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Founding Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

Caddi

Senior Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$140K - $180K/yr

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you'll guide our core backend architecture, APIs, and integrations, collaborating closely with the CTO, founding engineers, product design, and CEO. What You'll Do

Caddi

Senior Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$140K - $180K/yr

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you'll guide our core backend architecture, APIs, and integrations, collaborating closely with the CTO, founding engineers, product design, and CEO. What You'll Do

Rockstar

Founding Product Engineer

Seattle, WA

$150K - $225K/yr

This is a product engineering role for someone who wants to build the system, not just spec it. You will turn what we learn from firms into durable product: interfaces, automations, review loops ...

Spice AI

Founding Account Executive

Bellevue, WA

$138K - $320K/yr

As the Founding Account Executive , you will be instrumental in turning a differentiated product ... Work closely with engineering and product to ensure successful proof‑of‑concepts and capture ...

Spice AI

Founding Account Executive

Bellevue, WA

Building data-driven AI applications and agents is too complex, even for advanced developers. This ... As the Founding Account Executive , you will be instrumental in turning a differentiated product ...

Nooks

Staff Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$290K - $350K/yr

Around 40 engineers, mostly former founders or founding engineers and veteran builders from places like Applied Intuition, Scale, Airtable, Citadel, and Jane Street. Thirteen Olympiad medals across ...

Leap Health, Inc

Founding Designer

Seattle, WA · On-site +1

$140K - $190K/yr

About the Role We're hiring Leap's Founding Designer: the person who will define how Leap shows up ... You do not need to be a copywriter, researcher, product manager, or front-end developer. But you ...

LangChain

Deployed Engineer (Seattle)

Seattle, WA · On-site

Required : • 5+ years in a relevant technical role (software engineering, customer engineering, solutions engineering, founding/product engineering), ideally in a startup or scale-up • Strong ...

LangChain

Deployed Engineer (Seattle)

Seattle, WA · On-site

Required : • 5+ years in a relevant technical role (software engineering, customer engineering, solutions engineering, founding/product engineering), ideally in a startup or scale-up • Strong ...

Duranta

Computer Vision Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site +1

$160K - $275K/yr

Duranta's founding team have built unicorns, had successful exits and published groundbreaking research within the field of computer vision. We are seeking a Senior Computer Vision Engineer to join ...

Duranta

Computer Vision Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$160K - $275K/yr

Duranta's founding team have built unicorns, had successful exits and published groundbreaking research within the field of computer vision. We are seeking a Senior Computer Vision Engineer to join ...

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Showing results 21-40

All JobsFounding Engineer JobsFounding Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA

Founding Engineer information

See Seattle, WA salary details

$34.1K

$78.9K

$134.3K

How much do founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding engineer in Seattle, WA is $78,936.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $58,600.00 and $89,300.00 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 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $78,936 per year, or $38 per hour.

Senior Software Engineer

Caddi

Seattle, WA • On-site

$140K - $180K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Re-posted 10 hours ago

Job description

Caddi is a seed-stage startup reimagining automation for professionals by transforming simple screen recordings into fully automated workflows. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you'll guide our core backend architecture, APIs, and integrations, collaborating closely with the CTO, founding engineers, product design, and CEO.
What You'll Do
  • Drive end-to-end backend service design and development using Golang (primary) and Python, ensuring high scalability and reliability.
  • Architect and evolve APIs, integrations, and automation workflow logic-balancing rapid iteration with robust, maintainable systems.
  • Own infrastructure components with Terraform on AWS/ECS, leading decisions about performance, scalability, and security.
  • Partner with leadership to define technical strategy and lead the development of AI-driven product features, event-driven systems, and distributed architectures.

Requirements
  • 7+ years of backend engineering experience, ideally with significant experience in Golang (primary) and Python.
  • Thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment. You don't wait for perfect specs; you ask questions, propose solutions, and push things forward.
  • Proven track record of ownership: you've led complex projects from start to finish and know how to turn business goals into technical outcomes.
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills; you make work visible, give early signals, and help others unblock.
  • Proven track record delivering large-scale APIs, microservices, or event-driven systems in a B2B SaaS or similar environment.
  • Strong infrastructure-as-code skills (Terraform, AWS/ECS) and familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines.
  • Experience shaping technical roadmaps, driving architectural decisions, and proactively solving complex problems in ambiguous contexts.
  • Experience with AI systems, distributed computing, and event-driven architectures (Temporal experience is a plus)

Benefits
  • High Impact: Your contributions will directly shape the product and future of the company.
  • Impactful Work: Revolutionize how professionals automate processes.
  • Flexible Environment: Work fully remotely or hybrid, we have a great office in Seattle available if you prefer an in-person experience.
  • Comprehensive Healthcare: We offer medical (platinum PPO), dental, and vision coverage (100% paid for employees + subsidized dependents)
  • Salary Range: $140,000 - $180,000 per year, depending on experience and location.

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