Job Description

Job Title: Founding Engineer – Generative AI / ML Infrastructure
Location: San Francisco Bay Area (preferred hybrid/in-person) – remote considered for exceptional candidates
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $150,000 – $190,000 base + 0.5–2.0% equity (founder-level grants)

Company Overview

A stealth, venture-backed AI startup building large-scale generative AI systems for next-generation applications.
With early funding from top Silicon Valley investors, the company is positioned as a challenger in the AI model + infrastructure ecosystem.
Founded by researchers and engineers with deep AI and systems expertise, the focus is on enterprise-grade deployments with applications across
cybersecurity, infrastructure optimization, and applied NLP.

Role Overview

The Founding Engineer will be a 0→1 builder, responsible for designing core ML infrastructure, training/deploying large models,
and scaling early research into production systems. This role requires a generalist with both research pedigree and practical engineering skills.
The engineer will collaborate directly with the founding team, investors, and early customers while shaping company culture,
technical architecture, and product direction.

Core Responsibilities

- Build, train, and optimize LLMs and generative AI systems.
- Design scalable ML infrastructure for training and deployment.
- Collaborate on product-market fit and customer feedback loops.
- Contribute to research in AI safety, optimization, or domain-specific ML models.
- Ship production-ready code balancing speed, scale, and reliability.
- Participate in hiring and mentoring early technical hires.

Candidate Requirements

- Degree in Computer Science, AI, ML, or related field (BS/MS/PhD).
- 3–7 years professional experience in ML/AI engineering, infra, or applied research.
- Hands-on expertise in Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, distributed systems, CUDA.
- Track record of research publications, patents, or open-source contributions.
- Background in AI/infra scaling at top companies or labs.
- Ability to thrive in early-stage, ambiguous environments.
- Entrepreneurial and collaborative mindset.

Compensation & Perks

- Base Salary: $150K–$190K
- Equity: 0.5–2.0% founder-level grants (4-year vesting, 1-year cliff)
- Health, dental, vision coverage
- Flexible PTO / high autonomy culture
- Direct mentorship from founders and investors
- Opportunity to shape the technical DNA of a venture-backed AI startup