQL or MySQL in production
- Understanding of authentication, authorization, and security basics
- Familiarity with REST API design patterns

**General:**

- Track record of shipping features end-to-end across the stack
- Ability to learn new technologies quickly and work independently
- Strong communication skills and collaborative mindset

## Preferred Skills and Qualifications

- Experience with GraphQL (we're migrating some endpoints)
- Familiarity with Redis for caching and background jobs
- DevOps experience: Docker, CI/CD pipelines, AWS
- Background in SaaS or B2B products
- Contributions to open source projects
- Experience mentoring junior engineers

## Tech Stack

**Frontend:**

- React 18 with TypeScript (strict mode)
- Tailwind CSS for styling
- Zustand for state management
- React Query for server state
- Vite for bundling
- Playwright for E2E testing

**Backend:**

- Node.js with Express
- TypeScript throughout
- PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
- Redis for caching and queues
- Jest for unit and integration tests
- REST APIs (GraphQL in progress)

**Infrastructure:**

- AWS (ECS, RDS, ElastiCache)
- GitHub Actions for CI/CD
- Datadog for monitoring
- Sentry for error tracking

## Compensation and Benefits

**Salary:** $130,000 - $170,000 (based on experience and location)

**Equity:** 0.05% - 0.15% (4-year vest, 1-year cliff)

**Benefits:**

- Medical, dental, and vision insurance (100% covered for employees)
- Unlimited PTO with 15-day minimum encouraged
- $2,000 annual learning and development budget
- $1,500 home office setup allowance
- 401(k) with 4% company match
- 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Flexible hybrid work (2-3 days in office)

## Interview Process

Our interview process typically takes 2 weeks. We assess both frontend and backend skills.

- **Step 1: Recruiter Screen** (30 min) - We'll discuss your background, interests, and the frontend/backend balance of this role.

- **Step 2: Technical Screen** (60 min) - A conversation about fullstack fundamentals and your past projects.

- **Step 3: Take-Home Exercise** (3-4 hours) - Build a small feature with frontend AND backend. We pay $250 for your time.

- **Step 4: Technical Deep Dive** (90 min) - Review the exercise together and discuss your architecture decisions.

- **Step 5: Team Interviews** (2 x 30 min) - Meet potential teammates and discuss collaboration.

- **Step 6: Hiring Manager** (30 min) - Discuss career goals and next steps.

## How to Apply

Submit your resume and optionally include links to your GitHub, portfolio, or any projects that show fullstack work (frontend + backend in the same project is a plus). We review every application and respond within 5 business days.

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*[Company] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from candidates who may not meet 100% of the qualifications—if you're excited about this role, we want to hear from you.*