About Us
Dealer Copilot is a Charleston-based startup building AI-powered tools that are transforming how automotive dealerships operate. Our platform integrates directly with dealership management systems to deliver intelligent solutions and data-driven insights using proprietary dealership data. We’re a small, fast-moving team preparing for our first pilot deployments—and we’re looking for our first engineering hire to help us build the future of automotive retail technology.
The Role
This isn’t a typical junior developer role. As our first engineering hire, you’ll have an outsized impact on product direction, architecture decisions, and engineering culture from day one. You’ll work directly with the Director of Technology across the full stack—building features end-to-end, shipping to production, and iterating with real dealership users. We’re looking for someone who is hungry to learn, comfortable with ambiguity, and excited about working at the intersection of AI and software engineering.
What You’ll Do
- Build and ship features across our full stack: React frontends, C#/.NET and Python backends, and cloud infrastructure on AWS
- Work with MongoDB and PostgreSQL to design and optimize data models, queries, and pipelines
- Integrate with third-party automotive APIs and dealership management systems
- Leverage agentic AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, etc.) as a core part of your daily workflow to dramatically accelerate development velocity
- Collaborate directly with the Director of Technology on architecture decisions and technical strategy
- Help build the engineering practices and culture of a growing startup from the ground floor
What We’re Looking For
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (Spring 2026 or recent graduates welcome)
- Proficiency with React or a modern frontend framework
- Experience with at least one compiled server-side language (C#, Java, or similar)
- Familiarity with both SQL (PostgreSQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (MongoDB) databases
- A demonstrated habit of using AI-assisted and agentic coding tools in your development workflow—we want to see that you’re already leaning into this, not just curious about it
- Strong fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and software design
Nice to Have
- Experience with AWS services (Lambda, ECS, S3, CloudFormation)
- Exposure to Python for scripting, data processing, or ML/AI workflows
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), and infrastructure-as-code
- Interest in the automotive industry or experience working with industry-specific software
- Personal projects or contributions that showcase initiative and technical curiosity
Why Dealer Copilot?
- Ground-Floor Opportunity — You’ll be the first engineer on the team with a direct line to the Director of Technology and a real voice in how the product and company evolve
- AI-Native Development — We don’t just build AI products; we use AI tools to build them. If you want to push the boundaries of what’s possible with agentic coding, this is the place
- Real Users, Real Impact — Our platform is heading into pilot deployment with dealerships. You’ll see your work in the hands of real users, not buried in a backlog
- Growth Trajectory — As the company scales, so will your role. Early hires at startups have a unique opportunity to grow into senior technical leadership
- Charleston, SC — Build cutting-edge technology in one of the best cities in the country to live and work
How to Apply
Send your resume and a brief note about why you’re excited about this role. Bonus points if you include a link to a project, repo, or anything that shows how you work—especially if it demonstrates your use of AI coding tools.
