Your first engineer won’t just write code. They’ll decide how the codebase is organised, what “done” means, and what kind of people want to join next. That makes this hire unusually high-stakes, and unusually easy to get wrong.

Hire for range, not depth

At Seed you need someone who can ship a feature end to end: database, API, interface and the deploy script nobody else understands. Deep specialists are brilliant at Series B. Today you want a generalist who is comfortable being the only engineer in the room.

• Look for products, not titles. Someone who has shipped a side project to real users often beats a senior engineer from a 2,000-person company.
• Ask about ambiguity. “Tell me about a time the spec was wrong” reveals more than a whiteboard puzzle.
• Check their taste. Have them walk you through a product they admire and why.

Keep the process short

Strong early-stage candidates are usually talking to two or three other startups. A four-week process loses them. Aim for one week: a 30-minute intro, a paid take-home or pairing session, and a final conversation with the founders.

Sell the problem, not the perks

You can’t outbid big tech on salary. You can offer ownership, a real say in the product, and a problem worth solving. Be specific about all three, and be honest about the risk.

The best first engineers are choosing a problem and a team. Make sure yours is easy to see.