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Founding Lead Engineer

Empathy Talent | San Mateo, California, United States | 2mo ago
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Original posting (closed) below
full-time | hybrid | lead
skills: backend infrastructure, ai agents, orchestration systems, real-time systems, distributed systems, ai/ml infrastructure, graph databases

Founding Staff Engineer

Location: San Mateo, CA (Hybrid)

Type: Full-Time

About the Company

We’re building an AI-native coordination layer for engineering teams — replacing manual status tracking and fragmented workflows with intelligent agents that operate in real time.

Our goal is simple: allow engineering teams to focus on building, while intelligent systems handle alignment, visibility, and execution flow.

We’re well-backed, early, and already working with large-scale organizations. Now we’re looking for a Founding Staff Engineer to help define the technical foundation of the company.

The Role

This is a foundational engineering role with meaningful ownership. You’ll partner closely with the founders to shape architecture, technical direction, and product evolution from the earliest stages.

This is a hybrid position based in San Mateo, CA, with in-person collaboration balanced with flexibility.

You will:

  • Architect and build core platform systems
  • Design scalable backend infrastructure and AI-driven workflows
  • Balance rapid iteration with long-term durability
  • Contribute to product direction and early customer feedback loops
  • Help establish engineering standards and culture

This role blends systems thinking, product instinct, and execution.

What We Value

We’re looking for someone who:

  • Has built and shipped complex systems in production
  • Thinks architecturally, not just tactically
  • Writes clean, maintainable, well-reasoned code
  • Is comfortable operating in ambiguity
  • Has strong product intuition and attention to detail
  • Takes ownership naturally

Experience in one or more of the following is particularly valuable:

  • AI agents or orchestration systems
  • Real-time or distributed systems
  • AI/ML infrastructure
  • Graph databases
  • Early-stage startup environments

Why This Role Is Different

  • Direct collaboration with founders
  • Significant architectural influence
  • Early equity and long-term upside
  • A product with real customer pull
  • The opportunity to define how AI supports modern engineering teams

We’re building deliberately and thoughtfully. If you’re someone who cares about craft, leverage, and long-term impact, this could be a meaningful next chapter.

Benefits

early equity · long-term upside
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