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Founding Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

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Founding Engineer - Fullstack

Seattle, WA · On-site

$110 - $170/hr

THE ROLE As a Founding Engineer - Fullstack, you may work on projects that require strong execution, communication, analytical judgment, and the ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments.

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Founding Engineer - Applied AI

Seattle, WA · On-site

$120 - $210/hr

THE ROLE As a Founding Engineer - Applied AI, you may work on projects that require strong execution, communication, analytical judgment, and the ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments.

Clera

Founding Engineer ($3M pre-seed)

Seattle, WA · 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)

Seattle, WA · 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 ...

Nooks

Senior Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$215K - $300K/yr

You might be a strong fit if: * 5+ years of engineering experience, ideally including time as a technical founder, founding engineer, or forward-deployed engineer at a place with a high bar.

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Founding Product Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$110 - $160/hr

THE ROLE As a Founding Product Engineer, you may work on projects that require strong execution, communication, analytical judgment, and the ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments. This ...

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Founding Applied ML Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$140 - $190/hr

THE ROLE As a Founding Applied ML Engineer, you may work on projects that require strong execution, communication, analytical judgment, and the ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments. This ...

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INDIA Founding AI/ML Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$120 - $180/hr

THE ROLE As a INDIA Founding AI/ML Engineer, you may work on projects that require strong execution, communication, analytical judgment, and the ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments.

Spice AI

Founding Account Executive

Bellevue, WA · On-site

Founding Account Executive Building data-driven AI applications and agents is too complex, even for ... Work closely with engineering and product to ensure successful proof-of-concepts and capture ...

Caddi

Software Engineer Intern

Seattle, WA · On-site

$30 - $35/hr

Collaborate closely with founding engineers to expand our AI pipeline's ability to generalize across user environments. * Identify edge cases, inconsistencies, and learnings from real data to improve ...

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Founding Engineer information

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How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Seattle, WA is $78,980.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $58,600.00 and $89,400.00 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 Seattle, WA?

The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in Seattle, WA are:

What are popular job titles related to Founding Engineer jobs in Seattle, WA?

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

What job categories do people searching Founding Engineer jobs in Seattle, WA look for?

The top searched job categories for Founding Engineer jobs in Seattle, WA are:

Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Engineer job openings in Seattle, WA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 84% In-person, 2% Hybrid, and 14% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $78,980 per year, or $38 per hour.

Founding Engineer - TerraByte

Seattle, WA • On-site

Pioneer Square Labs
See more jobs at Pioneer Square Labsexternal

Full-time

Re-posted 2 days ago

Job description

Founding Engineer
Terrabyte AI • San Francisco, CA • Full-Time
About Terrabyte
Terrabyte is building the intelligence layer for Earth - turning geospatial data into actionable insight at scale. We're an early-stage company moving fast, working directly with founders, and shipping products that matter. If you want to be part of building something from the ground up, this is the role.
The Role
We're looking for a Founding Engineer to help us scale our product and engineering foundation as we grow. You'll be one of the first engineers at Terrabyte, which means you'll have significant ownership over technical direction, architecture decisions, and the culture we build together. This isn't a role for someone who wants to execute a pre-written roadmap - it's for someone who wants to help write it.
You'll work directly with the founders, move fast, and care deeply about building systems that are both production-ready and built to last.
What You'll Do
  • Architect and build scalable backend and infrastructure systems that power Terrabyte's core product
  • Work across the full stack as needed - owning problems end-to-end rather than handing off at boundaries
  • Establish engineering standards, tooling, and practices that will scale with the team
  • Collaborate closely with founders on product direction and technical trade-offs
  • Leverage modern AI coding tools to move faster and build more
What We're Looking For
  • 4-7 years of software engineering experience with strong fundamentals across backend and infrastructure
  • Demonstrated track record building and scaling production systems
  • Comfortable in early-stage ambiguity - you can define the problem, not just solve it
  • Fluent with modern AI development tools (Claude, Cursor, Codex, etc.) alongside traditional engineering practices
  • High ownership mindset and a bias toward shipping

Nice to have: Prior startup experience or time at a high-growth engineering org (hyperscaler, strong eng culture company)
Why Terrabyte
  • Ground-floor opportunity at a company with a clear mission and early traction
  • Work directly with founders - your decisions will shape the company
  • Competitive salary + meaningful early-stage equity
  • San Francisco, CA (in-person)

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