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Senior Founding Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

PulseRise Technologies

Founding iOS Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$56.50 - $78/hr

Senior / Staff-level Start Date: ASAP Interview Process: Phone Screen → Technical Interview → ... founding engineer at a startup Experience migrating applications from Flutter or React Native to ...

HirexHire

Founding Sr. Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$126.20K - $166.40K/yr

This is a highly entrepreneurial, early-stage role for a senior IC who wants to operate in a founding engineer capacity, owning product initiatives end-to-end and helping shape both the technical ...

HirexHire

Founding Sr. Software Engineer

Elk Grove Village, IL · Hybrid

$120.70K - $159.10K/yr

This is a highly entrepreneurial, early-stage role for a senior IC who wants to operate in a founding engineer capacity, owning product initiatives end-to-end and helping shape both the technical ...

PulseRise Technologies

Founding iOS Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$56.50 - $78/hr

Senior / Staff-level Start Date: ASAP Interview Process: Phone Screen Technical Interview Team Fit ... founding engineer at a startup Experience migrating applications from Flutter or React Native to ...

Zero21

Founding Engineer, Full Stack

New York, NY · On-site +1

Who we are Our founding team is no stranger to the complexities of the F&B industry. Our CEO ... Our CTO Soheil has 6+ years of experience as a senior software engineer and tech lead at Amazon AWS ...

RainesDev

Founding Backend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Previous experience as a founder or founding engineer is highly preferred. Hard skills * Strong ... Simplify is looking for incredible senior software engineers willing to do IC. They should be ...

Zero21

Founding Engineer, Full Stack

New York, NY

Who we are Our founding team is no stranger to the complexities of the F&B industry. Our CEO ... Our CTO Soheil has 6+ years of experience as a senior software engineer and tech lead at Amazon AWS ...

Giga AI Inc

Senior Frontend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200K - $280K/yr

... Senior Frontend Engineer with deep prior experience with building functional & visually appealing ... Intro call w/ Founding Engineer (15 min) * Live coding round w/ Founding Engineer (1 hr) * In ...

Casa

Senior iOS Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$164.90K/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 ...

DataFielder, Inc.

Be Seen First

Senior Full Stack Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

You will work end-to-end on features that matter, take initiative without detailed specs, and collaborate closely with the founding engineer and CEO. WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON Build and ship full-stack ...

Casa, Inc

Senior iOS Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$164.90K/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 ...

DataFielder, Inc.

Be Seen First

Senior Full Stack Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

You will work end-to-end on features that matter, take initiative without detailed specs, and collaborate closely with the founding engineer and CEO. WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON Build and ship full-stack ...

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 ...

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Senior Founding Engineer information

See salary details

$59.5K

$126.6K

$183.5K

How much do senior founding engineer jobs pay per year?

As of May 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior founding engineer in the United States is $126,557.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,500.00 and $143,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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

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.

How does a Senior Founding Engineer typically 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 Senior Founding Engineers?

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.

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.

More about Senior Founding Engineer jobs
What cities are hiring for Senior Founding Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Senior Founding Engineer job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Founding Engineer jobs? The most popular types of Founding Engineer jobs are:
What states have the most Senior Founding Engineer jobs? States with the most job openings for Senior Founding Engineer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Senior Founding Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Senior Founding Engineer jobs are:
Senior Founding Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Founding Engineer job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $126,557 per year, or $60.8 per hour.

Founding iOS Engineer

PulseRise Technologies

New York, NY • On-site

$56.50 - $78/hr

Full-time

Posted yesterday

Job description

We are hiring a Founding iOS Engineer to become one of the first and most influential technical hires shaping the future of our mobile platform. This is a true 0→1 opportunity for someone who wants ownership, product influence, and the ability to define the architecture, standards, and long-term direction of a consumer-facing iOS application from the ground up. You will work closely with Product, Design, and Leadership to rebuild and scale the mobile experience while helping establish engineering culture, technical foundations, and future hiring standards.
Details
Location: New York City (Onsite)
Employment Type: Full-time
Level: Senior / Staff-level
Start Date: ASAP
Interview Process: Phone Screen → Technical Interview → Team Fit → Final Discussion
Key Responsibilities
Own the native iOS application end-to-end
Lead architecture decisions and establish engineering standards
Build scalable, maintainable, production-grade iOS systems
Drive migration and long-term native mobile strategy
Partner closely with Product and Design teams on feature development
Build critical user journeys including onboarding, search, booking, account management, and payments
Improve app performance, observability, analytics, and reliability
Implement testing strategies, CI/CD pipelines, and release processes
Shape APIs and collaborate with backend teams on mobile-first architecture
Participate in technical roadmap planning and future team growth
Help hire and mentor future mobile engineers as the team scales
Requirements
5+ years of professional iOS engineering experience
Strong expertise in Swift and modern iOS development
Experience building and shipping production iOS applications at scale
Strong understanding of mobile architecture patterns (MVVM, Clean Architecture, modularization)
Experience with SwiftUI and UIKit
Experience with networking, concurrency, offline-first patterns, and app performance optimization
Strong product mindset with ability to work closely with design/product stakeholders
Experience operating in startup or ambiguous fast-moving environments
Ability to take ownership without heavy process or management overhead
Strong communication and collaboration skills
Nice to Have
Experience as an early or founding engineer at a startup
Experience migrating applications from Flutter or React Native to native iOS
Experience with analytics, experimentation, and growth-focused mobile features
Background in marketplaces, fintech, travel, booking, or consumer platforms
CI/CD and mobile release automation experience
Experience mentoring engineers or leading small mobile teams
Why This Role
Foundational ownership over the entire mobile platform
High product and business impact
Direct collaboration with leadership and decision-makers
Opportunity to shape engineering culture from the beginning
Equity participation and long-term growth opportunity
Ability to influence product strategy, architecture, and hiring decisions

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