About The PeopleFirst Standard™

Psychological safety is now a legal obligation in 30+ countries. ISO 45003, BEK 1406, the EU Framework Directive, HSE Management Standards, CSA Z1003, and Safe Work Australia all require organisations to assess and evidence psychosocial risk at work. None of them prescribe how.

So organisations reach for engagement surveys. Likert scales. Opinion scores. Global engagement sits at 21% despite billions spent. 136 independent studies confirm psychological safety predicts performance, retention, and innovation. Regulators, boards, and insurers increasingly know the difference between an opinion score and a defensible evidence base.

The measurement approach is broken. We're fixing it.

The PeopleFirst Standard™ is the first independently certifiable standard for psychological health and safety at work. Not a survey. Not a wellness tool. A standard — built on the same logic as ISO 9001 for quality or B Corp for social responsibility. Backed by advisors spanning occupational psychology, Business Leadership, and organisational safety.

The platform is live at thepeoplefirststandard.com. Built on React/TypeScript/Tailwind with a Supabase backend. It delivers a 25-question scenario-based behavioural diagnostic across five dimensions, mapped clause-by-clause to six international regulatory frameworks simultaneously. Results produce a 5-level maturity score, perception gap analysis, policy vs. reality diagnostics, and compliance evidence reports. Active pilot conversations are underway with major Danish employers. The roadmap is defined. What's missing is the engineer who builds what lasts.

The Role

We need a full-stack developer who thinks architecture-first — not someone who patches problems later.

The front end works. The product is live and has been demonstrated to real organisations. What's needed now is the engineer who turns a working platform into a production-ready product that organisations in multiple jurisdictions can genuinely depend on.

This is a co-founder role. You own the technology. You build the infrastructure this becomes.

What You'll Build

Production backend Full multi-respondent data aggregation replacing the current pilot architecture. Authentication and role-based access control for organisation admins, assessors, and respondents. Longitudinal data architecture for annual recertification and year-on-year maturity tracking. One-time token system for secure assessment access.

Automated compliance report generation Three report variants already designed — board readout, internal working document, regulatory submission pack. Needs proper server-side rendering and reliable PDF delivery at scale.

Payments Stripe integration for per-assessment fees, annual certification renewals, and founding partner pricing tiers.

Customer-facing UI The admin dashboard, results views, and onboarding flow all need a developer who cares about the experience as much as the infrastructure underneath it. The front end is built in React/TypeScript/Tailwind — you'll be working in a codebase that's clean and opinionated.

The Data Responsibility

The data we handle is sensitive by nature. Anonymised, but aggregated across organisations making decisions that affect real people's working lives. GDPR Article 25 compliance is by design — no PII collected, no IP logging, sessions destroyed on submission, 20-respondent anonymity floor hard-coded into the results layer.

Privacy frameworks and security architecture are not afterthoughts here. They are the foundation the whole certification credibility rests on.

The Stack

• React / TypeScript / Tailwind (front end — built)

• Supabase (backend — pilot architecture in place, production build needed)

• PDF generation (server-side — to be built)

• Stripe (payments — to be integrated)

• GDPR-compliant data architecture throughout

What We're Looking For

You don't need to know what ISO 45003 or Danish psychosocial safety standards are on day one. The regulatory and methodology layer is covered — you focus on building infrastructure that's secure, scalable, and genuinely dependable.

Specifically:

• Supabase or equivalent backend experience (PostgreSQL, RLS, Edge Functions)

• Secure data handling in a SaaS context

• Experience shipping products with real users — not just side projects

• Payments integration (Stripe or equivalent)

• Some exposure to compliance or regulated environments is a bonus

• Full-stack comfort — you'll own backend and contribute to frontend

Mindset matters more than years. We're looking for someone who builds carefully, communicates directly, and takes ownership without needing to be managed.

What's On Offer

Co-founder equity — meaningful stake in a working platform with a defined market, active pilots, and a regulatory tailwind that isn't going away.

One full year of paid work — Innofounder funding covers a full salary for both founders for 12 months if granted. The application is in progress. This is not a "work for free and hope" situation.

A serious founding team — Joshua (Founder: ex-military, NATO, Ørsted; two decades in leadership and advisory across corporate and startup environments); Jesper Holst (Co-founder: PhD in statistics, experience across Maersk, Ørsted, and Aldi Nord, former DTU board member for diversity and inclusion — brings the statistical rigour behind the psychometric methodology). We are passionate, experienced and wanting to build as a team- 'practice what we preach' by creating a team culture that is positive and lasts.

A problem worth solving — psychological safety is the structural precondition for organisational performance, AI adoption, retention, and regulatory compliance. It affects every organisation in every sector in every country. The category doesn't exist yet. We're building it.

Practical Details

• Location: Copenhagen, Denmark (hybrid)

• Role type: Co-founder / Full-time

• Funding: Innofounder application in progress (1-year funded salary if granted)

• Equity: Negotiable — meaningful stake

• Start: As soon as the right person is found

• Danish tax resident required

• Language: English (working language)

• Education: To qualify for the Innofounder programme, you must hold a completed higher education degree (Academy Profession, Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD) in computer science, software engineering, or a related technical field

How to Apply

Tell us what you've built — specifically what you're most proud of from a backend or architecture perspective, and why it was the right decision. That tells us more than a CV.

Applications without a specific example of something you've built will not be reviewed.