San Francisco, CA (Hybrid) Full-time
Our client is a highly prestigious, well-funded AI startup built by proven operators with a track record of scaling complex systems and real businesses. The company is attacking problems most organizations avoid—because they are hard, ambiguous, and consequential.
This is not incremental software. This is foundational work.
Backed by top-tier venture capital and operating in stealth, the company is assembling a small, elite founding team to build systems that replace slow, manual, human-heavy processes with intelligent, autonomous software that operates continuously at enterprise scale.
The ambition is simple and uncompromising: build software that materially changes how large organizations operate.
This is a Founding Engineer role in the truest sense.
You will help design and build the company’s core intelligence platform from zero to production. You will make architectural decisions that matter. You will write software that ships. You will shape how engineering is done here.
If you are looking for comfort, stability, or clearly defined problems—this role is not for you.
If you want ownership, leverage, and the chance to work on systems that actually matter—keep reading.
Early hires directly unlock customer deployments and revenue.
Design and build core systems end-to-end:
Data ingestion and pipelines
Model orchestration and feedback loops
APIs, services, and internal tooling
UI and workflow integrations where needed
Own architectural decisions across the stack (TypeScript, Python, Go)
Build systems that are scalable, durable, and evolvable—not demos
Work closely with leadership to define product direction and technical trade-offs
Set the technical and cultural bar for engineering as the company scales
Engage with early customers when useful to deeply understand real problems
5–15 years of professional experience, with 5+ years in an engineering role
Operated at senior scope in demanding environments
Held a senior title at a company with a real hiring bar (e.g., FAANG, Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalent)
Experienced across multiple parts of the stack
Comfortable operating without a playbook
Calm under ambiguity, decisive under pressure
Low ego, high standards, strong sense of ownership
Deep strength in at least one of:
Distributed systems
Data engineering / data pipelines
AI / ML systems
Strong working fluency in modern stacks:
TypeScript
Python
Go
Postgres
React or similar frontend frameworks
Able to critically evaluate, guide, and improve AI-assisted code generation
You care about correctness, performance, and long-term maintainability
Background from a top Computer Science program is a plus
(e.g., MIT, Stanford, CMU, UC Berkeley, Caltech, Harvard, University of Washington, Georgia Tech, Cornell)
Exceptional engineers without this background are absolutely encouraged to apply
You optimize for titles over impact
You need constant structure and direction
You bring ego instead of curiosity
You avoid ownership or accountability
You have a pattern of short stints without clear reasoning
Base Salary: $160,000 – $220,000 (flexible for exceptional candidates)
Equity: Competitive founding-level ownership
Rapid growth in scope and compensation as the company scales and delivers
Hybrid role based in San Francisco
Expectation of 3 days per week in-office
Fully remote may be considered only to secure truly exceptional talent and would require a deliberate shift to a fully remote culture
Visa sponsorship available on a case-by-case basis
The company has deep experience supporting employment-based visas
Strong commitment to ensuring sponsored candidates are never placed in risky situations
Support may include H1B → O1 transitions or facilitated portfolio transfers
Hiring 2–5 founding engineers
The bar is intentionally high
Quality and ownership matter more than speed
Initial screen
Technical interview(s)
System design and coding evaluation
Final culture and values interview
TopTech Talent is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
🚫 Third-party recruiters, please do not reach out for this role.
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