Founding Engineer - Applied AI

We’re a stealth startup building AI hardware for complex manufacturers. At the intersection of AI, hardware development, and policy, we accelerate innovation and safety in the physical world. This company partners with some of the world's most iconic automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturers. Our Culture We are intentional with our time. We work hard on meaningful problems and protect our personal time, because working together is a privilege. We care deeply about our people, our customers, our product, and our craft. Success is defined by our customers' success and our team's professional growth. We want you to thrive, physically, mentally, and professionally, while solving some of the most meaningful and complex problems in the physical world. About the Role We’re hiring a world‑class Applied AI Engineer to build the core systems behind our automation engine for hardware engineering. You will design, implement, and post‑train AI agents that power critical product development workflows for global enterprise customers, working on novel AI systems that retrieve, interpret, and manipulate complex engineering design data, integrating deeply into real‑world engineering environments. This is a deeply technical, high‑impact role. You will be among the first technical hires and will own mission‑critical systems end‑to‑end. The problems are ambiguous, the constraints are real, and the expectations are high. If you move fast from idea to production, care deeply about customer experience, and want to build foundational AI infrastructure for the world's most impactful industries, this role is for you. Key Responsibilities Design and implement core workflows and infrastructure for hardware engineering agents, including intelligent context management, novel indexing approaches, and post‑training. Build agents and ML models that can interpret, reason over, and manipulate complex engineering design data, integrating with enterprise‑grade engineering tools and systems. Work closely with customers and the engineering team to deliver AI‑powered workflows that are reliable, intuitive, and trusted in production environments. Prototype rapidly, validate ideas with real users, and ship frequently. Influence engineering culture, architecture decisions, and the future of the product. Requirements Must‑Have Bachelor's or higher in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or equivalent experience. Strong familiarity with LLM architectures and agent research trends. Excellent programming skills with experience using ML libraries such as PyTorch, Hugging Face, and W&B. Experience building production ML or AI systems. Solid practical experience with search and information retrieval. Moves fast from idea to production, with a genuine care for customer experience. Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco, or an exceptional remote candidate. Nice‑to‑Have 2+ years in applied machine learning, backend engineering, or AI infrastructure. Experience working with machine learning over geometric data, including CAD. Track record of high‑impact contributions or published papers at top‑tier AI labs or teams. Benefits & Perks Unlimited PTO. Full health insurance. Free lunch and dinner. Company equipment provided. VISA SPONSORSHIP (H‑1B, O‑1, OPT). #J-18808-Ljbffr