Founding Engineer

Founding Engineer – Full Stack (AI x Developer Tools) Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid – 4 days/week in person) Compensation: $130,000 – $200,000 base Equity: 0.10% – 1.75% Work Authorization: Open to visa sponsorship in exceptional cases Type: Full-time Start Date: ASAP Why This Role is Different One of the top-performing recent startups from a leading accelerator batch Massive open-source traction and organic developer adoption Design-obsessed, high-velocity founding team with deep product intuition Real equity upside, with strong early attention from strategic partners and acquirers An opportunity to help define the product, culture, and architecture from day one About the Role We’re looking for a Founding Full-Stack Engineer to help build the foundation of a next-generation visual IDE that merges development, design, and AI workflows. This is a high-autonomy role with full ownership of core product systems—ideal for engineers who want to shape the direction of a design-first, open-source developer tools company. You’ll work closely with the founders to craft high-fidelity interfaces and performance-sensitive backend systems for cloud-native application building. What You’ll Do Design and implement key product features across the frontend and backend Build DOM-based visual editing experiences with pixel-level polish Integrate AI models into real-time creative workflows Own infrastructure decisions for cloud execution, performance, and reliability Set engineering standards and culture as a true founding contributor Ideal Candidate Profile 4+ years of software engineering experience with strong end-to-end product ownership Startup experience, with exposure to fast-paced, zero-to-one environments Excellent frontend skills (React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS) with a product mindset Experience with backend systems using Node and cloud execution frameworks Familiarity with AI tooling, LLM integrations, or model fine-tuning (a strong plus) Strong GitHub or portfolio with open-source or personal projects Traits That Stand Out High agency: can operate autonomously and move quickly Intensity and care: you work with urgency and high attention to detail Design empathy: you care about UX and product quality deeply Opinionated with experience: you’ve made hard architecture calls and lived with the results Builder DNA: you’ve shipped tools, not just written specs Traits to Avoid Repeated short tenures without clear justification Low energy, low ownership attitude Inflated resumes without demonstrated depth Weak communication or lack of feedback fluency This is more than a job—it’s a chance to build a flagship devtools product with the potential to redefine how designers and engineers collaborate. If you want to help shape the next generation of human–computer creativity, we’d love to meet you. #J-18808-Ljbffr Amadeus Search