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Founding Engineer Jobs in Berkeley, CA (NOW HIRING)

Hirevouch

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

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 ...

Venture Up

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$170K - $250K/yr

Founding Engineer: Build the Email Infrastructure for AI Agents What happens when millions of AI agents need their own email addresses? We're not talking about adding AI to Gmail -- we're talking ...

New

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

EQL Tech

Founding Engineer - GovTech

San Francisco, CA

$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 ...

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 ...

Fabrion

Founding Engineer

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 : • ...

EQL Tech

Founding Engineer - GovTech

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 ...

EQL Tech

Founding Engineer - GovTech

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 ...

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.

Clera

Founding Engineer

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 ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $270K/yr

Prior founding engineer or early-stage infrastructure experience is a plus. Compensation & Benefits Salary range: $160,000 - $270,000 USD annually , plus meaningful equity. Additional benefits ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

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 ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

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 ...

Clera

Founding Engineer

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 deploys AI agents at scale for businesses. You'll operate with CTO ...

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All JobsFounding Engineer JobsFounding Engineer Jobs in Berkeley, CA

Founding Engineer information

See Berkeley, CA salary details

$36.7K

$84.9K

$144.5K

How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Berkeley, CA is $84,930.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $63,100.00 and $96,100.00 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 Berkeley, CA?

The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in Berkeley, CA are:

What are popular job titles related to Founding Engineer jobs in Berkeley, CA?

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

What cities near Berkeley, CA are hiring for Founding Engineer jobs?

Cities near Berkeley, CA with the most Founding Engineer job openings:

Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in Berkeley, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 86% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 88% In-person, 2% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $84,930 per year, or $40.8 per hour.

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA • On-site, Remote

Hirevouch
See more jobs at Hirevouchexternal

Full-time

Re-posted 11 days ago

Job description

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 own private practices. Their AI-powered "business-in-a-box" handles everything from business setup and insurance to marketing and software, so therapists can focus on what they do best: helping children.
They are a small team in San Francisco backed by industry-leading investors who share their vision to reimagine the shape of pediatric care in the US. If you're ready to build something big, you're in the right place.
Role Overview
They are hiring our Founding Engineer (Full-Stack) to work in-person, 5 days/week, in San Francisco as a member of the founding team. The office is currently in Mission.
This is not a 9-to-5 role. This is a chance to join an early-stage startup, work incredibly hard to build something massive, and get unmatched career growth and learning along the way. What they are building matters - to families, to therapists, and to the kids waiting for care.
You'll be an equal thought partner in product and engineering - making foundational decisions on the stack, infrastructure, and development practices. You'll work directly with co-founders to bring the AI-powered software to life and evolve it into a scalable, secure, and delightful platform used by real clinicians and families.
This role is ideal for an engineer who wants to build from zero, shape culture and architecture, and leave a tangible mark on an early healthcare startup.
What You'll Do
  • Lead end-to-end development of the core web applications - from architecture to deployment
  • Design and implement AI-powered product features
  • Collaborate on product and technical design, shaping how the systems, APIs, and data models evolve
  • Build and ship features rapidly while maintaining strong engineering quality (testing, observability, CI/CD)
  • Establish early engineering processes, infrastructure standards, and documentation
  • Own technical decisions around scalability, security, and maintainability - especially given HIPAA-compliant requirements
  • Contribute to (and debate!) product direction, tradeoffs, and long-term technical vision
  • Help define the early engineering culture and assist with future technical hires

Our Technical Environment
They use TypeScript and React with modern tooling - but they expect our architecture to evolve. You'll have major input into how the stack, process, and infrastructure are shaped as they scale.
You Might Be a Fit If You...
  • Have 2+ years of professional experience building and scaling modern web applications
  • Are fluent in TypeScript, React, and modern backend frameworks (Node.js, or similar)
  • Have experience with Vercel/AWS and CI/CD pipelines
  • Move fast - Proficient with AI coding tools like Cursor, Codex, etc.
  • Have strong opinions on architecture, testing, and developer experience - but value pragmatism over perfection
  • Are excited by early-stage ambiguity and want to build real systems, not just prototypes
  • Thrive working in-person with a small team, iterating quickly on product and design
  • Bonus:
    • Experience with healthcare, regulated environments, or automation workflows
    • Familiarity with FHIR standard and GraphQL APIs

Apply