Founding Software Engineer

New York City

$150,000 - $220,000

Sponsorship is not available at this time

About the Company

Our client is a YC-backed, pre-seed AI startup building a product-led platform from the ground up. The team is small, technical, and deeply focused on shipping. They’re at the earliest stage, where product, engineering, and company foundations are being defined in real time, and they’re looking for builders who want to be part of that journey.

About the Role

This is a true founding engineer role. You’ll work directly with the founders to design, build, and ship the core AI product from day one. The scope is broad and the ownership is real, from early architecture decisions through to features running in production.

This role is best suited to someone who has been in early-stage environments before, enjoys being in the office full-time, and is motivated by equity and long-term upside rather than short-term comfort.

What You’ll Do

1. Build and ship core product features end-to-end
2. Make foundational architectural and technical decisions
3. Work closely with founders on product direction and execution
4. Move quickly from idea to production, iterating based on user feedback
5. Own systems in production and improve them continuously
6. Help shape engineering standards and company culture as the team grows

Requirements

1. 1+ years of professional software engineering experience
2. Computer Science degree or equivalent technical background
3. Prior startup or early-stage experience
4. Strong software engineering fundamentals across the stack
5. Comfortable operating with ambiguity and minimal structure
6. Willingness to work in the office full-time
7. Motivated by ownership, responsibility, and equity

Why Join

1. Join a YC-backed AI company at the very beginning
2. Build alongside founders and influence product and company direction
3. High-impact role with real ownership and accountability
4. Meaningful equity in a company being built from zero
5. A fast-moving, builder-first environment

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