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Founding Engineer Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Devyantram

Chief Technology Officer

Ashburn, VA · On-site

$180K - $200K/yr

Strongly Preferred • Demonstrated technical leadership: founding engineer, technical lead, or comparable ownership of a hardware program and the engineers on it. • Humanoid, legged, or advanced ...

Devyantram

Chief Technology Officer

Ashburn, VA · On-site

$160 - $180/hr

Demonstrated technical leadership: founding engineer, technical lead, or comparable ownership of a hardware program and the engineers on it. * Whole‑system integration experience: you have shipped ...

Socket.dev

Founding Product Designer

Arlington, VA · On-site

$110 - $170/hr

The Role We're looking for a Founding Product Designer to be the foundation of our design efforts ... Working closely with product, engineering, and leadership, you'll have the opportunity to shape ...

J.Riley Recruitment

Geotechnical Engineer

Richmond, VA · On-site

Our client is seeking a Geotechnical Engineer to support a wide range of site investigation, design ... Since our founding in 2020, J.Riley Recruitment has leveraged over a decade of Talent Acquisition ...

Integral

Systems Engineer III

Tysons, VA · On-site

$100K - $135K/yr

Overview The Systems Engineer III provides comprehensive Systems Engineering support for the ... Since our founding in 1998, we have helped clients leverage existing and emerging technologies to ...

Integral

Test Engineer

Springfield, VA

$105K - $130K/yr

Integral Federal is seeking Test Engineers to perform functional, regression, integration, workflow ... Since our founding in 1998, we have helped clients leverage existing and emerging technologies to ...

Integral

Network Engineer

Tysons, VA · On-site

$137K - $164K/yr

Overview The Network Engineer administers, maintains, secures, and accredits the Defense Nuclear ... Since our founding in 1998, we have helped clients leverage existing and emerging technologies to ...

Integral

Network Engineer

Tysons Corner, VA · On-site

$137K - $164K/yr

The Network Engineer administers, maintains, secures, and accredits the Defense Nuclear Facilities ... Since our founding in 1998, we have helped clients leverage existing and emerging technologies to ...

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All JobsFounding Engineer JobsFounding Engineer Jobs in Virginia

Founding Engineer information

See Virginia salary details

$29.7K

$68.8K

$117K

How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Virginia is $68,767.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $51,100.00 and $77,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a founding engineer?

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 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 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 Virginia?

The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in Virginia are:

What are popular job titles related to Founding Engineer jobs in Virginia?

For Founding Engineer jobs in Virginia, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Founding Engineer jobs in Virginia look for?

The top searched job categories for Founding Engineer jobs in Virginia are:

What cities in Virginia are hiring for Founding Engineer jobs?

Cities in Virginia with the most Founding Engineer job openings:

Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in Virginia as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $68,767 per year, or $33.1 per hour.

Founding Engineer / Forward Deployed / Golang

Motion Recruitment Partners, LLC

Herndon, VA • On-site

Other

Posted 22 days ago

Job description

An early-stage AI company in Herndon, VA is hiring a Founding Forward Deployed Software Engineer for a full-time position. This is a hybrid opportunity requiring three days per week onsite. You'll work across backend engineering, cloud infrastructure, and customer deployments using Go, Python, Kubernetes, AWS, and PostgreSQL.
This role sits directly between the engineering team and the customers using the platform. Rather than simply handing requirements to another team, you'll work with customers to understand their technical environments and production challenges, then design and build the functionality needed to solve them. You'll remain a core product engineer while getting direct exposure to how sophisticated organizations are actually deploying AI in production. It's a great fit for an engineer who enjoys ambiguous problems, customer interaction, and owning solutions from the initial conversation through production.
Required Skills & Experience
  • 7+ years of software engineering experience
  • Strong backend development experience with Go and/or Python
  • Production experience with Kubernetes and AWS
  • Experience building and deploying distributed systems
  • Experience owning software from development through production
  • Strong communication and customer-facing skills
  • Ability to gather technical requirements and turn them into scalable software
  • Comfortable troubleshooting complex production environments
Desired Skills & Experience
  • Previous forward deployed or customer-facing engineering experience
  • Experience working in startup or fast-paced engineering environments
  • Experience with PostgreSQL
  • Background in infrastructure, platform engineering, or developer tooling
  • Experience with observability and production reliability
  • Exposure to AI/ML infrastructure or MLOps
What You Will Be Doing
Tech Breakdown
  • 35% Backend Software Engineering
  • 25% Kubernetes / Cloud Infrastructure
  • 20% Customer Integrations & Deployments
  • 10% Production Reliability
  • 10% Data / PostgreSQL

Daily Responsibilities
  • 60% Hands On
  • 30% Customer & Team Collaboration
  • 10% Technical Leadership
The Offer
  • Competitive base salary
  • Bonus eligible
  • Meaningful equity

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the US on a full-time basis now and in the future.

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