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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Quick apply
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 ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role A YC-backed enterprise AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their small, high-output team in San Francisco. The company is building an agentic operating system ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role A YC-backed enterprise AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their small, high-output team in San Francisco. The company is building an agentic operating system ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed (Seed stage) enterprise AI company building the agentic operating system for businesses. The platform enables companies to deploy ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed (Seed stage) enterprise AI company building the agentic operating system for businesses. The platform enables companies to deploy ...
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.
Quick apply
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.
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$125K - $175K/yr
Founding Engineer - GovTech Location: San Francisco, CA (In-Office) Partnership: EQL Tech has been exclusively retained by a high-growth technology startup to appoint a Founding Engineer to build ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$125K - $175K/yr
Founding Engineer - GovTech Location: San Francisco, CA (In-Office) Partnership: EQL Tech has been exclusively retained by a high-growth technology startup to appoint a Founding Engineer to build ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $220K/yr
About the Role A seed-funded B2B SaaS startup in the people-data and AI agents space is looking for a high-agency Founding Engineer to build core agent infrastructure and help scale the platform ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $220K/yr
About the Role A seed-funded B2B SaaS startup in the people-data and AI agents space is looking for a high-agency Founding Engineer to build core agent infrastructure and help scale the platform ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $200K/yr
You'll be our founding engineer, with an outsized role in how the product, company, and engineering culture evolve. You'll write code, but you'll also: * Talk to customers and join pilot calls * Turn ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $200K/yr
You'll be our founding engineer, with an outsized role in how the product, company, and engineering culture evolve. You'll write code, but you'll also: * Talk to customers and join pilot calls * Turn ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role A YC-backed enterprise AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their small, high-output team in San Francisco. The company is building an agentic operating system ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role A YC-backed enterprise AI SaaS startup is looking for a Founding Engineer to join their small, high-output team in San Francisco. The company is building an agentic operating system ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $220K/yr
About the Role A seed-funded B2B SaaS startup in the people-data and AI agents space is looking for a high-agency Founding Engineer to build core agent infrastructure and help scale the platform ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $220K/yr
About the Role A seed-funded B2B SaaS startup in the people-data and AI agents space is looking for a high-agency Founding Engineer to build core agent infrastructure and help scale the platform ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $220K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you won't be handed a narrow backlog. You'll own problems end to end: talking directly to customers, figuring out what to build, and shipping it. You'll shape the product ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$140K - $220K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you won't be handed a narrow backlog. You'll own problems end to end: talking directly to customers, figuring out what to build, and shipping it. You'll shape the product ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
They are seeking a Founding Engineer to help tackle interesting engineering challenges and contribute to the development of AI-driven solutions. Qualifications : Required : • You have startup ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
They are seeking a Founding Engineer to help tackle interesting engineering challenges and contribute to the development of AI-driven solutions. Qualifications : Required : • You have startup ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
You'll be our founding engineer, with an outsized role in how the product, company, and engineering culture evolve. You'll write code, but you'll also: * Talk to customers and join pilot calls * Turn ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
You'll be our founding engineer, with an outsized role in how the product, company, and engineering culture evolve. You'll write code, but you'll also: * Talk to customers and join pilot calls * Turn ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
The Founding Engineer will design and implement scalable backend systems, develop REST APIs, and collaborate with teams to integrate machine learning models into production. Responsibilities : • ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
The Founding Engineer will design and implement scalable backend systems, develop REST APIs, and collaborate with teams to integrate machine learning models into production. Responsibilities : • ...
$94K - $127K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
Role Description As a Founding Engineer, you'll help shape both our product and our company. You'll work closely with the founders to design architecture, ship features, and define the product vision.
$94K - $127K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
Role Description As a Founding Engineer, you'll help shape both our product and our company. You'll work closely with the founders to design architecture, ship features, and define the product vision.
San Francisco, CA · On-site
Unbound is a company focused on building exceptional products and enhancing customer experience, and they are seeking a Founding Engineer to engage in hands-on coding and develop features across the ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
Unbound is a company focused on building exceptional products and enhancing customer experience, and they are seeking a Founding Engineer to engage in hands-on coding and develop features across the ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you'll own problems end-to-end, work directly with founders, and make architectural decisions that shape the core system. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you'll own problems end-to-end, work directly with founders, and make architectural decisions that shape the core system. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you'll own problems end-to-end, work directly with founders, and make architectural decisions that shape the core system. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
As a Founding Engineer , you'll own problems end-to-end, work directly with founders, and make architectural decisions that shape the core system. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site +1
The Role We're looking for our first Founding Engineer who will define Athena as much as the founder does and help build both the product and the technical foundation at Athena. You'll spend more ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site +1
The Role We're looking for our first Founding Engineer who will define Athena as much as the founder does and help build both the product and the technical foundation at Athena. You'll spend more ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$250K - $400K/yr
AI Tools / Dev Tools The Role The client is hiring a Founding Engineer to build the systems that deliver accurate root-cause analysis to clients. The role isn't limited to full-stack, infra, or ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$250K - $400K/yr
AI Tools / Dev Tools The Role The client is hiring a Founding Engineer to build the systems that deliver accurate root-cause analysis to clients. The role isn't limited to full-stack, infra, or ...
$29.6K - $37.5K
2% of jobs
$37.5K - $45.4K
10% of jobs
$50.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$45.4K - $53.3K
20% of jobs
$53.3K - $61.2K
13% of jobs
The median wage is $63.2K / yr.
$61.2K - $69.1K
21% of jobs
$74.2K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$69.1K - $77K
14% of jobs
$77K - $84.9K
7% of jobs
$84.9K - $92.8K
5% of jobs
$92.8K - $100.7K
3% of jobs
$100.7K - $108.6K
2% of jobs
$108.6K - $116.5K
2% of jobs
$29.6K
$68.5K
$116.5K
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.
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.
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.
The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in California are:
For Founding Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
The top searched job categories for Founding Engineer jobs in California are:
Cities in California with the most Founding Engineer job openings:
$175K - $225K/yr
Full-time
Re-posted 25 days ago
