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Founding Software Engineer Jobs in New York (NOW HIRING)

Ryvn

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

As a Founding Software Engineer, you will design and build distributed systems, working closely with the founding team to define the technical architecture and product roadmap. Responsibilities : • ...

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$150 - $200/hr

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

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

The Founding Software Engineer will build AI and automation systems to enhance clinical and business operations, collaborating closely with various teams to identify automation opportunities and ...

Leap Health, Inc.

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$140 - $210/hr

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

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 ...

Trymeridian

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$90 - $120/hr

Engineers own product decisions and make them with customers directly. What we're looking for You've put real software in front of real users and watched it break. We care that you've shipped ...

Govwell

Founding Software Engineer, Platform

New York, NY · On-site

$200K - $300K/yr

GovWell is hiring a Founding Software Engineer, Platform to build and operate the systems that make that reliability possible: deployment, observability, incident response, and security, all built ...

Sbhonline

Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$90 - $130/hr

Based on Experience Description A fast-growing operations and logistics company is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build its internal platform from the ground up. This is a high-impact, high ...

Sbhonline

Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$90 - $130/hr

Based on Experience Description A fast-growing operations and logistics company is seeking a Founding Software Engineer to build its internal platform from the ground up. This is a high-impact, high ...

Ryvn Technologies, Inc.

Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$100 - $150/hr

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 ...

Hera

Founding Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$200K - $250K/yr

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 ...

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Founding Software Engineer information

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$69.5K

$161.4K

$224.8K

How much do founding software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 26, 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 is a founding software engineer?

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 the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a founding software engineer?

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 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.

How much do founding software engineers make?

Founding software engineers often receive higher compensation than standard engineers, including equity or stock options, as they help establish the company's technology. Salaries typically range from $100,000 to $200,000 or more, depending on the company's size, funding stage, and location, with early-stage startups sometimes offering lower salaries but greater equity potential.

What does a founding software engineer do?

A founding software engineer is a key early team member responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the core software products of a startup or new project. They often work closely with founders to establish technical architecture, write code, and set development standards, typically using programming languages like Python, Java, or JavaScript. This role requires strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

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 August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 88% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $161,396 per year, or $77.6 per hour.

Founding Software Engineer

Manhattan, NY • On-site

Ryvn
See more jobs at Ryvnexternal

Full-time

Re-posted 22 days ago

Job description

Job Summary:
Ryvn is a Y Combinator-backed seed-stage startup based in New York City, focused on building deployment infrastructure for mission-critical software across various industries. As a Founding Software Engineer, you will design and build distributed systems, working closely with the founding team to define the technical architecture and product roadmap.
Responsibilities:
• Design, build, and maintain highly available systems that orchestrate software deployment across hundreds of production environments
• Work directly with the founding team to define Ryvn’s technical direction and architecture
• Identify inefficiencies and design elegant solutions — with the autonomy to ship fast and keep our technology ahead of the curve
• Debug performance issues across distributed systems, from backend services to production infrastructure
• Navigate engineering decisions thoughtfully — balancing short-term velocity with long-term scalability and impact
Qualifications:
Required:
• 3+ years of software development experience, ideally including time at a small, high-growth company
• Full-stack fluency: Comfortable working across web frameworks, APIs, and databases in multiple programming languages
• Strong technical judgment: Able to make pragmatic, well-reasoned tradeoffs to drive projects forward
• Ownership mindset: You take initiative, see problems through, and care deeply about the systems you build
Preferred:
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure
• Experience deploying and scaling Kubernetes, Helm, and Docker
• Familiarity with CI/CD tooling, especially GitHub Actions
• Experience building with Go, TypeScript, and React
• Comfort working with Postgres and S3
• Experience using Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, or Mimir for observability
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform, Pulumi, or CloudFormation
Company:
Ryvn helps companies deploy, monitor, and manage applications in customer clouds. Founded in 2024, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, USA, with a team of 2-10 employees. The company is currently Early Stage.

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