LegalCare — Founding Engineer

LegalCare — Founding Engineer Type: Full-time | On-site | San Francisco, CA Compensation: $250,000 + 10% equity Hiring count: 1 Visa sponsorship: None available Reports to: Founder (currently the only full-time person in the business) About LegalCare LegalCare is building the first primary care-style law firm — an AI-native team of attorneys spanning 16 practice areas (family, employment, personal injury, immigration, and more) whose only job is to meet one-on-one with people seeking a lawyer, diagnose exactly what they need, and triage them to the right outside firm or nonprofit. Advice sessions are free to consumers; the firm earns revenue by sharing in the fees partner firms generate from referred clients (15-35% depending on practice area), a structure only available because LegalCare is itself a law firm under attorney ethical rules. Distribution runs through a free AI intake receptionist — a conversational voice agent plus an embeddable web form — that LegalCare gives to other firms. When a caller's needs fall outside what that firm offers (10-20% of calls) and the caller consents, the caller is transferred to LegalCare in real time. Founded: 2026 | Team size: 1-10 (bootstrapped) | Total funding: Bootstrapped Industry: Legal Tech Website: legalcare.com Office: San Francisco, CA Traction: Founded by a former startup and venture-capital attorney. 16 practitioners have already signed on across practice areas, the first version of the intake receptionist is built and working, and early partner-firm outreach is converting at a 15-20% reply rate. Why Candidates Should Join First engineering hire, founding seat: 10% equity and full ownership of the core product, reporting directly to the Founder. A working model with real traction: 16 practitioners already signed, a live intake prototype, and referral economics that only a law firm can legally run. End-to-end scope: own the voice AI receptionist, the referral platform, and forward-deployed installation at partner firms — product, infrastructure, and direct customer contact in one seat. Intake Call Summary Not provided on the role page. An intake video is present but not transcribed; no written intake summary or screening questions were included. The Role The company's first engineering hire, tasked with taking the founder-built voice AI intake receptionist from working prototype to production-grade system, owning the referral platform, and personally deploying the product into partner firms. What You'll Be Doing Take the conversational voice AI intake receptionist end-to-end from prototype to production-grade reliability across live client calls and the embedded web form Own privacy and security hardening for sensitive client interactions, plus the infrastructure for handling client funds Build and own the referral platform connecting partner firms, LegalCare attorneys, and referred clients Install and integrate the intake receptionist at each partner firm, including their existing phone systems and IVR configurations (primarily remote, with occasional on-site work for the largest firms) Build additional product workflows beyond initial qualification, iterating directly against feedback from firms in the network Tech stack: Not specified on the role page. Requirements 4+ years engineering Applied AI background Voice AI or telephony exposure Production reliability and security ownership SF Bay Area, 4+ days in person Visa: are you authorized to work in the US, and would you require new sponsorship or a transfer? Green Flags Applied AI engineer from a recognized company with real production ownership rather than prototype-only work Adjacent domain experience in voice AI, healthcare AI intake and triage, or legal AI At least two years of tenure at a single company Comfortable operating as a forward-deployed engineer with direct contact with partner firms and their technical setups Coming out of a company that has wound down or an environment with limited upside, and actively looking for a high-ownership founding seat Red Flags Pattern of leaving companies before the one year to eighteen month mark Serial founder pattern where prior ventures were paused halfway through rather than seen to a conclusion Seeking remote or fully hybrid work; the role requires at least 4 days per week in office Prototype-only background with no track record of hardening systems for sensitive, real-time production use Unwilling to do client-facing installation, integration, and support work at partner firms Role Details Salary — $250,000 Equity — 10% On-site policy — In office at least 4 days/week; expect to work beyond a standard 9-5 Visa sponsorship — None available Employment type — Full-time Location — San Francisco, CA (or willing to relocate; relocation support for the right candidate) Screening Questions Not provided on the role page. Interview Process Stage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — Intro Call — Intro conversation with the Founder. Stage 3 — Second Round — Follow-up over coffee, lunch, or dinner with the Founder. Stage 4 — Work-Trial — Two to three working sessions building toward a defined goal, run on the candidate's own machine so there are no IP questions, ideally scheduled close together. Stage 5 — Offer Extended Stage 6 — Hired — Candidate accepts and starts. Ideal Companies & Backgrounds Not provided on the role page. Ideal Candidate Profiles Not provided on the role page. Rejected Candidate Feedback None yet. Benefits & Perks $250,000 base salary plus 10% equity Free lunch Relocation support for the right candidate