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Founding Engineer Jobs in Arizona (NOW HIRING)

Founding GTM Engineer (Series A Fintech / EdTech) Location: San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ (In-Person, Full Time) | Seniority: Founding / Senior IC | Equity: Meaningful Founding Stake The Mission:

Founding GTM Engineer

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$120K - $170K/yr

Founding GTM Engineer (Series A Fintech / EdTech) Location: San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ (In-Person, Full Time) | Seniority: Founding / Senior IC | Equity: Meaningful Founding Stake The Mission:

You will work alongside top talent, including a founding engineer who did AI research at MILA and at Elon Musk's SpaceX school, a Head of Risk from Mercury, Stripe, and Circle, and a Payments ...

AI Engineer

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$125K - $175K/yr

You will work alongside top talent, including a founding engineer who did AI research at MILA and at Elon Musk's SpaceX school, a Head of Risk from Mercury, Stripe, and Circle, and a Payments ...

AI Engineer

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$125K - $175K/yr

You will work alongside top talent, including a founding engineer who did AI research at MILA and at Elon Musk's SpaceX school, a Head of Risk from Mercury, Stripe, and Circle, and a Payments ...

Lead AI Engineer

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$99K - $131K/yr

Experience as a founding engineer or early technical leader in AI-driven products. * Demonstrated success delivering technically complex autonomous systems that customers actively rely on.

Infrastructure Engineer

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$125K - $175K/yr

You will work alongside top talent, including a founding engineer who did AI research at MILA and at Elon Musk's SpaceX school, a Head of Risk from Mercury, Stripe, and Circle, and a Payments ...

Founding Marketplace Operations Lead Location: San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ (In-person ... With $16M raised from top-tier VCs, the team is composed of elite engineers and operators from ...

Since our founding over 100+ years ago, Rosendin has been driven to positively impact the ... The Engineer III is a senior engineering position responsible for providing technical engineering ...

Since our founding over 100+ years ago, Rosendin has been driven to positively impact the ... The Engineer III is a senior engineering position responsible for providing technical engineering ...

Since our founding over 100+ years ago, Rosendin has been driven to positively impact the ... The Engineer III is a senior engineering position responsible for providing technical engineering ...

Since our founding in 1886, APS has demonstrated a strong commitment to our customers in one of the ... Performs engineering tasks requiring skills and experience gained through application of ...

Deployed Engineer (Phoenix)

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

$155K - $360K/yr

... founding/product engineering), ideally in a startup or scale-up * Strong Python, JavaScript and systems fundamentals * Have designed agent-based or LLM-powered applications beyond simple API calls ...

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Founding Engineer information

See Arizona salary details

$28K

$64.6K

$110K

How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Arizona is $64,638.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $48,000.00 and $73,200.00 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.

What are the most commonly searched types of Founding Engineer jobs in Arizona? The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in Arizona are:
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in Arizona as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 84% Full Time, 12% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 88% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $64,638 per year, or $31.1 per hour.

$120K - $170K/yr

Full-time

Posted 20 hours ago


Job description

Founding GTM Engineer (Series A Fintech / EdTech)

Location: San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ (In-Person, Full Time) | Seniority: Founding / Senior IC | Equity: Meaningful Founding Stake

The Mission: Architecting the Financial Rails for the $900B School Choice Movement.

We are an exclusively retained partner for a high-growth startup building the infrastructure for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Currently, the $900B US public education budget is being unlocked, giving parents direct control of ~$7,500 per child, per year.

This company is building the specialized charge card, reimbursement engine, and vendor marketplace that makes this autonomy possible. With $16M raised from top-tier VCs and a team that has already rejected acquisition offers, this is a "life's work" commitment for a founding operator.

The Team: High-Density Talent & Intensity

You will join a full-time in-person culture in San Francisco or Phoenix. You will work alongside:

  • Founders: A former Goldman Sachs Quant and an engineer who built global-scale computer vision systems at age 19.
  • Engineering & Risk: Former leads and AI researchers from Stripe, Mercury, SpaceX (Ad Astra), Microsoft, and Circle.
  • Policy & Community: The former Deputy Director of a gold-standard state ESA department and leading national school choice advocates.
The Role: GTM as an Engineering Discipline

This is not a traditional sales or marketing role. We are looking for a Founding GTM Engineer to build a community-led growth engine from hundreds of families to tens of thousands.

  • Engineer Acquisition Loops: Move beyond paid acquisition to build compounding, community-led flywheels through homeschool co-ops, education pods, and micro-influencers.
  • Live in the Parent Psyche: You will spend real time in the field with families to understand what drives trust and triggers adoption - converting those insights into concrete GTM decisions, not decks.
  • Data Rigor: You will instrument funnels, set up tight feedback loops, and analyze cohort/retention curves with the precision of a software engineer.
  • Own Onboarding Conversion: You will be the primary owner of the onboarding funnel, driving toward a critical 500-account target and beyond

Requirements

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for a rare combination of top-tier pedigree and scrappy, high-output execution.

  • Pedigree Signal: Academic background from a premier institution (Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, MIT Sloan, or equivalent).
  • Experience: 3-6 years in consumer growth or GTM ops at a high-growth company (e.g., Duolingo, Chime, ClassDojo, or equivalent).
  • Quantitative Depth: Expert in funnel analysis and cohort modelling who "lives in the data".
  • Field Orientation: You "get on the plane" - you value in-person interactions and are willing to do the ground-level work at events and home visits that move metrics.
  • Mission Alignment: A genuine respect for family autonomy in education and an understanding of the high-stakes trust dynamics involved in education spending

Benefits

Commitment, Compensation & Benefits

This will be a big commitment, and we're aiming high. It needs to be something you are energised about taking on, or this isn't the team for you.

  • Competitive Salary: $120,000 - $170,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
  • Generous Founding Equity: We compensate you well with equity.
  • Top-Tier Backing: We've raised $16M from top-tier VCs and angels.
  • Relocation Support: You are willing to relocate to San Francisco, CA, or Phoenix, AZ, and travel to visit customers. We're an in-person company and are in the office together.
  • Comprehensive Visa Sponsorship: If you do not have a visa, we can support you.
  • Unmatched Impact: The rare opportunity to directly shape how the $900B US Public Education budget is being opened up for parents to take control of their portion (avg. $7.5k/kid/year).

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