Founding Engineer - Applied AI
Recruits Lab
San Francisco, CARemote$180,000 - $250,000 a year
Job Description
Founding Applied AI Engineer | Stealth Hardware Automation Startup
Location: San Francisco, CA (High preference for In-Person; Open to exceptional remote)
Compensation: $180,000 – $250,000 + 0.1% – 1% Equity
Experience: 2–6 Years (Open to exceptional new grads)
Visa Sponsorship: Available (H-1B, O-1, OPT)
The Mission
We are representing a venture-backed, early-stage startup that is redefining the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Hardware Engineering. While AI has transformed the digital world, the physical world—aerospace, automotive, and complex manufacturing—is still bogged down by manual compliance and legacy workflows.
Our client is building the core automation engine that allows AI agents to retrieve, interpret, and manipulate complex engineering design data (including CAD and geometric data). As a Founding Applied AI Engineer, you won't just be "prompt engineering"—you will be designing the foundational infrastructure for agents that operate in mission-critical environments.
The Impact You’ll Have
Architect Agent Workflows: Design and implement core infrastructure for hardware engineering agents, focusing on intelligent context management and novel indexing approaches.
Master Complex Data: Build systems capable of reasoning over intricate engineering designs and integrating with enterprise-grade tools.
Direct-to-Production: Move rapidly from prototype to production, collaborating directly with founders and global enterprise customers.
Shape the Culture: As one of the first technical hires, you will define the engineering standards, architectural decisions, and the future of the product.
What We’re Looking For
Technical Depth: Strong programming skills in Python and hands-on experience with ML libraries (PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain).
Agentic Expertise: Deep familiarity with LLM architectures and the latest trends in autonomous agent research.
Production Experience: A proven track record of building and scaling production-grade ML/AI systems or search/information retrieval engines.
High Agency: You thrive in ambiguity, move fast, and have the "hunger" to make a massive impact in a small, high-energy team.
Bonus Points For:
Experience with geometric data, CAD, or engineering-heavy industries.
A background in law, policy, or customer-facing product work.
Experience at top-tier AI labs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) or high-growth scale-ups (e.g., Databricks, Applied Intuition, Harvey).
Why Join?
Founding Member Status: High ownership, high equity, and a seat at the table for all major decisions.
Top-Tier Benefits: Full health insurance, unlimited PTO, and free daily lunch and dinner for the SF team.
Complex Problem Solving: Tackle one of the hardest remaining frontiers for AI: the physical engineering world.
Are you ready to build the brain behind the next generation of hardware?
[Apply Now / Message Me Directly]
Note: We are a staffing agency representing this client. All applications are confidential.
Location: San Francisco, CA (High preference for In-Person; Open to exceptional remote)
Compensation: $180,000 – $250,000 + 0.1% – 1% Equity
Experience: 2–6 Years (Open to exceptional new grads)
Visa Sponsorship: Available (H-1B, O-1, OPT)
The Mission
We are representing a venture-backed, early-stage startup that is redefining the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Hardware Engineering. While AI has transformed the digital world, the physical world—aerospace, automotive, and complex manufacturing—is still bogged down by manual compliance and legacy workflows.
Our client is building the core automation engine that allows AI agents to retrieve, interpret, and manipulate complex engineering design data (including CAD and geometric data). As a Founding Applied AI Engineer, you won't just be "prompt engineering"—you will be designing the foundational infrastructure for agents that operate in mission-critical environments.
The Impact You’ll Have
Architect Agent Workflows: Design and implement core infrastructure for hardware engineering agents, focusing on intelligent context management and novel indexing approaches.
Master Complex Data: Build systems capable of reasoning over intricate engineering designs and integrating with enterprise-grade tools.
Direct-to-Production: Move rapidly from prototype to production, collaborating directly with founders and global enterprise customers.
Shape the Culture: As one of the first technical hires, you will define the engineering standards, architectural decisions, and the future of the product.
What We’re Looking For
Technical Depth: Strong programming skills in Python and hands-on experience with ML libraries (PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain).
Agentic Expertise: Deep familiarity with LLM architectures and the latest trends in autonomous agent research.
Production Experience: A proven track record of building and scaling production-grade ML/AI systems or search/information retrieval engines.
High Agency: You thrive in ambiguity, move fast, and have the "hunger" to make a massive impact in a small, high-energy team.
Bonus Points For:
Experience with geometric data, CAD, or engineering-heavy industries.
A background in law, policy, or customer-facing product work.
Experience at top-tier AI labs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) or high-growth scale-ups (e.g., Databricks, Applied Intuition, Harvey).
Why Join?
Founding Member Status: High ownership, high equity, and a seat at the table for all major decisions.
Top-Tier Benefits: Full health insurance, unlimited PTO, and free daily lunch and dinner for the SF team.
Complex Problem Solving: Tackle one of the hardest remaining frontiers for AI: the physical engineering world.
Are you ready to build the brain behind the next generation of hardware?
[Apply Now / Message Me Directly]
Note: We are a staffing agency representing this client. All applications are confidential.