Founding Engineer / Engineering Lead
Summary
Founding engineer / engineering lead at an early-stage AI startup: you build the initial product yourself — agents that navigate external portals and securely handle identity, payment, and account data — then hire and lead a small team. Full ownership of stack, architecture, and tooling; hybrid in San Francisco.
About the company
Our client is an early-stage software company developing AI-assisted consumer workflows. Its first engineering hire will build secure products that interact with complex external systems.
The role
Raydar is recruiting for this opportunity through the Paraform network. The position is with our client. Own technical delivery as a Founding Engineer / Engineering Lead. You will build the initial product yourself and then help hire and lead a small engineering team.
What you'll do
- Build agents that navigate external portals, including login, MFA, and session management.
- Turn product research into working software for users.
- Design secure handling of sensitive identity, payment, and account data.
- Choose the stack, tooling, architecture, and build-versus-buy approach.
- Hire and lead the next engineering team members.
Requirements
What we're looking for
- 5 to 10 years of full-stack engineering experience.
- Ability to ship frontend, backend, and infrastructure independently.
- Founding, early-stage, or zero-to-one product experience.
- Experience building secure systems in regulated or high-stakes domains.
- A degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field.
- US work authorization or eligibility for an H-1B transfer.
Bonus points
- Production browser agents or automation experience.
- Experience mentoring, hiring, or leading small engineering teams.
Benefits
Compensation and benefits
- Base salary: USD 180,000 to 250,000 per year.
- Equity: Competitive equity.
- Cash and equity may be balanced based on candidate preferences.
Location and work model
- San Francisco, California, United States.
- Hybrid, with 3 to 4 days per week in the office.
- H-1B transfers are supported.
As published by workable · 3 questions
Basics
First name, Last name, Email, Headline, Phone, Address, Photo, Education, Experience, Summary, Resume, Cover letter
Short answers (1)
- Public LinkedIn profile URL (https://www.linkedin.com/in/...)
Pick from a list (2)
- Will you require work authorization of any kind?
- Are you able to work in San Francisco with 3 to 4 days per week in the office?