Founding Engineer (AI/ML)

About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a pre-seed AI recruiting marketplace, where you will own the intelligence layer end to end: the recommendation systems, ranking algorithms, and LLM-powered matching that connect candidates to roles. It sits at the absolute core of the product and is yours to architect, build, and ship. What You'll Do Own the full AI/ML intelligence layer, covering recommendation, ranking, and retrieval. Build and iterate on LLM-powered matching to measurably improve candidate-role alignment. Take features from problem definition to production on a daily shipping cadence. Architect and maintain the production data pipelines and services that run the models. Work directly with the founding team to translate product goals into shipped systems. What We're Looking For 2 to 5 years of production software engineering experience, with genuine applied ML depth, meaning models shipped to real users, not just notebooks. Hands-on experience building recommender systems, ranking algorithms, or ML-powered matching in production. This is the most important requirement. Strong proficiency in TypeScript or Python; either is sufficient on its own. Production experience with LLM APIs and shipping LLM-powered features. Experience building and maintaining production data pipelines and services. Strong CS fundamentals and a track record of thriving in fast-paced, unstructured startup environments. Something outstanding: strong open-source contributions, notable personal projects, or a rigorous CS background. Nice to have: React, Supabase, Prisma, Typesense, trigger.dev, embeddings, and vector search experience. Must hold existing U.S. work authorization or be eligible for available sponsorship routes. Compensation & Benefits Salary: $130,000 to $170,000 annually, plus competitive founding-hire equity. Visa sponsorship is available for eligible candidates. Location On-site in San Francisco, California, 6 days per week. Relocation assistance is available for candidates outside the Bay Area.