Founding Engineer (AI/ML)
$130k - $170kFull-time
Clera
About the Role
This is a founding-level AI/ML engineering role at an early-stage AI-powered recruiting marketplace, where you'll own the intelligence layer that connects top talent with the right opportunities. You'll work directly alongside the founding team to build and ship recommendation systems, ranking algorithms, and LLM-powered matching — technology that sits at the core of the product.
What You'll Do
Build and own the AI/ML intelligence layer, including recommendation systems and ranking algorithms.
Develop LLM-powered candidate-role matching features and ship them to production.
Architect and maintain production-grade data pipelines and backend services integrated across the stack.
Collaborate cross-functionally to translate product goals into production-ready features.
Deliver end-to-end features with full ownership on a rapid, daily shipping cadence.
What We're Looking For
3+ years of experience building and shipping end-to-end product features in production environments.
Demonstrated proficiency with LLM APIs and experience building LLM-powered features in production.
Experience building recommendation systems, ranking algorithms, or ML-powered matching systems.
Strong proficiency with TypeScript and React in production applications.
Hands-on experience with Supabase, Prisma, and database design in production systems.
Familiarity with Typesense or similar search and ranking infrastructure.
Experience with trigger.dev or comparable workflow automation tooling in production.
Comfortable operating in fast-paced, entrepreneurial startup environments with rapid iteration cycles.
Strong CS fundamentals; exceptional technical achievement (e.g., notable open-source contributions or standout personal projects) is a plus.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary range: $130,000 – $170,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is available.
Location
Hybrid — primary location is San Francisco, California . The team works together in-person in SF, and candidates should be open to a collaborative, in-person working environment.
Vacancy posted 1 day ago
Similar jobs that could be interesting for youBased on the Founding Engineer (AI/ML) in San Francisco, CA vacancy
$285k - $315k
...Francisco Tensor Company is looking for a Founding GPU Compiler Engineer to be instrumental in building the core compilation infrastructure for AI workloads. This role involves designing... ...efficiency and collaborate closely with ML researchers. The position is located in...Suggested- A leading AI infrastructure firm based in San Francisco is looking for engineers to join their founding core team. You will work directly with the founders to develop AI models that optimize network operations and anticipate failures. This unique position offers the opportunity...Suggested
$120k - $180k
...Job Description Job Description About the Role This is a founding engineering role on the intelligence layer of an early-stage construction-tech AI startup. You'll work on computer vision and ML systems that parse construction blueprints and automate material takeoffs...SuggestedRelocation$230k - $346k
...March 2025) Day to Day As Distinguished Engineer, AI at Indeed, you will be instrumental in... .... Drive the evolution of Indeed's ML platforms, including its shared fact/feature... ...addition to our site's user and privacy policy found at , we also want to make you aware of...SuggestedWork experience placementLocal areaIndeed
San Francisco, CA4 days ago- An early-stage AI startup in San Francisco is seeking a Founding Engineer to help architect and build their platform from scratch. This role offers a unique opportunity for real ownership and responsibility, including founder-level equity. Ideal candidates should be experienced...Suggested
- Luminal (YC S25) is building an AI compiler to accelerate model deployment. This is a founding engineer role in downtown San Francisco, full-time on-site. You will help design the core compiler, write CUDA kernels, and drive performance improvements for production AI models...Full time
$250k - $400k
davidjoseph-co is seeking a Founding Engineer in San Francisco. You will build systems delivering accurate root-cause analysis for clients and tackle complex AI problems while having a significant impact on the company's direction from day one. With a competitive salary...- San Francisco Tensor Company is seeking a Founding GPU Kernel Engineer to enhance GPU performance for AI applications. You will optimize and write kernels while collaborating with compiler teams to improve efficiencies across architectures. The ideal candidate has deep...Work at officeRelocation package
$170k - $220k
A leading ad-tech company in San Francisco is on the lookout for a founding engineer to design their ad delivery engine within AI experiences. The role guarantees high equity with competitive compensation ranging from $170K to $220K. Candidates should have a strong background...- Founding Engineer, Applied Research About Backbone Care should be paid for the moment it’s delivered... ...the first time by building the clinical AI layer for healthcare payments. Today, U.... ...BS/MS in Math & CS from Stanford and led ML infrastructure at Sequoia-backed Kumo AI,...Internship
- Luminal is hiring a Founding Compiler Engineer for an on-site role in downtown San Francisco. You will help shape the core compiler, implement CUDA kernels, and review model performance to accelerate AI pipelines. As a founding team member, you will contribute to production...
$350k
...Alleviate Health we’re building AI Agents that drastically... ...now). Training a proprietary ML model that matches detailed patient... ...across all channels. Reverse engineering legacy healthcare systems that... ...We’re looking for exceptional founding engineers to help us realize this...Contract workNight shift$100k
...Autostep measures outcomes from human and AI work, identifies what companies should... ...have real customer pull. We’re hiring two founding engineers to help turn that pull into exceptional,... ...you’ll do Build and improve our data + ML pipeline across accuracy, context, speed...- Get Hired. Work From Anywhere. in San Francisco is seeking a founding engineer to join an AI-native platform. You will ship production features weekly, collaborate directly with the founders, and influence the product from day one. You will own core product surfaces, the...
$120k - $140k
We’re looking for OpenFunnel’s Founding Full Stack Engineer (with AI) You’ll work directly with extremely technical founders, be close to customers, ship fast, and make high-impact technical decisions that shape the future of the product and company. You’ll be given full...Full timeWork at office- Founding Engineer - Early-Stage AI Startup San Francisco, CA (In-Person Only) Full-Time | Equity + Cash | Early-Stage Stealth Startup About the Role I’m building Xuman.AI, an early‑stage platform in San Francisco rethinking how humans access and engage with essential...Full time
- Backbone is building the clinical AI layer for healthcare payments. We’re solving applied research problems in clinical intelligence... ...to support instant, defensible decisions in production. As a Founding Engineer, Applied Research in San Francisco, you’ll turn ambiguous...Remote work
- ...We’re a stealth startup building AI hardware for complex manufacturers. At the intersection... ..., and industrial manufacturers. Engineering Agent Workflows Design and implement core... ..., and post-training Build agents and ML models that can interpret, reason over, and...Permanent employmentH1bRemote workRelocationVisa sponsorship
- ...newly funded startup building AI-native solutions for the wealth... ...and are assembling a founding team of ambitious operators and... ...We are looking for a Founding Engineer & CTO to be the technical cornerstone... ...Build and ship production AI/ML systems, including Gen AI features...Flexible hours
$150k - $240k
10x Science, based in San Francisco, is looking for a founding engineer to contribute to a high-performance computing platform for AI-powered drug discovery. You'll join a small team and work directly with the founders, taking on significant responsibilities from day one...- NovusMinds, a Bay Area startup building AI-native wealth-management solutions, seeks a Founding Engineer & CTO to be the technical cornerstone of the company. You will write code, design systems, and build the team from day one, translating product vision into scalable...
- Retell AI is hiring a Founding Sales Engineer to help enterprise customers successfully adopt Voice AI from the first technical conversation through production deployment. You'll partner with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Retell's founders to design enterprise Voice...
$130k - $200k
Join us to apply for the Founding Engineer (Systems + ML) role at Partcl . Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features. This range is provided by Partcl. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more...Full time- Moritz, an AI-native law firm backed by YC, is hiring a Founding Engineer in San Francisco. You will join as a hands-on leader responsible for product building, scaling the team, and shaping engineering processes from day one. You will ship critical features, own delivery...
- Pax Historia in San Francisco seeks a founding engineer to help shape the future of interactive entertainment. You’ll craft AI-driven workflows powering worldbuilders, storytellers, and game devs to create and publish speculative scenarios. This hands-on role from day...Visa sponsorship
- Berkley Hunt is seeking a Founding Engineer to join as one of the earliest technical hires, building an AI-powered product end-to-end from the ground up. This on-site role in San Francisco offers an opportunity to shape the product with the founders and a lean team. You...
$148.5k - $223.9k
...SalesforceSalesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents... ...every aspect of our software engineering. While AI is writing the code,... ...product managers, engineers, AI/ML engineers, and data scientists... ...about company benefits can be found at the following link: to the...Full time- Physical AI in San Francisco is building models and tooling to accelerate hardware design. The founding engineering team will own core architecture and productionize physics-informed models on real boards. You will shape the tech stack, integrate with engineers' tools,...Visa sponsorship
- Hivemind is building a social AI that talks to many people at once, with one-on-one conversations. We are seeking founding members of technical staff to co-own the foundation from day zero and shape the team as it grows. You will define technical standards, build core...
$216k - $270k
About Scale AIScale AI is the data foundation for AI, helping organizations build and deploy... ...world problems remains one of the hardest engineering challenges.As a Senior Frontier Agent... ...and enterprise software.Unlike traditional ML roles that focus on a single model or...Full time
Do you want to receive more vacancies?
Subscribe and receive similar vacancies to Founding Engineer (AI/ML). Be the first to apply!
Related searches
- internship machine learning San Francisco, CA
- machine learning scientist San Francisco, CA
- machine learning research scientist San Francisco, CA
- data engineer machine learning San Francisco, CA
- machine learning part time San Francisco, CA
- artificial intelligence - machine learning intern San Francisco, CA
- machine learning San Francisco, CA
- machine learning remote San Francisco, CA
- machine learning intern San Francisco, CA
- intern - quantum machine learning for quantum computing San Francisco, CA