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Founding Software Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Rockstar

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · Remote

$150K - $250K/yr

They are hiring a full-stack software engineer to help shape the future of healthcare. This engineer will be on the front lines of the most ambitious product bets--owning development of core features ...

HMBL

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We're seeking a Founding Software Engineer for an early staged AI & LLM startup based in San Francisco. About the Role * Hands on experience developing technology using Python * A builder of business ...

Zania, Inc

Founding Senior Software Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$120K - $230K/yr

Founding Software Engineer (Mid-Senior Level) Why Zania Every enterprise spends millions of dollars on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). It's one of the most critical, yet universally painful ...

HMBL

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We're seeking a Founding Software Engineer for an early staged AI & LLM startup based in San Francisco. About the Role * Hands on experience developing technology using Python * A builder of business ...

HMBL

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA

We're seeking a Founding Software Engineer for an early staged AI & LLM startup based in San Francisco. About the Role * Hands on experience developing technology using Python * A builder of business ...

Simple AI Lab Company

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $280K/yr

We are growing revenue like crazy and looking to hire a couple founding software engineers to help us stay afloat of current customer demand and also build out systems for the future. We are very ...

Zania, Inc

Software Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$100K - $200K/yr

Founding Software Engineer (Mid-Senior Level) Why Zania Every enterprise spends millions of dollars on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). It's one of the most critical, yet universally painful ...

Technacity Group

Senior Software Engineer

Concord, CA · On-site

$134K - $177K/yr

Role Overview We're looking for a highly capable Founding Software Engineer with strong backend skills in Python/Django and a willingness to roll up their sleeves across the stack (including frontend ...

Technacity Group

Senior Software Engineer

Concord, CA

$134K - $177K/yr

Role Overview We're looking for a highly capable Founding Software Engineer with strong backend skills in Python/Django and a willingness to roll up their sleeves across the stack (including frontend ...

Miravoice

Founding Engineer

Palo Alto, CA

$97K - $129K/yr

What We're Looking For We're looking for strong generalist founding software engineers who are driven, independent, and want to push the boundaries of Voice AI at a breakneck pace. The skill we care ...

Beacon Software

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

Software Engineer We're looking for a versatile Software Engineer to drive technical innovation and ... This Role Is Perfect for You If * You're an ex-founder or founding engineer who thrives in ...

MERU

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

Founding Role This is a founding role. You will work directly with Venkat (the CTO) to build ... You will be expected to help with engineering across the stack, including model architecture ...

RST Recruitment

Founding Engineer

San Francisco, CA

$160K - $210K/yr

... software engineer, with experience building AI agents. Work experience Experience building AI ... Has been a technical founder, founding engineer, or early engineering hire at a startup. Healthcare ...

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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 Jun 10, 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 - Vimes

Founding Software Engineer - Vimes

Pear

San Francisco, CA • On-site, Remote

Full-time

Medical, Retirement

Posted 19 days ago

Job description

Founding Software Engineer - Vimes
ABOUT US
Vimes is building the universal operating system for government welfare, starting with child protection: our cross‑platform crisis‑intervention software replaces the paper trails and traditional email threads that slow schools, hospitals, police, and social‑services agencies.
At it's core, we build software to save kids' lives and In 12 months we launched a nationally adopted child‑risk metric, published an academically validated white paper, and cut average response times from 40 days to 12 hours for 18 police departments covering 320K citizens. Having recently closed a $2.2M pre-seed, we envision becoming the universal system of record for all of public safety, becoming a central hub for data and communications for all vulnerable populations.
We have a pipeline of 30+ cities, 15 states, and may cross $10M revenue barrier in the next 12 months. As we scale 10x and we're looking for talented technical engineers to join us.
THE ROLE
We're looking to bring on founding engineers, for an in-person position in New York City or Bay Area (open to hybrid or remote but MUST LIVE IN U.S.).
As a small team, we work in a highly collaborative environment and you'll have the opportunity to participate in varying stages of the technical process, reporting to the CTO/CEO.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR (non-exhaustive list)
  • Highly skilled in React/React Native, iOS/Android app development
  • Experience working with AWS-related services
  • Have a startup-y background or love bringing products from concept to reality: the 0 → 1 phase.
  • Plus for extensive experience in security engineering + compliance (SOC2, HIPAA, CJIS, StateRamp etc.)
  • Plus for experience at govtech startup
  • Plus for design experience!
  • Experience writing production code on shipped full-stack apps
  • Experience working with communication platforms
  • Experience with building no-SQL and SQL database schemas
  • Be able to learn new tech / anything relevant quickly

WHAT THINGS YOU (MIGHT) DO
  • App. You'll be working with the team to build out our mobile and web app, laying the foundations for a large-scale government and social impact product and influencing direction of our stack.
  • Features. We've mastered our first product and system: child abuse data communication. As we expand, you will be rapidly building and testing new features like new communication methods, integrated database access, etc.; as well as new systems like domestic violence and gun violence frameworks.
  • Security. We have spent a lot of time building a secure system. You'll be helping us scale towards stateRAMP and fedRAMP compliance.
  • Data. You'll help in generating data-driven insights (ie. 50-pg reports to police chiefs) AND working on integrating with current gov. databases to securely integrate our product
  • Managing. You will be placed in a unique position to have capable Stanford SWE interns at your disposal to streamline your efficiency and productivity. Working with the CTO, you will have the ability to build leadership and managerial skills working with our interns.
  • Building UI components. You will work closely with our designers to think deeply about optimizing user experience and streamlining how our users will interact with the tech.
  • Solving interesting technical problems. Bring your full creativity to solve any technical challenges along the way.

COMPENSATION
You will be joining a small-team, high-velocity startup and thus will be compensated competitively. Some terms:
  • Competitive salary + offers equity
  • Performance bonus
  • Relocation compensation (if moving to the Bay Area / New York)
  • Monthly stipend for meals
  • Health insurance + 401K match

In any case, we hope you'll join us because you find a fast-paced production velocity exciting and fulfilling, and you want to help us prove what's possible.

Apply