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Remote Founding Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

The Misch Group

Founding Product Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$150K - $200K/yr

Founding Product Engineer Department: Technology & Software Employment Type: Full Time Location ... In-Office (San Francisco, CA) | Open to Remote (United States) Compensation: $150,000 - $200,000 ...

twenty80.io

Founding Full Stack Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

$150K - $190K/yr

About the Role An early-stage startup is hiring a Founding Full Stack Engineer to help build its ... Hybrid or remote-friendly within U.S. time zones Equal Opportunity This opportunity is with an ...

SPLICE

Product Designer

San Francisco, CA · Remote

... a founding engineer. Solid base salary and equity along with many other benefits. Who are we ... Remote Work * Willing to sponsor visa * Unlimited PTO * Customize your workspace & tools * Offsites ...

SPLICE

Product Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

... a founding engineer. Solid base salary and equity along with many other benefits. Who are we ... Remote Work * Willing to sponsor visa * Unlimited PTO * Customize your workspace & tools * Offsites ...

Tilda Research

Our small team of founding engineers are passion driven, and have a long history of achievement ... We are a remote team, and your ability to write your thoughts out is critical. * You care about the ...

talentpluto

Founding Account Executive

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

$150K - $300K/yr

Location: San Francisco, CA (remote considered for candidates with a strong existing book) Work ... You will own creative top-of-funnel strategy and lead generation, with a go-to-market engineer ...

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Remote Founding Engineer information

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

To thrive as a Remote Founding Engineer, you need a deep background in software development, systems architecture, and ideally startup experience, often supported by a degree in computer science or related fields. Mastery of cloud platforms, version control (like Git), and familiarity with frameworks relevant to the product, as well as experience with DevOps tools, are typically required. Exceptional problem-solving, self-motivation, and strong communication skills help remote founding engineers stand out, especially in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. These combined skills and qualities are crucial for building scalable products, driving innovation, and collaborating effectively while working remotely in an early-stage company.

What is a Remote Founding Engineer?

A Remote Founding Engineer is a key technical team member who helps launch and build a startup from its earliest stages, working entirely or primarily from a remote location. They are responsible for designing and developing the initial product, making crucial technical decisions, and often establishing the company's engineering culture. Founding Engineers typically collaborate closely with the company’s founders and may have a significant influence on the startup’s direction. Their role often includes both hands-on coding and broader responsibilities such as hiring, setting up processes, and scaling technology as the company grows.

What are some unique challenges and rewards of being a Remote Founding Engineer in an early-stage startup?

As a Remote Founding Engineer, you'll face the challenge of building core product features from scratch while collaborating virtually with other founders and early team members. This often means balancing rapid, iterative development with high-quality code, all while helping to set technical direction and culture remotely. The role is highly rewarding for those who thrive in dynamic environments and value broad ownership, as your contributions directly shape the product and the company's future. You'll also gain valuable experience in both technical leadership and startup operations, positioning yourself for significant career growth and potential equity rewards.
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Remote Founding Engineer jobs near you

Founding Engineer, Applied AI

David Joseph & Company

San Francisco, CA • On-site, Remote

$180K - $250K/yr

Full-time

Posted 19 days ago

Job description

San Francisco, CA · On-site (open to exceptional remote) · Full-time
Compensation: $180,000–$250,000 + 0.1%–1% equity

About the Company

A stealth-stage startup building AI for hardware engineering at complex manufacturers — automating engineering compliance and accelerating innovation at the intersection of AI, hardware, software, law, and policy. The company partners with leading automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturers and is backed by top-tier venture investors, with a founding team drawn from senior industry and government leadership.
Founded 2025 · 1–10 people (Seed) · Industry: AI Tools

The Role

Build the core systems behind an automation engine for hardware engineering — designing, implementing, and post-training AI agents that power critical product-development workflows for global enterprise customers. As one of the first technical hires, you'll own mission-critical systems end-to-end.

What you'll be doing

  • Design and implement core workflows and infrastructure for hardware engineering agents, including intelligent context management, novel indexing approaches, and post-training
  • Build agents and ML models that interpret, reason over, and manipulate complex engineering design data, integrating with enterprise-grade engineering tools and systems
  • Work closely with customers and the engineering team to deliver AI-powered workflows that are reliable, intuitive, and trusted in production environments
  • Prototype rapidly, validate ideas with real users, and ship frequently
  • Influence engineering culture, architecture decisions, and the future of the product

Tech stack: Python, PyTorch, Hugging Face, W&B

Requirements
  • 2-6 years of experience, open to exceptional new grads
  • Strong Python and ML library experience (PyTorch, Hugging Face, W&B)
  • Experience building production ML or AI systems
  • Strong familiarity with LLM architectures and agent research trends
  • Bachelor's or higher in CS, ML, or equivalent
  • Genuine interest in technology, not for the money
Green Flags
  • Experience in law/policy or customer-facing product work
  • Track record of high-impact contributions or published papers at a top-tier AI lab or team, strongest signal of technical caliber
  • Background in a domain with real-world constraints such as automotive, aerospace, robotics, or energy
  • Experience with geometric data, CAD, or complex engineering design data, maps directly to what the company is building
  • Post-training or fine-tuning experience, critical for the agent customization this role demands
  • Genuine interest in the intersection of AI, hardware development, and policy
Red Flags
  • Only research or academic AI experience with no production system background, mission-critical reliability is a hard requirement
  • Weak customer collaboration skills, direct customer work is core to this role
  • Slow moving or process-dependent, this role requires someone who prototypes, ships, and iterates fast
  • No experience with search, information retrieval, or complex data systems
  • Only cares about salary of the role
  • Random resume padding and random startup experience
Why Join
  • Founding-level ownership of mission-critical AI systems, end-to-end
  • Backed by top-tier venture investors with a founding team drawn from senior industry and government leadership
  • Build AI that integrates directly into the engineering environments of iconic automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturers
Details
  • Location: San Francisco, CA
  • Work policy: On-site in SF highly preferred; open to an exceptional remote candidate
  • Compensation: $180,000–$250,000 + equity
  • Visa sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, OPT
  • Employment type: Full-time