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
$152K/yr
They are seeking a founding full stack engineer to architect and build the platform from day one, with significant ownership over core architecture and early team culture. Responsibilities : • ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$152K/yr
They are seeking a founding full stack engineer to architect and build the platform from day one, with significant ownership over core architecture and early team culture. Responsibilities : • ...
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
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed enterprise AI startup building an agentic operating system that enables businesses to deploy and orchestrate AI agents at scale. You ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed enterprise AI startup building an agentic operating system that enables businesses to deploy and orchestrate AI agents at scale. You ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed enterprise AI startup building an agentic operating system that enables businesses to deploy and orchestrate AI agents at scale. You ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120K - $250K/yr
About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a YC-backed enterprise AI startup building an agentic operating system that enables businesses to deploy and orchestrate AI agents at scale. You ...
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
$120 - $250/hr
Founding Engineer - Staff/Senior Location: San Francisco, CA Type: Full-time, In-person Flowtel is building the next-generation operating system for hospitality, powered by modern AI agents that can ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120 - $250/hr
Founding Engineer - Staff/Senior Location: San Francisco, CA Type: Full-time, In-person Flowtel is building the next-generation operating system for hospitality, powered by modern AI agents that can ...
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
$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
$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
As a Founding Engineer, you will play a crucial role in developing new features, gathering user feedback, and enhancing the company's AI infrastructure while collaborating closely with the CEO and ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
As a Founding Engineer, you will play a crucial role in developing new features, gathering user feedback, and enhancing the company's AI infrastructure while collaborating closely with the CEO and ...
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
$150 - $250/hr
THE OPPORTUNITY Hedge is hiring a founding engineer to turn complex commercial insurance workflows into software that feels simple, fast, and trustworthy. You will work across product, data ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150 - $250/hr
THE OPPORTUNITY Hedge is hiring a founding engineer to turn complex commercial insurance workflows into software that feels simple, fast, and trustworthy. You will work across product, data ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$165K - $190K/yr
True founding-engineer ownership: own your product streams and customer relationships from week one, with a clear path to leading your own engineering team as the company grows. The Role Join as one ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$165K - $190K/yr
True founding-engineer ownership: own your product streams and customer relationships from week one, with a clear path to leading your own engineering team as the company grows. The Role Join as one ...
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 : • ...
San Francisco, CA · Hybrid
$160K - $200K/yr
Founded 2024 · ~12 people · Industry: B2B SaaS, AI, Fintech The Role As a Founding Engineer, you would join a small, product-minded engineering team and own core features end-to-end for a fast ...
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San Francisco, CA · Hybrid
$160K - $200K/yr
Founded 2024 · ~12 people · Industry: B2B SaaS, AI, Fintech The Role As a Founding Engineer, you would join a small, product-minded engineering team and own core features end-to-end for a fast ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $200K/yr
About the Role We're looking for a founding engineer to own the software at the center of Taya: the app people open every day to capture, search, and relive their memories. We have a working iOS app ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $200K/yr
About the Role We're looking for a founding engineer to own the software at the center of Taya: the app people open every day to capture, search, and relive their memories. We have a working iOS app ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
As a Founding Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying scalable backend systems and microservices that form the backbone of our AI solutions. Responsibilities : • ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
As a Founding Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying scalable backend systems and microservices that form the backbone of our AI solutions. Responsibilities : • ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $300K/yr
We are hiring a Founding Engineer to become the company's first technical hire and build the product from prototype through MVP launch. You will own the architecture, stack, and technical standards ...
Quick apply
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$150K - $300K/yr
We are hiring a Founding Engineer to become the company's first technical hire and build the product from prototype through MVP launch. You will own the architecture, stack, and technical standards ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120 - $180/hr
The role We are hiring a Founding Engineer to be the tip of the spear for turning Worktrace AI's ambitious product vision into reality. In this role, you will be a key part of the founding team ...
San Francisco, CA · On-site
$120 - $180/hr
The role We are hiring a Founding Engineer to be the tip of the spear for turning Worktrace AI's ambitious product vision into reality. In this role, you will be a key part of the founding team ...
$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
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.
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.
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:
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 company is building a real-time AI-enabled platform designed to digitize human connection, making AI interactions feel genuinely present and personal. You'll help lay the technical foundation from the ground up in a fast-moving, high-ambition environment.
What You'll DoBuild across the full application, collaborating closely with the founder, design team, and other engineers.
Design and implement systems for memory, retrieval, proactivity, and AI responsiveness.
Integrate real-time video generation and audio synthesis models — both internal and third-party.
Set the bar for engineering quality and play an active role in recruiting world-class talent.
Extensively use the product yourself to ensure real user value and quality.
Required: Computer Science degree from a top university.
Required: 2–7 years of professional software engineering experience (not a new grad).
Required: Strong CS fundamentals and a track record of technically complex side projects.
Required: High energy, entrepreneurial spirit — prior startup or fast-moving environment experience strongly valued.
Required: Proficiency in Python, including typed scientific Python.
Bonus: Experience with real-time media, vision/video model training or deployment, memory systems, or audio synthesis.
Bonus: Familiarity with agentic coding or AI-assisted development workflows.
Salary: $175,000 – $225,000 USD annually
Visa sponsorship available
This role is fully on-site in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be willing and able to work in-person full-time.
Sourced by ZipRecruiter
