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Senior Founding Engineer Jobs in San Ramon, CA (NOW HIRING)

Casa, Inc

Senior iOS Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$164K/yr

About the role We're hiring a founding Senior iOS Engineer to help us design, develop, and ship best-in-class mobile applications that deliver exceptional value to our members. You'll work closely ...

Idler

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$100K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

You'll work alongside senior engineers and the founding team, learning how to design systems that are both technically sound and philosophically robust. A big part of our work is thinking critically ...

Casa

Senior iOS Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$164K/yr

About the role We're hiring a founding Senior iOS Engineer to help us design, develop, and ship best-in-class mobile applications that deliver exceptional value to our members. You'll work closely ...

Casa, Inc

Senior Backend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the role We're hiring a founding Senior Backend Engineer to help us design, develop, and ship robust backend systems that deliver exceptional value to our members. You'll work closely with our ...

idler

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$100K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

You'll work alongside senior engineers and the founding team, learning how to design systems that are both technically sound and philosophically robust. A big part of our work is thinking critically ...

Revive

Senior Engineering Lead (Founding Team)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120 - $160/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The Role We're looking for a Senior Engineering Lead to join as a founding member of our engineering team. You'll help define (Re)vive's technical foundation, build core systems from the ground up ...

Revive

Senior Engineering Lead (Founding Team)

San Francisco, CA · Remote

$180K - $220K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The Role We're looking for a Senior Engineering Lead to join as a founding member of our engineering team. You'll help define (Re)vive's technical foundation, build core systems from the ground up ...

Casa

Senior Backend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

They are seeking a founding Senior Backend Engineer to design, develop, and ship robust backend systems that deliver exceptional value to their members, working closely with founders, engineers, and ...

Revive

Senior Engineering Lead (Founding Team)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $220K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The Role We're looking for a Senior Engineering Lead to join as a founding member of our engineering team. You'll help define (Re)vive's technical foundation, build core systems from the ground up ...

Pear

Founding AI Engineer - Manhattan Labs

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$123K - $169K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

Learn more at ;br> Description of the role This is a true founding engineer role . You won't just ship features - you'll define the system. You'll architect and build an AI-native platform that ...

3Y

Senior Software Engineer, Frontend

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$175K - $205K/yr

Ideal candidates may have experience as a founding engineer or founder and bring a bias toward ownership, speed, and continuous iteration. This role requires a dynamic individual who can drive ...

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Showing results 21-40

All JobsFounding Engineer JobsSenior Founding Engineer JobsSenior Founding Engineer Jobs in San Ramon, CA

Senior Founding Engineer information

See San Ramon, CA salary details

$66.5K

$141.4K

$205.1K

How much do senior founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 19, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior founding engineer in San Ramon, CA is $141,430.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $116,800.00 and $160,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior founding engineer?

Senior Founding Engineers are experienced technical professionals who join a startup at its earliest stages, often as part of the founding team. They are responsible for designing and building the initial product architecture, making critical technical decisions, and setting engineering best practices. In addition to hands-on coding, they often help shape the company's culture, contribute to hiring, and may participate in strategic business decisions. Their work significantly impacts the company's trajectory and future growth.

How does a senior founding engineer balance hands-on technical work with strategic decision-making in an early-stage startup?

As a Senior Founding Engineer, you’ll often juggle direct coding responsibilities with broader technical leadership tasks, such as setting architectural direction and influencing early product decisions. In a small, agile team, you’ll collaborate closely with other founders, designers, and sometimes initial customers to iterate rapidly on features while ensuring scalability and maintainability. The role demands adaptability—shifting between solving immediate technical problems and long-term planning to support growth. This dual focus is both a challenge and an opportunity for career development, as it provides visibility into all aspects of building a product and company from the ground up.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior founding engineer?

To thrive as a Senior Founding Engineer, you need deep expertise in software engineering, product development, and startup environments, usually demonstrated by a strong technical background and experience launching products from scratch. Familiarity with modern programming languages, cloud platforms, version control (e.g., Git), and agile development tools is essential, and experience with system architecture or DevOps is highly valued. Leadership, adaptability, and excellent problem-solving skills set standout candidates apart, as does the ability to communicate complex ideas to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. These skills are crucial for driving technical innovation, building scalable products, and shaping the culture and success of an early-stage startup.

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

AspectSenior Founding EngineerLead Software Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires a bachelor's or master's in computer science or related field, with extensive experienceSimilar educational background, often with several years of software development experience
Work EnvironmentEarly-stage startups or new company divisions, often wearing multiple hatsEstablished teams within companies, focusing on project leadership and technical guidance
Industry UsageCommon in startups, tech companies, and entrepreneurial venturesWidely used across tech firms, especially in mid to large-sized organizations
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles in startup environments, founding responsibilitiesClarifying leadership roles in software development teams

The main difference is that a Senior Founding Engineer is typically an early team member in a startup, often involved in building the product from the ground up, while a Lead Software Engineer usually operates within established organizations, leading project teams and overseeing technical execution.

What are the most commonly searched types of Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA?

The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA are:

What are popular job titles related to Senior Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA?

For Senior Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Senior Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Senior Founding Engineer jobs in San Ramon, CA are:

What cities near San Ramon, CA are hiring for Senior Founding Engineer jobs?

Cities near San Ramon, CA with the most Senior Founding Engineer job openings:

Senior Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Founding Engineer job openings in San Ramon, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $141,430 per year, or $68 per hour.

Founding Engineer/Senior Software Engineer (Ayama)

career

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$144K - $190K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 7 hours ago

Job description

Ayama has partnered with Andrew Ng's AI Fund and a Fortune 500 energy leader to use AI to reshape how $10+ Trillion of heavy assets operate, are managed, and are maintained. With electrification driving rapid growth in energy and reshoring accelerating the build out of U.S. electronics and IT manufacturing, the company plans to close critical gaps by raising asset uptime & output as well as staff productivity. Ayama is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to help drive the AI revolution into critical assets. 

The senior engineer will work across the full stack, including backend, frontend, data pipelines, and AI systems. The problems span optimization, retrieval, and real-time decision support for field teams. This is a 100% hands-on role. You would be in the code and architecture all day, making decisions and shipping. We expect you to be AI-native and use modern AI development tools to move fast while making sound architectural choices.

This is a full-time hybrid role located in the Bay Area.  There is no relocation package budgeted for this role.

Responsibilities for the Role Include:
  • Build and improve production RAG and LLM-based systems
  • Design and maintain data pipelines that integrate enterprise data sources at scale
  • Develop full-stack product features end-to-end, from Python backend through React/TypeScript frontend
  • Work on optimization and scheduling problems with real operational constraints
  • Build evaluation frameworks that measure whether AI systems are actually improving
Requirements For the Role Include:
  • 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience
  • Full-stack depth in Python (Django/FastAPI) and modern React/TypeScript
  • Strong architectural judgment
  • Comfort with large-scale data processing and cloud infrastructure (GCP preferred)
  • Fluency with AI-assisted development tools
Nice To Haves Include:
  • Experience with ERP systems, especially SAP (maintenance workflows, master data, integrations)
  • Operations research or constraint programming background
  • Data transformation and orchestration tools (dbt, Prefect, Airflow)
  • B2B SaaS
Why Join Ayama:
  • Exclusive Ecosystem: Unparalleled access to AI Fund's experts and Dr.
    Andrew Ng's network of AI luminaries.
  • Real-World Impact: We are solving critical performance gaps in energy supply while demand driven by global electrification skyrockets.
  • Growth Path: Opportunity to evolve from a lead individual contributor to a
    team leader as the company scales.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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