Founding ai engineer

You'll be Employee #3, working directly with us to build technology that will modernize the backbone of global commerce. This isn't incremental improvement—this is category creation.

The Technical Challenge:

• Design and implement transformer architectures specifically optimized for COBOL→Java/Python translation
• Build real-time code analysis engines processing millions of lines with sub-second latency
• Create enterprise-grade AI pipelines handling Fortune 100 codebases with zero tolerance for error
• Architect distributed systems supporting concurrent modernization of 50+ million line codebases

What We Demand (Non-Negotiable)

Technical Mastery:

• 8+ years building production AI/ML systems at scale (not research, not prototypes—systems handling real user traffic)
• Deep expertise in transformer architectures, fine-tuning, and custom model development
• Proven track record optimizing inference for enterprise workloads (sub-100ms response times)
• Systems engineering excellence: distributed computing, microservices, cloud-native architecture
• Battle-tested experience with PyTorch/TensorFlow, CUDA optimization, and model deployment

Founding DNA:

• 0→1 product builder: You've taken ideas from whiteboard to millions of users
• Technical leadership: You've hired and led engineering teams of 10+ engineers
• Ownership mentality: You think like an owner because you've been one

Enterprise Credibility:

• B2B product intuition: You've built products that CFOs and CTOs actually buy and deploy
• Performance obsession: You've optimized systems handling billions of transactions with 99.99% uptime

What Sets You Apart from 99.9% of Engineers

• You've shipped AI products that generated $10M+ in revenue
• You can debug transformer attention mechanisms as easily as you debug distributed systems
• You've led technical due diligence for VC firms or been the technical founder VCs bet on
• You speak both languages: You can explain neural architecture to PhD researchers and ROI to enterprise buyers
• You have pattern recognition from seeing multiple 0→1 journeys and know what actually scales

The Opportunity

Immediate Impact:

• Technical co-founder role with significant equity upside
• Direct partnership with CEO on product strategy and technical vision
• Ownership of entire AI engineering organization as we scale to 100+ engineers
• Platform architecture decisions that will define a multi-billion dollar market

Market Timing:

• Zero real competition in AI-powered COBOL modernization
• Massive tailwinds: Every enterprise needs this, regulatory pressure increasing, COBOL talent retiring

Financial Upside:

• Equity package designed for 10x+ returns based on current traction. (2% equity vesting in 4 years)
• Fast-track to CTO as we scale through Series B and beyond
• Life-changing wealth creation opportunity in a category we're defining

What We Offer Beyond Compensation

• Unlimited PTO (because we hire people who don't need to be managed)
• $5K annual learning budget for conferences, courses, and technical development
• Top-tier health/dental/vision with 100% company coverage
• Latest hardware: M3 MacBook Pro, multiple 4K monitors, whatever you need to be productive
• San Francisco office in SOMA with optional remote flexibility

The Interview Process (Designed for Busy Founders)

• 30-minute technical screen with our CEO (we respect your time)
• Technical deep-dive (4 hours): Architecture design + live coding + system design
• Product strategy session (2 hours): How would you scale our AI platform?
• Reference calls with previous co-founders/technical leaders you've worked with
• Final conversation about equity, role scope, and mutual fit

Apply Only If:

• You have concrete examples of AI systems you've built that handle enterprise workloads
• You can start within 30 days (we're moving fast and need someone who can too)
• You're excited about legacy modernization as a massive market opportunity, not just another AI application