Job Description

Hiire is helping Soko hire a Software Engineer for its growing engineering team in Lisbon.

About the Company

Soko is building an AI-native platform to help people discover places, events, and plans in a smarter, more intuitive way.

They’re solving real-world discovery challenges by combining AI, data, and strong product thinking to create a new kind of search experience. This isn’t a traditional product — it’s a highly technical, fast-moving system where continuous experimentation and iteration are part of everyday work.

As an early-stage startup, the environment is defined by speed, ownership, and a bias for action

Data problems at scale - you’ll be dealing with huge volumes of data, reliability, observability, event scraping, and search. These are significant technical challenges that will push your skills to the limit.

With a startup mindset, you’ll enjoy the chaos and the opportunity to make a real impact. An unlikely but possible upside is turning the company into a unicorn. If the startup grows, you grow with it, with very fast career progression.

The Role

You’ll be involved in all aspects of development, from front-end to back-end. You’ll be working with the latest technologies and frameworks, and you’ll have the freedom to experiment and find the best solutions.

You’ll also be involved in improving the AI environment, which is a core part of the business. This will give you the opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technologies and make a real impact on the product

You’ll work on:

• AI-driven search and retrieval systems

• Improving our AI environment and tooling

• Solving complex challenges in ranking, relevance, and data processing

• Shipping fast in a high-ownership startup environment

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python

• Frontend: React or Flutter

• AI tools: Claude, Codex and similar LLM-based tools

What You’ll Do

• Build and iterate on core product features

• Develop and optimize search infrastructure

• Use AI tools (like Claude or Codex) in your daily workflow

• Collaborate closely with founders in a fast decision-making environment

• Contribute to system design as the product scales

• Move quickly from idea → prototype → production

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years of experience with Python and/or React / Flutter

• You enjoy building things from scratch

• Interest in AI, search, or data-heavy systems

• A startup mindset, enjoying chaos and the opportunity to make a real impact.

• You take ownership and move fast

Nice to have

• Experience with search systems, LLMs, or ranking problems

• Previous startup or founder experience

• A research background, as you’ll be working on innovative solutions and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Why Join

• Work onsite in Lisbon with a tight, ambitious team

• Build at the edge of AI + search technology

• High ownership, low bureaucracy

• Shape both product and engineering direction early

• Learn fast and ship fast

Interested?

We’re looking for people who want to be in the room, build together, and move fast