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Founding Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Lawrence Harvey

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$180K - $225K/yr

Founding Software Engineer | AI Developer Infrastructure | Rust / TypeScript | NYC Location: New York City (5 days onsite) I'm working with an exceptionally well-funded early-stage startup that ...

LHi Group Ltd

Founding Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$190K - $220K/yr

Founding Software Engineer | AI Developer Infrastructure | Rust / TypeScript | NYC Location: New York City (5 days onsite) I'm working with an exceptionally well-funded early-stage startup that ...

SLR Search

Founding Engineer

New York, NY

$200K - $300K/yr

Founding Full Stack Engineer Benefits - Starting Salary targeting $200K - $300K - Competitive equity package - Comprehensive medical dental vision - Monthly food stipend - Unlimited snacks and ...

Hirevouch

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Founding Engineer Job title: Founding Engineer Location: San Francisco, CA (in-person only, relocation available) About the Company They help speech, occupational, and physical therapists build their ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $220K/yr

About the Role A seed-stage AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their early team in San Francisco. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for someone who thinks from first ...

Thera

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$100K - $250K/yr

Founding Engineer, Thera (NYC) Thera is building the financial OS for modern SMBs. Payroll, payments, treasury, spend, and accounting in one ecosystem that actually works end-to-end. We're looking ...

David Joseph & Company

Founding Engineer

New York, NY

$160K - $260K/yr

AI tools / data infrastructure The Role A high-ownership founding engineer role working directly with the founders on product vision and implementation -- one of the first engineering hires at a ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $220K/yr

About the Role A seed-stage AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their early team in San Francisco. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for someone who thinks from first ...

EQL Tech

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

The Opportunity EQL Tech is partnering with PhormAI to hire an exceptional Founding Engineer to join its team as the company builds Darwin, its Physical AI platform for Health & Wellness, into the ...

Thera

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$100K - $250K/yr

🚀 Founding Engineer, Thera (NYC) Thera is building the financial OS for modern SMBs. Payroll, payments, treasury, spend, and accounting in one ecosystem that actually works end-to-end. We're ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200K - $300K/yr

About the Role A fast-moving, early-stage startup in San Francisco is looking for a Founding Engineer to join as one of the first technical hires. This is a rare opportunity to work directly with the ...

EQL Tech

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

The Opportunity EQL Tech is partnering with PhormAI to hire an exceptional Founding Engineer to join its team as the company builds Darwin, its Physical AI platform for Health & Wellness, into the ...

Fabrion

Founding Engineer

Bodega Bay, CA · On-site

Founding Engineer (Full Stack) Location: San Francisco Bay Area Type: Full-Time Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity (founding tier) Backed by 8VC, we're building a world-class team ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$97K - $129K/yr

About the Role Join a pre-seed AI startup as Engineer #4 on the founding team, working directly with the CTO and fellow founding engineers. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced role where you'll ship ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$175K - $225K/yr

About the Role Join an early-stage consumer AI startup as a Founding Engineer - a rare 1-of-1 role working directly alongside the founding team to shape both the product and engineering culture. This ...

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How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 1, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in the United States is $69,362.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $51,500.00 and $78,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the biggest challenges a Founding Engineer typically faces at an early-stage startup?

As a Founding Engineer, you’ll often be tasked with building a product from the ground up while balancing rapid development with long-term technical vision. Resource constraints and evolving product requirements can require creative problem-solving and the ability to prioritize effectively. You’ll work closely with the founding team, making pivotal decisions that shape both technology and culture, so adaptability and a hands-on approach are important. While the environment can be demanding and ambiguous, it also offers unique opportunities to learn, take ownership, and have a major impact on the success of the company.

What is a Founding Engineer job?

A Founding Engineer is one of the first technical hires at a startup, responsible for building the company's core products and setting the foundation for its technology stack. They work closely with the founders, making key architectural decisions, writing production-ready code, and often wearing multiple hats across engineering, product, and strategy. This role requires a mix of deep technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and adaptability to thrive in a fast-paced, early-stage environment.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Founding Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Founding Engineer, you need deep expertise in software development, system architecture, and product design, typically backed by experience with startups or building products from scratch. Familiarity with modern programming languages, cloud platforms, and agile tools such as Git, AWS, and Jira is often essential. Exceptional problem-solving, strong ownership mentality, and the ability to communicate clearly in fast-paced, unstructured environments set standout candidates apart. These skills are crucial because Founding Engineers must quickly turn vision into reality, adapt to changing needs, and help establish the technical foundation of a new company.

More about Founding Engineer jobs
What cities are hiring for Founding Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Founding Engineer job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Founding Engineer jobs? The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs are:
What states have the most Founding Engineer jobs? States with the most job openings for Founding Engineer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Founding Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Founding Engineer jobs are:
Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 82% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 3% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $69,362 per year, or $33.3 per hour.

Founding Engineer

David Joseph & Company

San Francisco, CA

$160K - $220K/yr

Full-time

Posted 22 days ago

Job description

Founding Engineer

Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite, 5 days in person)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $160,000 – $220,000 base + equity

About the Company

An early-stage, venture-backed startup building an advertising network purpose-built for AI-native consumer products. The team creates immersive, personalized ad formats — playable ads, animated character ads, sponsored experiences, and creative units designed to feel native rather than disruptive. The work sits at the intersection of advertising, consumer products, AI-generated media, and mobile entertainment. The team moves fast and ships often.

Industry: AI advertising / consumer AI

The Role

A Founding Engineer who can blend backend, ML, and traditional system design / infrastructure — a high-agency, high-slope builder, not someone filtered through a narrow tech-stack requirement. You'll be one of the earliest engineering hires and help shape the engineering culture.

What You'll Be Doing
  • Backend systems work with a mix of ML and traditional system design / infrastructure
  • Build features end-to-end across whatever the team is shipping
  • Cross-functional work with the rest of the engineering team and founders
  • Help shape the engineering culture as one of the early hires

Tech stack: Tech-stack agnostic. PyTorch fluency is a nice-to-have.

Requirements
  • 0-3 years engineering
  • Backend + ML + systems
  • Side project track record
Green Flags
  • Strong side project portfolio that demonstrates building outside of day-job scope.
  • Recent grad or 0-3 YOE with exceptional signal (top engineering school, notable internships, or notable side projects)
  • Background at Roblox, Meta, Amazon, or comparable consumer / ad infra companies with side-project signal
Red Flags
  • Day-job-only engineer with no signal of building outside of work.
  • Mid-career operator (5+ YOE) wanting Senior or Staff title. This is a founding-tier early hire.
  • Pure ML research background without shipping production systems
Why Join
  • A high-impact founding engineering seat at an AI-native advertising startup
  • Direct working relationship with the founding team
  • Meaningful equity
  • Free lunch and dinner ($35 Uber Eats / DoorDash stipend) and an office gym
Details
  • Location: San Francisco, CA
  • Work policy: Onsite, 5 days in person
  • Compensation: $160,000–$220,000 + equity
  • Visa sponsorship: None available — US citizens or visa holders only
  • Employment type: Full-Time