Software Engineer

Technical Co-Lead / Software Engineer • Full-time • Remote-friendly (US) with periodic collaboration
Engineering First. Evidence Always. | We. Are. Sovereign.
About Lawrence Sovereign
Lawrence Sovereign builds the AI-native enterprise operations platform that eliminates Operational Friction™ and prevents Operational Drift™. We deliver the Continuous Operations Lifecycle (Discover → Analyze → Standardize → Synchronize → Measure), AI-driven GRC, predictive FP&A with a path to near real-time close, robotics orchestration, and quantum-resistant foundations. We serve mid-market and enterprise operators where integrity is mission-critical. We practice what we sell: the same governed, evidence-based discipline we deliver to customers is applied inside our own company.
The Role
You will be the founding technical co-lead responsible for turning the platform vision into working, production-grade systems. This is a high-ownership role: you will architect, build, and evolve the core Continuous Operations Lifecycle, GRC tooling, predictive close capabilities, robotics orchestration layer, and the cryptographic foundations that make long-lived evidence trustworthy. You will work directly with the founder, shape technical standards, and help establish the engineering culture that matches our professional-class, integrity-first posture.
What You Will Build & Own
• Core Continuous Operations Lifecycle platform — discovery, analysis, standardization, synchronization, and measurement services
• AI-assisted GRC tooling that makes the 7-step cycle continuous and evidence-generating rather than episodic
• Predictive FP&A and near real-time close capabilities (data pipelines, reconciliation logic, visibility layers)
• Robotics / automation orchestration layer that executes only governed, standardized processes
• Cryptographic foundations: hybrid classical + post-quantum (NIST ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) with crypto-agility for long-lived GRC evidence, archives, and command channels
• Integration patterns with enterprise systems of record (ERP, EHR, process-mining tools, identity providers) while preserving the orchestration-and-governance posture
• Internal engineering standards, observability, and the technical expression of the Sovereign Vault / change-control discipline
• A thin working brief tool for Lawrence (internal AI teammate) — human-gated, not chat-only
Core Responsibilities
• Architect and implement production systems that embody the Continuous Operations Lifecycle and GRC principles
• Make deliberate technical trade-offs that favor integrity, auditability, and long-term durability over short-term feature velocity
• Establish secure development practices, secrets management, and the path to formal compliance posture (SOC 2, etc.)
• Collaborate on customer-facing technical discovery and pilot scoping when deep platform knowledge is required
• Document architecture decisions and contribute to the technical sections of the Sovereign Vault
• Help define hiring scorecards and technical bar for subsequent engineering hires
• Operate with high ownership and low ego — the standard is larger than any individual
Requirements
Required
• 7+ years of software engineering experience with significant ownership of production systems (or equivalent depth through prior founding / principal roles)
• Proven ability to design and ship backend platforms, data pipelines, or workflow/orchestration systems — including governed workflow (approval gates, audit logs, rollback) in production, not demos
• Strong systems thinking: distributed systems, reliability, observability, and failure modes
• Experience with security-conscious development (authn/authz, secrets, audit logging, least privilege)
• Ability to write clear technical documentation and make architectural decisions others can follow
• High personal standards for code quality, evidence, and operational discipline
• Comfort operating in an early-stage environment with ambiguity, direct founder collaboration, and evolving priorities
• Working language: English (all code comments, ADRs, Vault entries, pilot notes, and customer-facing technical communication)
Certifications
Interview gate is production ownership, not paper. No certification is required to interview.
Required within 90 days of start (company-supported if needed): AWS Solutions Architect Associate, Azure Administrator, or GCP Associate Cloud Engineer — if you do not already hold an equivalent cloud credential.
Strongly preferred: CISSP or CISM; AWS Security Specialty / Azure Security Engineer / GCP Professional Cloud Security Engineer; CKA if orchestration is container-native; prior engineer participation in SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HITRUST (not only auditor slides).
Nice to have: OSCP or practical threat-aware background; formal exposure to NIST post-quantum / crypto-agility work.
Strongly Preferred Experience
• Enterprise software, workflow automation, GRC/compliance tooling, ERP-adjacent systems, or fintech/ops platforms
• Hands-on cryptography (including post-quantum / hybrid) or high-assurance systems
• Robotics / industrial automation orchestration, process mining, or RPA governance
• Multi-tenant SaaS with strong tenancy isolation and auditability
• Regulated or high-integrity environments (healthcare, finance, critical infrastructure)
• Founding engineer, technical co-founder, or principal engineer in a startup that reached meaningful product-market fit
Success in the First 6–12 Months
• A working core of the Continuous Operations Lifecycle that supports real customer discovery and early pilots
• Documented architecture for GRC evidence flows, close-related data pipelines, and robotics command governance
• Hybrid post-quantum foundations on the highest-priority channels (evidence, archives, critical control paths)
• Engineering practices and change control that themselves demonstrate the Continuous Operations Lifecycle
• Technical credibility that strengthens customer conversations and the investor narrative
How We Work
We are professional-class, evidence-based, and low-ego. We prefer precise language over hype. English is the system of record for code, ADRs, the Vault, and pilots. We treat internal operations with the same rigor we sell to customers. The Internal Operating Charter and Sovereign Vault are living standards — new team members absorb and strengthen them, not route around them. Unverified does not leave. Keep / edit / kill applies to every draft.
Compensation & Structure
Competitive founding-level cash + meaningful equity. Exact package depends on experience, location, and timing relative to financing. We are transparent about stage and runway. Shared sovereignty is part of the design: those who build the integrity layer should participate in the upside. A dated contractor SOW is acceptable if deliverables, acceptance tests, IP assignment, and conversion path are explicit.
Process
Introduction → technical and systems conversation → architecture / values alignment → references → decision. We move with clarity and respect. We do not run theatrical interview loops.
If you want to build systems that make operational integrity continuous, governed, and durable — and you care about the cryptographic and process foundations that keep evidence trustworthy for years — we should talk