Founding Mobile Engineer (React Native)

Job description

ABOUT US We're living through a fundamental shift in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. The next generation doesn't respond to traditional marketing -- they build relationships with brands through authentic social interactions, seek recommendations from communities they trust, and expect personalized experiences that feel human, not corporate. At Nectar Social, we're building the AI-native social operating system that enables this new era of commerce. We believe every social interaction should deepen the relationship between brands and their communities while creating genuine value for both sides. Founded by ex-Meta product and engineering leaders, we've raised over $30M in total capital from investors including GV and True Ventures. We work with brands like Oura Health, Caraway, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kosas, OLIPOP, and many more. We're building the future of social commerce -- where community, conversation, and commerce converge. THE ROLE We're looking for a Founding Mobile Engineer to own and define the mobile experience at Nectar. You'll architect and build the mobile platform from the ground up, making foundational technical decisions that shape how we deliver AI-powered social commerce to brand teams. This is a highly autonomous role with direct influence over product direction and engineering standards. You'll work closely with product, design, and leadership to ship features that bring Nectar's AI capabilities directly into the hands of customers. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING - Own the mobile platform end-to-end, architecting, building, and shipping our React Native application across iOS and Android - Build AI-powered mobile experiences that surface insights, power real-time agent interactions, and bring Nectar's AI capabilities to mobile - Establish mobile architecture patterns, shared components, testing strategies, CI/CD pipelines, and performance standards - Integrate with social platform APIs such as TikTok, Meta, and Instagram, as well as e-commerce systems like Shopify - Collaborate closely with product, design, and founders to shape both the product experience and technical implementation - Set a high bar for reliability and performance through monitoring, error tracking, and optimization WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 5+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in React Native - Proven track record of shipping high-quality production mobile applications - Strong understanding of mobile architecture, navigation patterns, state management, and platform-specific considerations - Experience integrating with external APIs and building real-time, data-intensive features - Comfortable working across the stack when needed in a fast-moving startup environment - High ownership mindset with a bias toward action and comfort operating in ambiguity - Strong product intuition and interest in shaping what gets built, not just how it gets built BONUS POINTS - Experience with native iOS or Android development or bridging native modules - Background in social media platforms, e-commerce systems, or commerce infrastructure - Experience working with LLMs, AI agents, or machine learning-powered features in production - Previous founding or early-stage startup experience - Open-source contributions or notable side projects WHAT WE OFFER - Competitive compensation and early equity - Health, vision, and dental benefits + 401(k) match - Hybrid work schedule (4 days in office) with 3 flex remote days per quarter (available after 3 months) - Comprehensive stipends: $1,000/month housing stipend for living near the office, $50/month mobile stipend, $50/month internet stipend for remote employees, and commuter benefits (train stipend or Palo Alto parking permit reimbursement) - Free lunch in the heart of University Ave. in Palo Alto