Lead Developer Role - SaaS Rebuild & Architecture in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a rare "solo lead architect" opportunity at a profitable, bootstrapped SaaS company—a very different career trajectory than joining a VC-backed startup. For the right engineer, it offers exceptional autonomy and long-term ownership without the chaotic growth pressure of funded startups.
Compensation: At $150K–$200K, this is slightly below senior/staff engineer market rates at FAANG or well-funded Series B+ companies (typically $200K–$350K+ total comp), but competitive for a bootstrapped team of 4. The trade-off is significant: no equity dilution risk, no layoff cycles, and genuine architectural ownership.
Skills you'll develop:
- Legacy-to-modern migration architecture (highly marketable in the 2020s as countless apps face this same challenge)
- AI-augmented engineering workflows and governance—a fast-growing differentiator
- Full-stack ownership: Python/Django or Laravel backend, React frontend, PostgreSQL, AWS/Cloudflare infrastructure, CI/CD, security (AES-256, zero-trust)
- Technical leadership without managing a team—ideal for individual contributors who want influence without management overhead
Green flags: Profitable for 15 years, founder-led, clear migration strategy (not a "we'll figure it out" rewrite), genuine work-life balance emphasis, and a product serving social good (nonprofits/schools).
Watch for: As the sole developer, burnout risk is real. Ensure the scope of the migration is well-scoped before committing, and clarify the timeline and plan for hiring additional developers as the team scales.
Headquarters: Oakland, CA
URL: https://www.trackitforward.com
We are looking for a lead developer to do a greenfield rebuild of our legacy SaaS app, modernize our mobile apps, and lead the tech effort to scale our app. You will help choose the language, build the technical foundation, work with our product manager to rebuild the app, and migrate all customers over.
About Track it Forward
Track it Forward is the leading volunteer time-tracking application for nonprofits and schools. For 15 years, we've helped thousands of organizations mobilize volunteers and track over 30 million hours. We are a profitable, bootstrapped team of 4 focused on great work-life balance, high-impact work, and a fun, puzzle-loving culture (daily crosswords, monthly virtual escape rooms, and annual retreats). We are not a VC-funded startup. We grew organically, stayed profitable, and prioritize high-quality work and personal fulfillment without growth-at-all-costs pressure. The team is led by the original founder and developer.
The Modernization Strategy
This is a structured, phased "small bang" migration—not a high-risk cutover or a strangler-fig migration. You will build a parallel greenfield system, extract legacy components step-by-step, and migrate customers over incrementally tenant-by-tenant while keeping operations running smoothly.
Current Tech: Drupal 6 architecture hosted on Pantheon, paired with two Ionic/Capacitor mobile apps.
Your Scope: Complete ownership of the technical architecture. You will partner with our product manager, establish engineering processes, and lead the rebuild from scratch.
Modern AI Practices: We want you to be on the cusp of AI workflows while also balancing human guardrails to produce quality code.
Team Structure: You will be our sole developer in the short term, taking full technical helm as we scale.
Target Stack & Responsibilities
Core Tech Stack: Core backend/frontend rebuild focused on Python/Django, Laravel, or React. You will make the final architectural call with input from the CEO/founder.
Database & Storage Extraction: Deconstruct our legacy Drupal 6 / MySQL schema into a clean, domain-driven PostgreSQL database, and offload 100GB+ of media files to AWS S3 or Cloudflare R2.
Security & Isolation: Implement application-layer field-level encryption (AES-256 for PII, Bcrypt/Argon2id for passwords) and build zero-trust dev environments so contractors never handle production user data.
CI/CD & Documentation: Establish automated testing pipelines, clean API contracts, and clear runbooks so the codebase remains maintainable long-term.
Mobile App Maintenance: Maintain and update two Ionic/Capacitor mobile apps using AI coding tools. Mobile is a small fraction of the overall role—you just need to leverage AI to keep them functional without being a native mobile expert.
Candidate Qualifications
Pre-AI Engineering Foundation: 5+ years of core software engineering and architectural experience established before generative AI existed. You hold strong first-principles opinions on database normalization and system patterns.
Proven Migration Experience: You have successfully architected and led at least one legacy monolith migration. You know what inputs and scope decisions keep momentum going.
Modernized AI Velocity: You actively use AI tools to multiply output, but retain strict architectural control, unit testing discipline, and manual code review standards.
Location & Remote Flexibility
US W-2 Tax Residency Required: You must be legally authorized to work in the US and maintain primary US tax residency (for payroll, contracts, and legal/tax compliance).
Travel-Friendly: We are 100% remote. As long as your primary legal/tax home remains in the US, you are welcome to travel or digital nomad—provided you can consistently hit our core sync hours.
Core Sync Hours: Mandatory availability from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST for daily team syncs and real-time collaboration. Flexible hours outside this window.
Compensation & Benefits
Base Salary: $150,000 – $200,000 / year (commensurate with experience)
Benefits: 401(k) w/ company match, Health Insurance, vacation, PTO, and holidays
Culture: High autonomy, direct project ownership, and zero venture-capital growth pressure
How to Apply
To filter out automated spam: include the most authentically human, non-AI reason why this specific role resonates with you. Specifically include a short Loom video of you in the "Why should we choose you over anyone else?" question. This isn't required but will sure stand out. Be authentic, no need to do crazy rehearsals, just be you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this role truly remote or are there office requirements?
Can I travel internationally while working in this role?
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Do I need to choose the tech stack, or is it already decided?
Will I be the only developer on the team?
