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Founding Software Engineer Jobs in New York (NOW HIRING)

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

New York, NY · Remote

$150K - $200K/yr

Backed by a seed round from a top-tier VC, we're looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape our platform from the ground up. In this role, you'll build voice AI systems and document agent ...

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$150K - $200K/yr

Backed by a seed round from a top-tier VC, we're looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape our platform from the ground up. In this role, you'll build voice AI systems and document agent ...

Ryvn

Founding Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$160K - $250K/yr

About the Role As a Founding Software Engineer at Ryvn, you'll design and build distributed systems that transform how organizations deploy and manage software at scale. You'll work across the stack ...

Leap Health, Inc

Founding Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site +1

$200K - $250K/yr

About the Role As a Founding Software Engineer , you willbuild the AI and automation systems that power Leap's clinical and business operations. You will own large surface areas across product, data ...

Govwell

Founding Software Engineer, Platform

New York, NY · On-site

$190K - $260K/yr

Role overview GovWell is hiring a Founding Software Engineer, Platform to build and operate the core backend systems that enable our engineering teams to ship quickly and safely at scale. This role ...

LHi Group Ltd

Founding Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$190K - $220K/yr

Founding Software Engineer | AI Developer Infrastructure | Rust / TypeScript | NYC Location: New York City (5 days onsite) I'm working with an exceptionally well-funded early-stage startup that ...

Lawrence Harvey

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$180K - $225K/yr

Founding Software Engineer | AI Developer Infrastructure | Rust / TypeScript | NYC Location: New York City (5 days onsite) I'm working with an exceptionally well-funded early-stage startup that ...

Hera

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

Our product challenge We believe the best software is invisible. We serve people most technology ... Join our Founding Team to impact real lives We are looking for ambitious and relentless engineers ...

Lofty

Software Engineer

New York, NY

Now is the time to join if you've ever wanted to be part of a founding team, helping to set the ... software engineering Enthusiasm and experience playing around, or building with, a wide variety of ...

Lofty

Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

Now is the time to join if you've ever wanted to be part of a founding team, helping to set the ... in software engineering * Enthusiasm and experience playing around, or building with, a wide ...

NxT Level

Founding Full Stack Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$140K - $200K/yr

Founding Product Engineer (Client Search) | AI + B2B SaaS | NYC (In-Person) We're partnering with a seed-stage B2B SaaS startup building AI-powered sales software for the $9T chemicals industry, an ...

NxT Level

Founding Full Stack Engineer

Manhattan, NY

$140K - $200K/yr

Founding Product Engineer (Client Search) | AI + B2B SaaS | NYC (In-Person) We're partnering with a seed-stage B2B SaaS startup building AI-powered sales software for the $9T chemicals industry, an ...

NxT Level

Founding Full Stack Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$140K - $200K/yr

Founding Product Engineer (Client Search) | AI + B2B SaaS | NYC (In-Person) We're partnering with a seed-stage B2B SaaS startup building AI-powered sales software for the $9T chemicals industry, an ...

Extend

Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

As a Software Engineer at Extend, you'll be responsible for building our core platform that ... We're looking for talented engineers to join our founding team ahead of our next round and execute ...

Highbeam, Inc

Software Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$160K - $260K/yr

About this role We're looking for software engineers to join us in building the future of business ... Chance to join the founding team of a well-funded startup chasing a huge opportunity * Competitive ...

Arch

Senior Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$134K - $177K/yr

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will develop and maintain core components of the platform ... startup or on a founding engineering team. • Exposure to building internal tools or ...

Lava INC

Software Engineer

New York, NY

Software Engineer (NYC) Lava: the connector to every LLM, API, and MCP. Join Lava's team in shaping ... Pair with founding engineers to learn the codebase and take on more independent ownership ...

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All JobsFounding Software Engineer JobsFounding Software Engineer Jobs in New York

Founding Software Engineer information

See New York salary details

$69.5K

$161.4K

$224.8K

How much do founding software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding software engineer in New York is $161,396.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $131,300.00 and $189,300.00 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 New York? For Founding Software Engineer jobs in New York, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Founding Software Engineer jobs in New York look for? The top searched job categories for Founding Software Engineer jobs in New York are:
Founding Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Software Engineer job openings in New York as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 97% Full Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 82% In-person, 5% Hybrid, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $161,396 per year, or $77.6 per hour.

Founding Software Engineer

Clera

New York, NY • Remote

$150K - $200K/yr

Full-time

Posted 16 days ago

Job description

About the Role

We're a small, fast-moving insurtech AI startup building intelligent agents that automate complex insurance claims operations for TPAs, MGAs, and carriers. Backed by a seed round from a top-tier VC, we're looking for a Founding Software Engineer to help shape our platform from the ground up.

In this role, you'll build voice AI systems and document agent workflows that process millions of real claims. You'll work in a forward-deployed capacity — partnering closely with customers to map their workflows and ship production-grade solutions that eliminate friction. This is a foundational engineering role with significant impact on product, architecture, and culture.

What You'll Do

  • Design and build voice AI systems and document agent workflows that handle millions of insurance claims.

  • Work directly with customers to understand their end-to-end workflows and deliver solutions that meaningfully reduce friction.

  • Ship production-quality TypeScript and Python code that processes real claims at scale.

  • Design APIs, data models, and integrations with claims management systems and other external platforms.

  • Contribute to core infrastructure decisions using AWS, Docker, and PostgreSQL.

What We're Looking For

Required:

  • 3+ years of professional software development experience with TypeScript and Python in production systems.

  • Hands-on experience with AWS, Docker, and PostgreSQL in production environments.

  • Demonstrated experience designing and implementing APIs, data models, and integrations with external systems (e.g., claims management systems or similar enterprise platforms).

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating directly with customers in a forward-deployed engineering context.

  • Ability to work from within the United States and thrive in a fast-paced startup environment.

  • Authorization to work in the United States (US citizen or valid work visa). Visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice to Have:

  • Experience with agentic AI workflows, LLM integration, or voice AI systems.

  • Background in insurtech, fintech, or other regulated industries with complex operational workflows.

  • Familiarity with Next.js and Tailwind CSS.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Salary: $150,000 – $200,000 per year

  • Early-stage equity as a founding team member

  • Opportunity to shape the engineering culture, tech stack, and product roadmap

Location

This is an on-site role based in New York City, NY. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not offered.