---
title: 'Founding Engineer - Ambient Care Startup at Founders Factory'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/founding-engineer-ambient-care-startup-founders-factory-london-48d27hqv2hw3'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-20'
---

# Founding Engineer - Ambient Care Startup at Founders Factory

- **Company:** Founders Factory
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-20
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/founders-factory/b1741e80-715d-457a-a62d-4092b839ccf9

## Job description

Stage: Pre-seed. Location: Cambridge/London, UK. Comp: Competitive + Equity

## About Subtle

Most families find out something's wrong too late: a fall, a missed check-in, a change no one noticed until it became a crisis. We're building ambient sensing for the elderly and vulnerable at home, technology that quietly looks out for the people we love without asking them to wear anything or change how they live. We're early. We're validating with real customers, building the first hardware, and looking for the person who'll help turn this from an idea into a product families can trust with something this personal.

We are building this from scratch inside Founders Factory's studio, with a dedicated pre-seed investment, hands-on studio support across product, design, talent and growth, and a six-month build programme to get from concept to a fundable, in-market product. This venture has secured a major European technology partner. The founding CEO is already in place. We are now looking for the technical other half of the founding team.

## The role

You'll be our first engineering hire, working directly with the founder(s) and carrying real authority over what we build and how. It's a hands-on role that spans hardware and software, and a leadership one too, since you'll grow the team that follows you.

## Responsibilities

- Own hardware validation and bench testing end to end, and lead our manufacturing path. Whether that ends up being an outsourced partner or in-house, you're the one validating the sensor platform yourself and making sure whatever we ship has been properly tested before it reaches someone's home. This is safety-relevant, so you'd rather catch a failure on the bench than have it happen in someone's home.
- Build the software that turns sensor data into something useful. Detection logic, alerting, and the escalation decisions that sit behind them, tested and monitored with the same rigor as the hardware.
- Navigate the regulatory and security requirements that come with this territory. Certification requirements for embedded systems (software and hardware), and data protection for Personally Identifiable Information (PII), from day one rather than retrofitted later.
- Grow the team. As we scale past this hire, you'll hire, mentor and lead the engineers who join under you.

## What we're looking for

Must have's

- Early-stage hardware experience. You've taken a hardware product from 0 to 1 in a startup environment, and you're comfortable spanning embedded systems and software.
- Experience using AI to accelerate how you work, across engineering, prototyping, and the day-to-day operations of running a startup.
- Experience leading or building a small engineering team, or clearly ready to step into that.
- A proactive, evidence-first way of working. You're comfortable with ambiguity, and comfortable being told (including by yourself) that a result doesn't hold up.
- Experience with regulatory, security, or compliance requirements in health tech, medical devices, or another safety- and privacy-regulated space. You understand that building for vulnerable people and their data changes what "done" means.
- Lead vendor and manufacturing negotiations, securing the right partners, terms, and production capabilities to bring the product to market.
- Any direct experience taking a regulated product through certification (CE/UKCA, FDA, or equivalent) is considered a major plus.

## About Founders Factory

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Founders Factory is a venture studio and startup accelerator that builds and funds early‑stage startups in fintech, health, industrials, and deep tech.
- **Entity Type**: Private (venture builder and investor)
- **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom (and offices in New York, Berlin, Milan, Singapore, British Columbia, Perth, Grand Bahama)
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, George Northcott — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Venture building (studio), startup acceleration, corporate innovation partnerships.
- **Target customers**: Early‑stage founders (pre-seed to seed) and large corporates seeking to co‑build or invest in disruptive ventures.
- **Mission**: “Power founders to go further, faster” and “be the most impactful co‑founder for early stage founders.” — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)

## Products & Services
- **Venture Studio**: Co‑founds new companies from scratch, developing ideas, technologies and business models into high‑growth ventures.
- **Accelerator Programs**: Pre‑seed and seed investment programs that provide capital, operational support, and access to corporate partners across fintech, health, industrials, and deep tech.
- **Sector‑Focused Accelerators**:
  - Aviva Fintech Accelerator
  - Rio Tinto Mining Tech Accelerator
  - Northwestern Medicine Healthcare Accelerator
  - MSWA MS & Neurological Care Accelerator
  - HSBC Industrial Innovator Programme
  - Blue Action Accelerator (climate) — [foundersfactory.com/](https://foundersfactory.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metrics**:
  - Annual revenue: GBP 6.5M — [uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory)
  - Total funding: $26.9M across 6 rounds — [uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory)
  - Portfolio companies: 450+ (as of 2025) — [uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory)
  - Team size: ~60+ operators — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)
- **Notable Corporate Partners**: Aviva, Rio Tinto, Vonovia, Fastweb, Mediobanca, HSBC, Pico Global, Hitachi, Government of Western Australia, Enterprise Singapore, MSWA — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Expansion to 9 countries (including US, Italy, Germany, Australia, Singapore).
  - Rio Tinto committed A$14.4M over three years to back mining tech startups.
  - Portfolio companies have secured 500+ pilots and commercial contracts with corporate partners. — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Corporate access**: Startups get distribution, market intelligence, and potential commercial deals through established corporate partners.
- **Operator‑led team**: 60+ experts (product, engineering, design, data science, growth) provide co‑founder‑level support.
- **Multi‑sector focus**: Dedicated verticals (fintech, health, industrials, deep tech) allow deep domain expertise.
- **Global footprint**: Presence on four continents gives portfolio companies geographic reach and local market insights.

## Strategic Focus
- **Deepening corporate partnerships**: Building new sector‑specific accelerators (e.g., climate, mining).
- **Scaling the Venture Studio**: Co‑founding more companies from scratch with exceptional entrepreneurs.
- **Geographic expansion**: Further presence in Asia‑Pacific and North America, as evidenced by offices in Singapore and Chicago.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Power to founders” mindset; values include “suggest solutions not problems”, “be polite, generous and show empathy”, “embrace uncertainty & remain decisive”, “value momentum over perfection” — [foundersfactory.com/about-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)
- **Work model**: London HQ with multiple global offices; roles likely hybrid/in‑office, though specific policy varies by location.
- **Opportunities**: Join the operations team (investment, venture design, data science) or directly join one of the 450+ portfolio startups — [foundersfactory.com/join-us/](https://foundersfactory.com/join-us/)
- **Notable perks**: Access to a vast network of founders, investors, and corporate innovators; hands‑on involvement in building startups from scratch.

## Sources
1. [Founders Factory official site](https://foundersfactory.com/)
2. [Founders Factory About Us](https://foundersfactory.com/about-us/)
3. [Founders Factory Careers](https://foundersfactory.com/join-us/)
4. [Founders Factory Team](https://foundersfactory.com/team)
5. [Founders Factory LinkedIn](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/foundersfactory)

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