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Founding Engineer

San Francisco, California, United StatesOnsiteFull TimeEntry-level (exp-based)$100,000–$200,000 /yrPosted 2 months agoHidden Gem · YC Startup

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Role summary

We are seeking a Founding Engineer to build the data and evaluation infrastructure for frontier AI models. As an early hire in a YC-backed startup, you will have significant ownership, leading projects from inception to completion and making an immediate impact. The role requires strong computer science fundamentals, experience with production-grade backend/full-stack systems, and a deep understanding of scalability and system design. You must be able to handle ambiguous requirements, analyze tradeoffs, and own project execution end-to-end, balancing speed and reliability. Preferred qualifications include 1+ years of SWE experience, prior startup experience, and familiarity with applied AI research.

As a founding member of our engineering team, you’ll play a pivotal role in building the data and evaluation infrastructure that powers frontier models. Joining as one of our earliest hires, you’ll take on significant ownership - leading projects from start to finish and seeing direct and immediate impact of your work.

**Company Overview**

We're a YC-backed startup on a mission to bridge the gap between AI and the $5T knowledge work economy through cutting-edge data infrastructure and environments. We're a technical team with experience from Scale AI, Uber, and previously founding a successful AI company. We’re based in San Francisco, CA, and recently raised an oversubscribed seed round led by top-tier VCs.

**Required Qualifications**

* Strong technical / computer science fundamentals.
* Experience building production-grade backend / full-stack systems
* Deep understanding of scalability challenges and good system design.
* The ability to take ambiguous requirements, conduct research, analyze tradeoffs, and own project execution end-to-end, balancing speed vs reliability.
* Strong communication skills and a bias toward ownership

**Preferred Qualifications**

* 1+ years of experience as a SWE
* Prior experience at startups / high-growth companies
* Experience with applied AI / AI research - specifically in post-training / RL
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