Senior Founding Engineer
$200K - $250K/yr
Experience as a technical founder or startup operator * Background at high-performance AI or ... engineering standards, and product direction alongside the founding team. Elite Technical ...
Quick apply
$200K - $250K/yr
Experience as a technical founder or startup operator * Background at high-performance AI or ... engineering standards, and product direction alongside the founding team. Elite Technical ...
Quick apply
$200K - $250K/yr
Experience as a technical founder or startup operator * Background at high-performance AI or ... engineering standards, and product direction alongside the founding team. Elite Technical ...
Austin, TX · On-site +1
$165K - $191K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Austin, TX · On-site +1
$165K - $191K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
San Francisco, CA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Boston, MA · On-site
$181K - $209K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Boston, MA · On-site
$181K - $209K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Austin, TX · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Quick apply
Austin, TX · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Boston, MA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Quick apply
Boston, MA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
The ideal candidate has built and shipped agentic AI systems as a founder, as a founding engineer, or as part of an industry research lab. You are high agency, know how to attack a problem, and can ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
The ideal candidate has built and shipped agentic AI systems as a founder, as a founding engineer, or as part of an industry research lab. You are high agency, know how to attack a problem, and can ...
Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1
$179K - $208K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1
$179K - $208K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Los Angeles, CA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Quick apply
Los Angeles, CA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
New York, NY · On-site +1
$182K - $211K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
New York, NY · On-site +1
$182K - $211K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
New York, NY · On-site
$200K - $300K/yr
Prior experience as a founder/founding engineer, tech-lead, or product manager. Who you are: * Identify as a builder. * Are excited to work in-person from our new and spacious office in New York.
New York, NY · On-site
$200K - $300K/yr
Prior experience as a founder/founding engineer, tech-lead, or product manager. Who you are: * Identify as a builder. * Are excited to work in-person from our new and spacious office in New York.
Seattle, WA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Quick apply
Seattle, WA · Remote
$170K - $197K/yr
Team -- Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
The ideal candidate has built and shipped agentic AI systems as a founder, as a founding engineer, or as part of an industry research lab. You are high agency, know how to attack a problem, and can ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
The ideal candidate has built and shipped agentic AI systems as a founder, as a founding engineer, or as part of an industry research lab. You are high agency, know how to attack a problem, and can ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $225K/yr
... years of software engineering experience (new grads encouraged since pet projects count ... As a founding member of our team, you'll get to experience all the great parts of being a founder ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $225K/yr
... years of software engineering experience (new grads encouraged since pet projects count ... As a founding member of our team, you'll get to experience all the great parts of being a founder ...
Austin, TX · On-site
$165K - $191K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
Austin, TX · On-site
$165K - $191K/yr
Team - Recruit and lead the founding engineering and applied AI team, and establish the cultural foundation of the company Co-Founder Profile * Shipped LLM-powered systems into production ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$126K - $166K/yr
About the Role We are looking for a Founding Engineer with 1+ years of professional experience ... be a founder someday. This person will play a pivotal role in building our core agent ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$126K - $166K/yr
About the Role We are looking for a Founding Engineer with 1+ years of professional experience ... be a founder someday. This person will play a pivotal role in building our core agent ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$126K - $166K/yr
About the Role We are looking for a Founding Engineer with 1+ years of professional experience ... be a founder someday. This person will play a pivotal role in building our core agent ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$126K - $166K/yr
About the Role We are looking for a Founding Engineer with 1+ years of professional experience ... be a founder someday. This person will play a pivotal role in building our core agent ...
$17.07 - $20.80
3% of jobs
$20.80 - $24.54
7% of jobs
$24.54 - $28.28
13% of jobs
$28.65 is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$28.28 - $32.01
16% of jobs
The median wage is $35.41 / hr.
$32.01 - $35.75
12% of jobs
$35.75 - $39.49
14% of jobs
$42.72 is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$39.49 - $43.23
12% of jobs
$43.23 - $46.96
7% of jobs
$46.96 - $50.70
9% of jobs
$50.70 - $54.44
5% of jobs
$54.44 - $58.17
2% of jobs
$17
$37
$58
| Aspect | Founder Founding Engineer | CTO |
|---|---|---|
| Required credentials | Technical expertise, startup experience | Technical background, leadership skills |
| Work environment | Early-stage startup, hands-on role | Growing company, strategic leadership |
| Employer and industry usage | Startup founders, tech companies | Established companies, tech industry |
| Common search intent | Understanding startup technical roles | Leadership in tech companies |
The Founder Founding Engineer is typically a technical co-founder involved in building the product from the ground up in a startup environment. In contrast, a CTO often holds a leadership role overseeing technology strategy in more established or growing companies. While both roles require strong technical skills, the Founding Engineer is more hands-on and involved in daily development, whereas the CTO focuses on strategic planning and team management.

$200K - $250K/yr
Full-time
Medical
Posted 20 days ago
We're hiring a Senior Founding Engineer to help architect and scale the systems behind one of the fastest-growing platforms in conversational AI infrastructure.
This is a deeply technical, architecture-heavy full stack engineering role focused on building systems that operate reliably at massive scale. The platform already handles millions of real-time conversations every month, and the engineering team is looking for someone who has built and optimized production systems operating at that level of complexity.
You'll work directly with the founding team in a highly collaborative onsite environment, owning problems across the stack — from backend infrastructure and database optimization to frontend performance and real-time communication systems.
This role is ideal for engineers who thrive in fast-moving startup environments, enjoy solving large-scale systems challenges, and bring exceptional craftsmanship and intensity to both work and personal pursuits.
About the CompanyThe company is building the world's first quality assurance and observability platform for conversational AI agents.
Founded by former AI engineers from Microsoft and AWS, the platform enables organizations to simulate, evaluate, monitor, and improve AI voice and text agents before they interact with real customers.
Backed by Y Combinator, Floodgate, and PeakXV, the company has experienced explosive growth since launch:
Customers include major organizations such as Google, DoorDash, Sallie Mae, and other rapidly growing enterprise customers.
What You'll DoArchitecture & Systems EngineeringThe platform is already operating at production scale with millions of real-time conversations each month, creating meaningful distributed systems and performance engineering challenges.
Foundational OwnershipYou'll directly influence architecture, infrastructure, engineering standards, and product direction alongside the founding team.
Elite Technical EnvironmentWork with experienced AI and infrastructure leaders from Microsoft, AWS, and top-tier startup ecosystems.
Real Product & Customer ImpactYour systems directly shape the reliability and performance of AI agents deployed into real-world customer environments.
High-Performance CultureThe company values craftsmanship, intensity, curiosity, and people who pursue mastery both inside and outside of engineering.