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Founding Software Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

About the Role A well-funded, seed-stage B2B SaaS startup in the supply chain integrations space is looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape the architecture, culture, and product ...

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

About the Role A well-funded, seed-stage B2B SaaS startup in the supply chain integrations space is looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape the architecture, culture, and product ...

RainesDev

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

As a Founding Software Engineer, you'll have end-to-end ownership over projects pushing the frontier of AI evaluation. This isn't a narrow role. One week you might prototype a new RL environment from ...

Hire Hangar

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$7.0K - $9.0K/mo

Founding Low-Level Software Engineer Location | On-Site -- San Francisco, CA Time Zone | PST Role Overview: We are seeking a Founding Low-Level Software Engineer to join an early-stage AI video ...

Bronco

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $200K/yr

About the role As a founding software engineer at Bronco AI, you will be building world-class intelligent reasoning systems for chip verification. You'll own the product from pushing the frontier of ...

Elicit

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

$144K - $190K/yr

Founding Senior Software Engineer (SF In-Person Preferred) Posted We are hot Tech Startup building the AI-native intelligence layer for physical operations, starting with trucking carriers. We are a ...

Navi AI

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the role This is a founding engineering role. You'll own entire systems end to end - the ... About you * 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of ...

Onton

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$175K - $240K/yr

Join Onton as a Founding Engineer and set the foundation for our Engineering Team * Design, scope ... If you're a builder at heart who shares our values and is passionate about making software tools ...

Unsiloed AI

Founding Backend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

We are hiring a Founding Software Engineer in San Francisco. We are building a small, talent-dense team. This role will define the engineering archetype at Unsiloed AI and set the ceiling for the ...

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All JobsFounding Software Engineer JobsFounding Software Engineer Jobs in California

Founding Software Engineer information

See California salary details

$62.7K

$145.6K

$202.8K

How much do founding software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding software engineer in California is $145,592.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $118,400.00 and $170,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Founding Software Engineers?

Founding Software Engineers are among the first technical hires at a startup or newly formed company. They play a critical role in building the initial product, setting up the technical foundation, and often shaping the company's engineering culture and processes. In addition to coding, they may also be involved in architecture decisions, hiring, and even strategic business discussions. This role typically requires broad technical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to work in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.

What are some unique challenges faced by Founding Software Engineers in an early-stage startup environment?

Founding Software Engineers in early-stage startups often navigate rapidly shifting priorities and must wear multiple hats, from architecting core systems to handling on-call troubleshooting. The role typically requires balancing the need for quick feature delivery with building scalable, maintainable code. Close collaboration with co-founders and other early team members is essential, as decisions made at this stage have a lasting impact on the product and company culture. Adaptability, strong communication, and ownership are key, as resource constraints and ambiguity are common.

What is the difference between Founding Software Engineer vs Software Engineer?

AspectFounding Software EngineerSoftware Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in CS or related field; startup experience often preferredBachelor's degree in CS or related field; entry to mid-level experience
Work EnvironmentEarly-stage startup, high responsibility, flexible rolesEstablished companies or startups, structured teams, defined roles
Employer & Industry UsageFounding teams of startups, tech companiesTech firms, corporations, startups
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding startup roles, early-stage responsibilitiesStandard software development roles, career progression

The main difference is that a Founding Software Engineer is an early team member in a startup, often taking on broader responsibilities and helping shape the company's technical foundation. A Software Engineer typically works within established teams on specific projects, with more defined roles and responsibilities.

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

To thrive as a Founding Software Engineer, you need deep expertise in software architecture, full-stack development, and problem-solving, often demonstrated by a strong technical background and relevant degrees. Familiarity with cloud platforms, version control systems (like Git), and modern programming languages or frameworks is essential, along with startup exposure or experience. Initiative, adaptability, and outstanding communication are crucial soft skills for shaping the product vision and collaborating in a small, fast-moving team. These capabilities are vital for efficiently building robust products from scratch and driving early-stage company growth.
What are popular job titles related to Founding Software Engineer jobs in California? For Founding Software Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Founding Software Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Founding Software Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Founding Software Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Founding Software Engineer job openings:
Founding Software Engineer jobs near you
Founding Software Engineer

Founding Software Engineer

Strategic Employment

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO

Re-posted 4 hours ago

Job description

An innovative startup is hiring for a Founding Software Engineer to join their small but growing team on-site in downtown San Francisco. This SaaS company has grown from 1 to 70+ clients in the last 12 months. This is a key hire that will utilize TypeScript on the backend to develop REST APIs that power the backend of their core platform. They've built an application that is disrupting the insurtech space in the same way Plaid did to the digital finance and banking domain. This is an excellent opportunity to take ownership of greenfield development on the ground floor. 

Required: 

  • 4+ years of professional experience in server side development (ideally TypeScript, Node, Next, Nest etc.)
  • Experience working within a live cloud production environment (AWS, GCP, Azure)
  • Startup experience or experience as an early engineering hire
  • Entrepreneurial mindset and willingness to join an early stage startup working on a small team of six engineers 

Nice to have: 

  • Experience with one or more open-source language such as Golang, Python, Ruby on Rails, Rust or similar
  • Previous experience in the insurance domain
  • Expert knowledge working with TypeScript
  • Systems Design expertise
  • Past experience as a founding engineer

Benefits: 

  • Health, Dental, Vision
  • Commuter Benefits
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Generous equity component (0.35-0.7%)
Strategic Employment Partners logo

About Strategic Employment Partners

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Strategic Employment Partners (SEP) was founded in 2007, serving companies in the Greater Los Angeles area by providing Technology Recruiting and Placement Services. With the combined experience of our seasoned professionals, SEP quickly began to build strong partnerships and provide curated talent for some of the largest and fastest growing companies in Los Angeles. Since then, SEP has expanded its operations and currently has eight divisions nationwide.

Industry

Recruiting and staffing services

Company size

51 - 200 Employees

Headquarters location

Los Angeles, CA, US

Year founded

2006

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