Fractional Software Engineering Lead

Fractional Software Engineering Lead
100% Remote | Fractional | Monthly Retainer
Confidential Client | Healthcare Education & Clinical Simulation Technology

About the Opportunity

Crucial Recruiting is working on behalf of a confidential client in the healthcare education and clinical simulation space. Our client is building a platform for emergency and critical care clinicians and is preparing the full commercial platform — frontend, backend, and data layer — needed to bring its first products to market and begin generating revenue.

The current build is partially complete, using Next.js and Azure, with core authentication (Microsoft Entra) and basic account infrastructure in place. Our client is open to evolving the technical stack where it makes sense and is looking for a senior, hands-on technical lead who can both advise on the right architecture and execute it directly — owning the platform end to end without heavy day-to-day oversight.

No industry experience required. We are looking for strong technical judgment and the ability to own a commercial platform from frontend to backend. Company name and full details will be shared with shortlisted candidates.

Role Summary

This is a single-threaded-owner role. You will be the senior technical voice across frontend, backend, authorization, entitlements, and payments, working directly with the founder to prioritize and ship toward revenue.

The current stack is Next.js, React, TypeScript, and Azure, but the client values judgment over allegiance to any particular stack. You will be trusted both to advise on technical direction — including whether to keep, evolve, or replace parts of the current stack — and to execute it yourself.

You will own the public-facing application, account/access portal, payment and checkout integration, and the backend APIs, authorization, and data model that sit underneath all of it.

Responsibilities

Platform & Architecture

• Own technical architecture across frontend and backend, advising the founder on the right tools and approach rather than defaulting to the current stack

• Make and document architectural decisions; propose practical implementation plans and sequencing toward revenue

• Build and maintain the customer-facing web application, currently on Azure-hosted Next.js

• Design and build backend APIs for authorization, entitlements, and core workflows

Frontend

• Finish public-facing pages and the account/access portal

• Integrate with existing Microsoft Entra authentication infrastructure, or recommend alternatives if warranted

• Implement protected routes and role-aware UI

• Support responsive design, performance, accessibility, and usability

Backend & Data

• Own the authorization database and entitlement model

• Build and maintain backend APIs that power account, license, and access features

• Integrate checkout/payments (currently FastSpring), including webhook handling for subscriptions and entitlements

• Own clinical/content database structure as it relates to access and entitlements

Delivery & Documentation

• Deploy and maintain the application in a cloud environment (currently Azure)

• Set up and support CI/CD

• Document architecture, local development setup, deployment process, and handoff details

• Work directly from business requirements and clarify technical scope with the founder

Required Qualifications

• Strong professional experience with modern full-stack web development (Next.js/React/TypeScript a plus, but open to engineers with strong equivalent stacks)

• Strong backend experience: API design, authorization/entitlement systems, database design

• Experience building production SaaS or account-based web applications end to end (frontend and backend)

• Experience with cloud-hosted applications and databases (Azure helpful, not required)

• Experience integrating authentication flows and building role-aware, protected UI

• Experience with payment/checkout integrations, including webhook handling

• Experience with Git/GitHub and CI/CD

• Demonstrated ability to advise on architecture and then execute it directly, with minimal oversight

• Ability to write clear documentation for others

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

• Experience advising early-stage founders on technical/stack decisions, not just executing a predefined spec

• Prior experience as a fractional or lead engineer for an early-stage startup, working directly with founders

• Microsoft Entra / Entra External ID experience

• FastSpring checkout or Store Builder Library experience

• Azure App Service, Azure Static Web Apps, Azure Container Apps, Azure Key Vault, or Azure Blob Storage experience

Technical Environment

• Current stack: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Azure-hosted infrastructure, Microsoft Entra, FastSpring as merchant of record

• Stack is flexible — candidate judgment on the right tools for the job is welcomed

• GitHub and/or similar version control and CI/CD tooling

This search is managed exclusively by Crucial Recruiting. All inquiries and applications should be directed through Crucial Recruiting. Company details will be shared with candidates who advance to the interview stage.