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Founding Full Stack Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Clera

Founding Engineer - Full Stack

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $250K/yr

About the Role A Y Combinator-backed AI startup is looking for a Founding Engineer - Full Stack to join a small founding team at the ground floor. The company operates at the intersection of AI ...

Erth.AI Inc.

Full Stack Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $150K/yr

Full Stack Engineer: We are in search of a dynamic Full-Stack Engineer to work as part of our product and backend engineering initiatives within Dot Earth, a thriving incubator. .Erth is presently ...

Fuser

Sr. Full Stack Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$80K - $180K/yr

Why You're Here As a Sr. Full Stack Engineer, you'll operate with autonomy in a small, fast-moving ... Build and ship key features across the stack with the founding team * Own complex systems such as ...

Erth.AI Inc.

Full Stack Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $150K/yr

Full Stack Engineer: We are in search of a dynamic Full-Stack Engineer to work as part of our product and backend engineering initiatives within Dot Earth, a thriving incubator. .Erth is presently ...

Fuser

Sr. Full Stack Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$80K - $180K/yr

Why You're Here As a Sr. Full Stack Engineer, you'll operate with autonomy in a small, fast-moving ... Build and ship key features across the stack with the founding team * Own complex systems such as ...

Clera

Founding Engineer (Full Stack)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About FUNCTION-VERIFIED@2026-06-04T15:04:14.242Z - Seed-stage B2B SaaS; AI for GTM; founding engineer owning full stack. What you will do * Architect data + matching pipeline * Ship customer-facing ...

Clera

Founding Engineer (Full-Stack)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the Role Join an early-stage startup as a Founding Engineer (Full-Stack) and take full ownership of features from concept to deployment. This is a full-time, on-site position where you'll have ...

Embedding VC

Full-Stack Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site

About this role We're hiring a full-stack engineer. We're open to professionals with a few years of experience and ambitious new graduates. In this role, you'll work closely with our CTO and other ...

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Founding Full Stack Engineer information

What is a Founding Full Stack Engineer?

A Founding Full Stack Engineer is an early, core technical team member at a startup who is responsible for building both the front-end and back-end of the company's product. This role goes beyond typical engineering, often involving product decisions, architecture design, and collaborating directly with the founders. Founding Full Stack Engineers help shape the company's culture, technical direction, and can have significant equity stake. Their work is crucial in taking the business from idea to launch, often in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Founding Full Stack Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Founding Full Stack Engineer, you need expertise in both front-end and back-end development, deep knowledge of programming languages like JavaScript, Python, or Ruby, and experience with scalable architectures, often backed by a degree in computer science or equivalent experience. Familiarity with frameworks (React, Node.js, Django), version control systems (Git), cloud platforms (AWS, GCP), and DevOps practices is typically required. Strong problem-solving, initiative, adaptability, and excellent communication distinguish successful candidates, enabling effective collaboration in a startup environment. These skills and qualities are crucial for building robust products rapidly and influencing the company's technical direction from its early stages.

What is the difference between Founding Full Stack Engineer vs Full Stack Engineer?

AspectFounding Full Stack EngineerFull Stack Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires proven full stack development experience, sometimes with startup or early-stage company involvementRequires relevant full stack development skills, often with formal education or certifications
Work EnvironmentEarly-stage startups or founding teams, often wearing multiple hatsEstablished companies or startups, focused on project delivery
Employer & Industry UsageFounding teams, startups, tech entrepreneursTech companies, agencies, startups, corporate IT teams

Founding Full Stack Engineers are key players in early-stage startups, often involved in building core products from scratch and shaping company technology. Full Stack Engineers work across various company sizes, focusing on developing and maintaining applications. The main difference lies in the startup environment and level of involvement in founding the company.

What unique challenges might a Founding Full Stack Engineer face when joining an early-stage startup?

As a Founding Full Stack Engineer at an early-stage startup, you'll often balance building core product features with setting up foundational technical infrastructure. This role typically requires wearing multiple hats, from architecting systems and writing code to making critical technology decisions and collaborating closely with non-technical founders. You may encounter challenges such as ambiguous requirements, shifting priorities, and limited resources, but you'll also have significant influence over the company's technical direction. The dynamic environment encourages rapid learning and offers accelerated career growth, particularly for those who thrive in fast-paced, collaborative settings.
What are popular job titles related to Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs in California? For Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Founding Full Stack Engineer job openings:
Founding Full Stack Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Full Stack Engineer job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 68% Full Time, 16% Part Time, 14% Temporary, and 2% Nights. Highlights an 89% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution.

Founding Engineer - Full Stack

Clera

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$150K - $250K/yr

Full-time

Posted 8 days ago

Job description

About the Role

A Y Combinator-backed AI startup is looking for a Founding Engineer – Full Stack to join a small founding team at the ground floor. The company operates at the intersection of AI research, product, and engineering — building tools that help brands understand and shape how large language models perceive and represent them. This is a rare opportunity to co-define engineering culture and practices from day one in a fast-moving, high-impact environment.

What You'll Do

  • Own problems end-to-end — from customer insight and product requirements all the way through research and infrastructure.

  • Maintain a tight feedback loop with customers and the founding team; ship features quickly and iteratively.

  • Help define and shape the engineering team's culture, patterns, and best practices.

  • Continuously explore and reinvent how engineering teams work effectively alongside AI agents.

What We're Looking For

Required

  • 1+ years of experience on engineering teams (2+ preferred), including at least one stint longer than 18 months in a strong startup or scale-up environment.

  • Full-stack proficiency — comfortable owning customer-facing UI through to infrastructure.

  • Hands-on experience with React, Python, Terraform, and AWS.

  • Experience building agentic systems or working with LLMs in production.

  • Strong product sense and design instincts; able to translate customer needs into shippable features.

  • Startup experience or self-driven personal projects that demonstrate initiative and high agency.

  • Must be a US citizen or have US work authorization (no visa sponsorship for candidates outside the US).

Nice to Have

  • Scientific or academic research background.

  • Direct customer-facing experience in a technical role.

  • Enthusiasm for adopting AI-powered coding and productivity tools.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Salary: $150,000 – $250,000 USD annually (depending on experience)

  • Early-stage equity

  • Visa sponsorship available for eligible candidates

Location

This role is on-site in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco.