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Founding Engineer Jobs in Milpitas, CA (NOW HIRING)

10x Science (YC W26)

Founding Engineer

Menlo Park, CA · On-site

As a Founding Engineer, you will build core modules for a high-performance scientific computing platform, working closely with the founding team to create production software that significantly ...

Miravoice

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$94K - $127K/yr

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.

Miravoice

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

As a Founding Engineer, you will collaborate with the founders to shape the product architecture and vision, while having the opportunity to engage in research and customer interaction.

Fonzi AI

Founding Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Founding Engineers: Let 100+ Companies Compete For You Fonzi is an AI recruiting company. No job boards. No recruiter spam. Companies request to interview you and submit salary bids upfront. Every ...

New

Fonzi AI

Founding Engineer

Hayward, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Founding Engineers: Let 100+ Companies Compete For You Fonzi is an AI recruiting company. No job boards. No recruiter spam. Companies request to interview you and submit salary bids upfront. Every ...

New

Fonzi AI

Founding Engineer

Fremont, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Founding Engineers: Let 100+ Companies Compete For You Fonzi is an AI recruiting company. No job boards. No recruiter spam. Companies request to interview you and submit salary bids upfront. Every ...

New

Fonzi AI

Founding Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Founding Engineers: Let 100+ Companies Compete For You Fonzi is an AI recruiting company. No job boards. No recruiter spam. Companies request to interview you and submit salary bids upfront. Every ...

New

Fonzi AI

Founding Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Founding Engineers: Let 100+ Companies Compete For You Fonzi is an AI recruiting company. No job boards. No recruiter spam. Companies request to interview you and submit salary bids upfront. Every ...

New

Deeptrace

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

Job Summary : Deeptrace is seeking a motivated software engineer to join their growing engineering team. In this role, you will work closely with the co-founders and early customers to enhance ...

Clera

Founding Engineer - ML Research

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$220K - $300K/yr

About the Role This is a founding-level ML research engineering role at a fast-moving AI data and evaluation company serving top frontier AI labs. You'll work directly with the founding team to build ...

Clera

Founding Engineer ($3M pre-seed)

Palo Alto, CA · Remote

We're building the future of recruiting with AI - and we need an exceptional engineer to join our founding team in our San Francisco hackerhouse. We just raised a $3M pre-seed from top-tier investors ...

Clera

Founding Engineer ($3M pre-seed)

San Jose, CA · On-site

We're building the future of recruiting with AI - and we need an exceptional engineer to join our founding team in our San Francisco hackerhouse. We just raised a $3M pre-seed from top-tier investors ...

Clera

Founding Engineer ($3M pre-seed)

Palo Alto, CA · Remote

We're building the future of recruiting with AI - and we need an exceptional engineer to join our founding team in our San Francisco hackerhouse. We just raised a $3M pre-seed from top-tier investors ...

Clera

Founding Engineer ($3M pre-seed)

San Jose, CA · Remote

We're building the future of recruiting with AI - and we need an exceptional engineer to join our founding team in our San Francisco hackerhouse. We just raised a $3M pre-seed from top-tier investors ...

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Showing results 1-20

All JobsFounding Engineer JobsFounding Engineer Jobs in Milpitas, CA

Founding Engineer information

See Milpitas, CA salary details

$35K

$80.8K

$137.5K

How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 2, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Milpitas, CA is $80,833.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $60,000.00 and $91,500.00 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 popular job titles related to Founding Engineer jobs in Milpitas, CA?

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

What job categories do people searching Founding Engineer jobs in Milpitas, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Founding Engineer jobs in Milpitas, CA are:

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

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

Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in Milpitas, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $80,833 per year, or $38.9 per hour.

Founding Engineer

10x Science (YC W26)

Menlo Park, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted just now

Job description

Job Summary:
10x Science is a pioneering company developing AI models to transform drug development processes for pharmaceutical companies. As a Founding Engineer, you will build core modules for a high-performance scientific computing platform, working closely with the founding team to create production software that significantly impacts drug discovery.
Responsibilities:
• Build and own core modules of a high-performance scientific computing platform from first principles
• Architect systems for throughput, correctness, and scale across large and complex datasets
• Work directly with the founding team to translate deep scientific domain knowledge into production software
• Deploy to enterprise pharmaceutical customers and iterate based on real-world feedback
• Make foundational technical decisions that will define the platform for years to come
Qualifications:
Required:
• Low-level systems architecture. You know how to architect low-level systems in Rust.
• Intuition for compute-performance tradeoffs.
• Obsessed with interpretability.
• Leverage the best available tools.
• Learn like a sponge.
• Strong fundamentals in systems programming, algorithms, and data structures.
• Experience building software that has to be fast.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity.
• Drive and momentum.
• Intellectual curiosity about hard technical problems.
Preferred:
• Experience with high-performance or scientific computing.
• Familiarity with AI/ML infrastructure or numerical methods.
• Prior experience at a high-growth startup or as an early engineer.
Company:
10x Science develops frontier AI models with deep memory to redefine how scientists understand and engineer biology across the life sciences, starting with drug development. Founded in 2025, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, USA, with a team of 2-10 employees. The company is currently Early Stage.

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