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Founding Data Engineer Jobs in Boston, MA (NOW HIRING)

twenty80.io

Founding Full Stack Engineer

Boston, MA · On-site +1

$150K - $190K/yr

About the Role An early-stage startup is hiring a Founding Full Stack Engineer to help build its ... Own services, data models, and APIs end to end * Collaborate directly with founders on product ...

Farsyt

Founding Software Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

Build and ship backend systems (APIs, services, data models) * Develop AI-powered workflows that ... Solid engineering fundamentals (debugging, data modeling, system design) * Good product instincts ...

Farsyt

Founding Senior Software Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$135K - $177K/yr

They are seeking a Founding Senior Software Engineer to work directly with the founders to build ... Responsibilities : • Architect and build core systems (backend, APIs, data models) • Design AI ...

OneScreen

Founding Machine Learning Engineer

Boston, MA · On-site

About the role You'll be the founding ML engineer who owns our matching algorithms from exploration ... You'll own our data warehouse shape and the pipelines that fill it. You'll publish the ranking and ...

Proton.ai

Founding GTM Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$90K - $120K/yr

Founding GTM Engineer About Proton Proton is building the AI infrastructure for wholesale ... We unify CRM, PIM, eCommerce AI, and Order & Quote Entry AI into one platform with one data layer ...

Proton.ai

Founding GTM Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$90K - $120K/yr

Founding GTM Engineer About Proton Proton is building the AI infrastructure for wholesale ... We unify CRM, PIM, eCommerce AI, and Order & Quote Entry AI into one platform with one data layer ...

Farsyt

Founding Senior Software Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$133K - $176K/yr

Architect and build core systems (backend, APIs, data models) * Design AI-powered workflows that ... Strong backend engineering skills -- you've built and scaled real systems (we use Python, but care ...

Suno

Machine Learning Scientist

Boston, MA · On-site

... data engineering and model training. Responsibilities : • You'll work closely with the founding team and have ownership of a wide variety of technical decisions on how we build and deploy our ...

AtScale

Director Developer Relations

Boston, MA · On-site

AtScale is a company focused on the semantic layer for modern data and AI. They are seeking a founding Director of Developer Relations to establish their presence in the AI architect and data ...

AtScale

Director Developer Relations

Boston, MA · On-site

We are looking for a founding Director of Developer Relations to help us redefine how the world handles analytics by establishing our authoritative presence within the AI architect and data ...

RevenueBase Inc

Customer Engineer

Waltham, MA · Remote

RevenueBase: * We're building the data infrastructure that makes AI agents trustworthy instead of ... You are the founding hire for this function. When we hire behind you, you hire them. What You'll Do:

Odigos

eBPF Engineer - Remote

Boston, MA · On-site +1

Description ABOUT THE ROLE We are looking for a founding engineer to join our team. You will be ... Developers are struggling with extracting and delivering high-quality monitoring data. Currently ...

Odigos

eBPF Engineer - Remote

Boston, MA · Remote

ABOUT THE ROLE We are looking for a founding engineer to join our team. You will be working with a ... Developers are struggling with extracting and delivering high-quality monitoring data. Currently ...

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Showing results 1-20

All JobsFounding Data Engineer JobsFounding Data Engineer Jobs in Boston, MA

Founding Data Engineer information

See Boston, MA salary details

$48.3K

$140.9K

$192.8K

How much do founding data engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 26, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding data engineer in Boston, MA is $140,924.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $124,400.00 and $149,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the unique challenges and opportunities of being a Founding Data Engineer at an early-stage startup?

As a Founding Data Engineer, you'll face the challenge of building data infrastructure from scratch, often with limited resources and evolving requirements. You’ll work closely with founders and cross-functional teams to define data strategies, implement pipelines, and ensure data quality. This role offers significant influence over technical decisions and architecture, and you'll likely wear multiple hats, contributing to both backend engineering and data analytics. The fast-paced environment fosters rapid skill development and provides substantial opportunities for career growth as the company scales.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Founding Data Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Founding Data Engineer, you need strong expertise in data architecture, database design, and software engineering, often backed by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with cloud platforms (like AWS or GCP), ETL frameworks, programming languages (such as Python or Scala), and data warehousing tools is typically required. Exceptional problem-solving, adaptability, and collaboration skills set standout candidates apart in this role. These abilities are crucial for building scalable data systems and shaping the technical foundation of an early-stage company.

What is the difference between Founding Data Engineer vs Data Engineer?

AspectFounding Data EngineerData Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in CS, experience in startup environmentsBachelor's or higher in CS, relevant data tools experience
Work EnvironmentEarly-stage startups, high flexibility, broad responsibilitiesEstablished companies, specialized roles, structured teams
Employer & Industry UsageFounding teams, startups, tech companiesTech firms, finance, healthcare, large organizations
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding startup data roles, early-stage responsibilitiesStandard data engineering roles, career progression

The main difference between a Founding Data Engineer and a Data Engineer lies in their work environment and responsibilities. Founding Data Engineers typically work in startups, handling broad tasks and building data infrastructure from scratch, while Data Engineers in established companies focus on specific data pipelines within structured teams. Both roles require similar technical skills and educational backgrounds, but their scope and context differ significantly.

What are Founding Data Engineers?

Founding Data Engineers are among the first technical hires at a startup, responsible for designing, building, and scaling the company's data infrastructure from the ground up. They work closely with founders and early team members to define data architecture, set up data pipelines, and ensure data quality and accessibility for product development and business insights. This role often requires a blend of software engineering, data modeling, and strategic decision-making skills, as well as the flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing priorities in a startup environment.
What are popular job titles related to Founding Data Engineer jobs in Boston, MA? For Founding Data Engineer jobs in Boston, MA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Founding Data Engineer jobs in Boston, MA look for? The top searched job categories for Founding Data Engineer jobs in Boston, MA are:
What cities near Boston, MA are hiring for Founding Data Engineer jobs? Cities near Boston, MA with the most Founding Data Engineer job openings:
Founding Data Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Data Engineer job openings in Boston, MA as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 81% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 16% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $140,924 per year, or $67.8 per hour.

Founding Full Stack Engineer

twenty80.io

Boston, MA • On-site, Remote

$150K - $190K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO

Posted 8 days ago

Job description

About the Role

An early-stage startup is hiring a Founding Full Stack Engineer to help build its product from the ground up. This role will work closely with the founding team to design, develop, and ship the initial versions of the platform while laying the technical foundation for future growth.

This position offers high ownership, broad responsibility across the stack, and direct impact on product direction, architecture, and engineering culture.

What You’ll Do

  • Build the initial product and core features from zero to production

  • Design and implement frontend and backend systems with scalability in mind

  • Own services, data models, and APIs end to end

  • Collaborate directly with founders on product requirements and technical tradeoffs

  • Make foundational decisions around architecture, tooling, and infrastructure

  • Write clean, maintainable code and establish engineering best practices

  • Set up deployment pipelines, monitoring, and basic DevOps workflows

  • Help hire and mentor future engineers as the team grows

Tech Environment

The stack is flexible, but commonly includes:

  • Frontend: React, TypeScript, Next.js

  • Backend: Node.js (Express/NestJS) or Python (Django/FastAPI)

  • Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis

  • Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS or GCP, Docker, CI/CD

  • APIs: REST, GraphQL

  • Version Control: Git (GitHub or similar)

What We’re Looking For

  • 6+ years of professional software engineering experience

  • Strong full stack background with modern JavaScript/TypeScript

  • Experience building products from early stage through production

  • Solid understanding of backend systems, databases, and APIs

  • Comfort working with ambiguity and evolving requirements

  • Experience owning technical decisions without heavy process

  • Prior startup or founding-team experience strongly preferred

Compensation & Benefits

  • Base Salary: $150,000 – $190,000 (early-stage, San Francisco market)

  • Equity: Meaningful founding-level equity stake

  • Benefits: Health, dental, vision insurance; flexible PTO

  • Work Model: Hybrid or remote-friendly within U.S. time zones

Equal Opportunity

This opportunity is with an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or veteran status.