Founding engineer

About Bota

Bota builds AI hardware products that bring real-world context into AI and agentic workflows. We are backed by top-tier institutional investors and angels, including Andreessen Horowitz. Our cofounders are repeat founders who previously built and exited a Y Combinator-backed startup together. We believe the quality of AI is fundamentally limited by the quality of the context it has access to. Today, much of the most valuable real-world context — conversations, environments, interactions, and events happening outside the screen — is still missing from AI systems. Bota is building the hardware layer that captures and brings this critical real-world context into AI and agentic workflows, enabling AI to understand more of what is happening in the physical world and act on it.

Role: Founding Engineer (Full Stack)

We’re seeking a hands-on founding engineer who can design, build, and ship core components of our platform. You’ll wear many hats, from architecture and implementation to debugging and optimizing, with a focus on delivering delightful, robust software.

What you'll do

• Architect and implement the core full-stack product, from backend services to frontend interfaces
• Own and drive end-to-end technical decisions, including technology stack, coding standards, testing strategies, and deployment pipelines
• Build maintainable, scalable APIs and data models; ensure performance, reliability, and security
• Collaborate with product, design, and early customers to translate ideas into practical, high-impact features
• Establish development processes, CI/CD, and instrumentation to enable rapid, quality software delivery
• Mentor and collaborate with future engineers as the team grows
• Continuously improve the system with refactors, performance optimizations, and technical debt management
• Participate in shaping company culture, recruitment, and long-term technology strategy

What you should bring

• Proven full-stack development experience with end-to-end ownership of products or components
• Strong backend experience (e.g., API design, databases, scalability, security) and a solid frontend skillset (modern frameworks, responsive UI, accessibility)
• Proficiency in at least one modern language for the backend (e.g., Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby) and one for the frontend (e.g., React, Vue, Svelte)
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, containerization, and deployment (e.g., AWS/GCP/Azure, Docker, Kubernetes)
• Experience building and operating at startup scale: shipping quickly, iterating based on feedback, and handling ambiguity
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills
• A founder mindset: high ownership, bias for action, and comfort in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Nice-to-have

• Prior startup or early-stage company experience
• Experience with data modeling, analytics, and experimentation
• Contributions to open source or side projects demonstrating initiative
• Knowledge of security best practices and observability tools

Role benefits and team culture

• High-impact, foundational role with significant influence over product and company direction
• Equity in a transparent, mission-driven startup
• Flexible work environment with a strong emphasis on work-life balance
• Opportunities for professional growth, mentorship, and leadership as the team scales
• Collaborative, inclusive culture that values curiosity, experimentation, and ownership

Location and time

• Location flexible; possibility of remote work with occasional in-person collaboration
• Competitive compensation aligned with experience and market norms
• Flexible hours with a results-oriented approach

What success looks like after 90 days

• A well-architected core stack with key features implemented and a clear plan for next phases
• A runnable, well-tested codebase with CI/CD pipelines and basic telemetry
• Early adopters engaged, feedback integrated into the roadmap, and a visible contribution to product direction
• A collaborative, growing engineering team and a startup-ready engineering culture

If you’re excited to build a foundational platform and shape the future of Bota, we’d love to hear from you.