Founding Mobile Engineer

About Parrot

Parrot is building the TikTok for language learning: real native videos, interactive subtitles, and AI-generated activities that help people learn the same way they learned their first language.

We believe in immersion-first learning, grounded in second-language acquisition research and comprehensible input. Our goal is to make learning natural, fun, and effective, powered by real content, not artificial drills.

We launched in February 2025, already have thousands of active users, are backed by Y Combinator, and are now hiring our first Founding Mobile Engineer to join the core team and help us scale to millions of learners.

Why This Role Matters

Engineering at Parrot is not just about implementing tickets. It is core to how the product feels, performs, and grows.

As our Founding Mobile Engineer, you will:

Own the mobile product experience from idea to App Store
Build beautiful, fluid, interactive experiences that feel magical
Work directly with the founders to shape product direction
Push the limits of React Native, Swift, video, animation, and AI-assisted development
Set the technical standard for our mobile app and future engineering team

This is a high-ownership role with real authorship.

What You’ll Work On

You will work across the full product lifecycle:

Build and ship mobile features from concept to production
Create polished, high-performance interactions, animations, and video experiences
Profile, debug, and optimize the app so key interactions feel smooth at 60fps
Partner with the founders on product decisions, not just implementation
Test ruthlessly and catch bugs before users do
Trace issues through the stack when they slip through
Use AI tools to move faster, explore ideas, and increase your output

Our app is iOS-first, built in React Native with native Swift modules where performance demands it. You’ll work on animation, scroll performance, video playback, interactive subtitles, and UI details where every frame matters.

We believe the best consumer products feel effortless. Engineering should make the product faster, smoother, simpler, and more delightful.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an engineer who combines strong frontend craft with serious technical depth and cares deeply about building a consumer product that feels incredible.

Core Strengths

2+ years building and shipping mobile apps professionally
Strong React Native experience
iOS experience strongly preferred
Deep love for frontend craft, including animation, transitions, scroll feel, and UX details
Strong TypeScript skills
Comfort working with native iOS code when needed
Strong testing instincts
Ability to ship quickly without shipping broken
High ownership in a fast-moving environment

Ideally you should have shipped real code to real users.

Mobile Craft & Performance

You care about how software feels.

You understand that in a consumer product, the difference between “good” and “magical” can be the difference between a user who churns and one who tells all their friends.

You likely:

Notice dropped frames
Care about scroll performance
Sweat animation timing and interaction details
Reach for the profiler before guessing
Enjoy understanding rendering performance under the hood
Can debug issues across React Native, native iOS, networking, and backend systems when needed

We want someone who treats performance and polish as part of the product, not an afterthought.

Product & Ownership Mindset

You are not here to wait for tickets.

You will work directly with the founders to understand user problems, scope solutions, make product decisions, build the feature, test it, ship it, and watch real learners use it.

You likely:

Move fast without needing heavy process
Ask sharp product questions
Care about activation, retention, and user progress
Think from first principles
Take responsibility for outcomes, not just code
Want to build something from the ground up

Speed and reliability are not tradeoffs for you. They are both the standard.

AI-Native Engineering

We move quickly and expect engineers to use modern tools aggressively.

You should already be using AI tools in your daily workflow and thinking seriously about what engineering looks like over the next few years.

Expected tools include:

Claude Code
Codex
Cursor
Custom AI agents

Every engineer gets unlimited AI tokens. We expect you to push the limits of AI-assisted development, not treat it as a side tool.

Technologies We Use

You do not need to know all of these. Your focus is frontend mobile, but as a founding engineer, you’ll be expected to work across the stack when needed.

React Native
Expo
Expo Router
React Native Reanimated
TypeScript
Swift and native iOS modules
Go
PostgreSQL
Temporal
Legend State
TanStack React Query
RevenueCat
PostHog
Sentry
Xcode
React Native dev tools
Flipper
Platform debuggers
Network inspectors
Git
GitHub Actions
EAS
Docker

The Kind of Engineer Who Thrives Here

You likely:

Have built something you’re proud of
Care deeply about craft
Move fast and learn faster
Are low-ego and high-output
Like working directly with users, founders, and product decisions
Want meaningful ownership in an early-stage company
Are excited by AI-native engineering
Want to help define the technical culture of a company from the beginning

We value thoughtful collaboration, humility, and ambition.

Bonus

Experience with consumer mobile apps
Experience with video-heavy products
Experience building native iOS modules
Strong eye for design and interaction quality
Interest in language learning or education
Experience at a venture-backed startup
Side projects, apps, startups, or open-source work that show you build because you love building

Why Parrot

Ground-floor role: you would be our first engineering hire
Backed by Y Combinator
Thousands of active users and growing fast
AI-native team with unlimited tokens and agents in the workflow
In-person team in San Francisco
$180K to $220K base salary
0.5% to 2.0% equity depending on experience

As the team grows, this role can grow into technical leadership, engineering culture, architecture, and team-building. If you have ever wanted to look back and say, “I built that from the ground up,” this is that moment.

Visa

TN visa and H1B transfer visa, if already in the US, are OK.

No other visa options at this time.

About the Interviews

Initial call: 30 mins
1-hour app build
Meet the team on call
4-hour in-office build
Lunch with the team

About the company

Who we are
Parrot is a YC-backed (W25) education technology company building the most engaging and effective way to learn a language — think TikTok for language learning.

What we do
We use native videos, interactive subtitles, and AI-driven activities to immerse learners in real content they love, helping them learn naturally — the same way they learned their first language. No boring drills or endless flashcards — just authentic content, personalized learning paths, and instant feedback that keeps learners coming back.

Our vision
Over the next 5 years, we aim to:
Redefine language learning — Make native content and short-form video the global standard for how people learn languages online.
Build the leading AI learning engine — Adapt dynamically to each learner’s needs, blending the best of human teaching insights with AI-powered personalization.
Expand globally — Grow beyond Spanish to multiple languages, connecting millions of learners and creators around the world.

Our traction
Launched in February 2025, Parrot already has thousands of active users who love the product, with strong engagement and rapid growth.

Founding Mobile Engineer

About Parrot

Why This Role Matters

What You’ll Work On

What We’re Looking For

Core Strengths

Mobile Craft &amp; Performance

Product &amp; Ownership Mindset

AI-Native Engineering

Technologies We Use

The Kind of Engineer Who Thrives Here

Bonus

Why Parrot

Visa

About the Interviews

About the company

Mobile Craft & Performance

Product & Ownership Mindset

About

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