Engineering Lead

MissionFounded in 2024 by Lukas Zörner and Anil Can Baykal, Integral set out to redefine how accounting, taxation and payroll works for SMEs in Europe, starting with Germany. The company is backed by General Catalyst, Cherry Ventures, Puzzle Ventures and entrepreneurs across Europe. As our Engineering Lead, you will help define our tech stack and shape our engineering culture. This role involves frequent context switching across multiple domains, technologies, and business problems. In a given week, you may move between infrastructure, backend systems, integrations, AI initiatives, frontend work, and discussions with product stakeholders. Success in this role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong prioritization skills, and a willingness to take ownership from problem definition through production deployment and ongoing support. You will work alongside experienced engineers in a small, high-impact team that takes pride in crafting quality solutions and learning together. This role is onsite at our Berlin office. Core responsibilitiesDesign, develop, and deploy across the entire technology stack: from backend services and infrastructure to frontend development; build, test, and ship solutions based on evolving business requirements without sacrificing quality Take end-to-end ownership of architectural decisions from initial design through to implementation; collaborate with the senior team to refine solutions and ensure they meet real business objectives Maintain detailed documentation of technical decisions, processes, and system architecture; foster transparency and continuity by sharing insights clearly and consistently across the team Work directly with the founding engineering team on the core platform that powers Integral's accounting, payroll, and tax services for thousands of SMEs across Germany. What makes this role special You are joining a small, senior team where your decisions shape the architecture, not just a ticket in a backlog Direct collaboration with the CTO & Co-Founder from day one High ownership: you ship, you learn, you improve Your work has immediate, visible impact on a product used by SME founders who rely on Integral for their financial operations The engineering culture is yours to help define. Your profileYour Experience & Mindset 8 to 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering with a strong track record of building and shipping in startup or scaleup environments Experience across multiple companies and environments; you have seen different architecture patterns, made the mistakes, and know what actually works Staff, Principal, or Senior Engineer background where building and owning was the main focus, not coordinating or managing Proficiency across a broad technical background with a strong foundation in system design and architecture Strong command of at least two of the following: Java/Kotlin, JavaScript/TypeScript, React/React Native, Python Expertise in architectural decision-making: you can design systems that balance complexity with long-term maintainability Autonomous and pragmatic: you frame problems independently, design solutions, and execute without needing extensive support from other teams Strong written communication: you write detailed technical documentation and decision rationale as a default, not an afterthought Focused execution: you thrive in a hands-on role and are energised by practical outcomes, not by building a team around you. Preferred Experience Experience building in regulated or compliance-heavy domains Familiarity with German accounting, payroll, or tax systems is a plus but not required Experience integrating LLMs or AI capabilities into production systems. The processWe move fast. With the right candidate, the full process takes less than 10 days. 1. Intro call with our Talent Acquisition Lead 2. Technical deep-dive with our CTO and founding engineering team 3. On-site in Berlin: meet the team and work through a real e