Company details

HEADCOUNT

25-99

ORG TYPE

Startup

SECTOR

Technology & Digital

WEBSITE

https://www.tessl.io

About the company

Tessl builds an AI-native development platform built around “spec-driven development”, where intent is captured in specs and AI helps generate and maintain implementation over time. The company is led by founder Guy Podjarny (also known for founding Snyk) and is based in London. Tessl publicly announced $125M in funding across a seed and Series A round in November 2024. The product positioning focuses on making agentic coding more reliable by grounding work in structured specs and reusable components.

Locations and presence

Tessl lists a London address (Pentonville Road) and describes an office a few minutes from King’s Cross, with an in-office expectation of three days a week. Hiring signals and job ads are primarily UK and London-centered.

Palpable Score

46.4

/ 100

Tessl looks like a small, well-funded team with a fairly structured interview process and solid baseline benefits for UK hires. The limiting factor for early-career candidates is that the visible roles skew senior, and public evidence on junior hiring, pay ranges, and progression outcomes is thin.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

4.0

/ 20

The company’s visible openings skew senior, such as Research Engineer (noted as 5+ years) and Senior Developer Advocate.
Tessl’s publicly shared design hiring example is a Principal Product Designer role, which is not pitched as early-career entry.
The company does not publicly show a steady stream of 0–3 year roles, internships, or trainee pipelines, which caps entry-level access.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

14.0

/ 20

The company outlines multi-step interview loops in public postings, including defined interview stages and an on-site case study presentation for design roles.
Tessl’s Talent Lead posting describes a structured process (intro conversation, deep-dives, take-home task plus presentation, culture and leadership conversations).
The company includes inclusive language (“apply anyway” messaging) and shares benefits and working expectations, but detailed timelines and assessment rubrics are not publicly clear.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

9.7

/ 20

The company’s design role write-up mentions weekly design critiques and close collaboration with engineering and product, which are practical learning signals.
Tessl positions early team membership as high-autonomy work, but does not spell out onboarding, mentorship, or junior-friendly ramp plans.
The company’s public materials talk more about mission and building pace than repeatable support structures that protect early-career hires from overload.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

11.0

/ 20

The company lists meaningful baseline benefits in public job ads, including health insurance (including dependents), pension, and 25 days holiday in at least one posting.
Tessl’s public design posting says “competitive salary” without a range, which limits transparency for early-career pay fairness.
The company’s third-party job mirrors show estimated salary bands, but official salary ranges and equity explanations are not consistently public, so stability signals are mixed.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

7.7

/ 20

The company has limited public evidence of early-career promotions, junior retention over 12–24 months, or repeat junior hiring patterns.
Tessl appears in external rankings and a startup tracking profile shows no known layoffs, which is a modest stability signal, but it is not early-career-specific.
The company’s LinkedIn presence supports basic legitimacy and activity, but public outcome proof for junior talent is still missing.