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Founding Engineer

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Summary

First engineer at an early-stage AI startup, building a foundational model from scratch using a novel architecture. Day-to-day is hands-on work across the full model-building pipeline — architecture, training, and reinforcement learning — on-site in San Jose.

About the Role

Join an early-stage AI startup as its first engineer, partnering closely with the founding team to build a foundational model from the ground up. This hands-on individual contributor role spans novel model architecture, training, and reinforcement learning.

What You'll Do

  • Contribute directly to the development of a foundational model using a novel architecture rather than fine-tuning existing models.

  • Work across the model-building pipeline, including architecture, training, and reinforcement learning.

  • Help establish the engineering foundations for an early-stage AI team.

What We're Looking For

  • A PhD and experience at a frontier AI lab.

  • Hands-on experience contributing as an individual engineer rather than primarily in a management role.

  • Experience spanning foundational model architecture, training, and reinforcement learning.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary up to $400,000, flexible for the right candidate, plus equity. Visa sponsorship details were not provided.

Location

On-site in San Jose, California.

Skills

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See also

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