Founding Engineer
At a glance
Mid-level Software Engineering role at Clera. San Francisco · full-time · $150,000–$220,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build APIs, LLM workflows, scraping systems and knowledge graphs that underpin the platform
- Keep production systems reliable and efficient as they handle millions of API requests across cloud and Linux environments
- Take projects from loosely defined problems through launch, then improve them based on what you learn
- Work with the CEO and CTO on technical choices, roadmap priorities and foundational architecture
- Create developer guides, tutorials, internal tools and experiments that exercise the APIs
What you bring
- At least two years in full-stack or backend software engineering, with strong computer science fundamentals
- You work proficiently in JavaScript and TypeScript and have experience with agents, LLMs or web scraping
- You have operated Linux servers in production and shipped software serving a large user base
- You have built complete products from start to finish, rather than only delivering isolated features
Who this fits
This suits an engineer comfortable taking ownership from unclear starting points through production, and working closely with company founders on technical direction. You must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship. The role is on-site in San Francisco five days a week, and relocation is required.
From the employer
About the Role
A seed-funded B2B SaaS startup in the people-data and AI agents space is looking for a high-agency Founding Engineer to build core agent infrastructure and help scale the platform toward a Series A milestone. You'll work directly with the founding team — including the CEO and CTO — owning critical systems that power a people-data and agent platform used by developers and enterprises alike. This is a rare opportunity to shape technical strategy from the ground up at a fast-growing, well-backed startup.
What You'll Do
Design, build, and operate core infrastructure including APIs, LLM-powered workflows, web scraping systems, and large-scale knowledge graph architecture.
Architect and maintain production-grade systems capable of handling millions of API requests, with a strong focus on performance, cost efficiency, and reliability across cloud and Linux server environments.
Own projects end-to-end — from ambiguous problem definition through deployment and iteration — shipping quickly without sacrificing system integrity.
Collaborate directly with the CEO and CTO on technical decisions, roadmap priorities, and foundational architectural choices that define long-term direction.
Contribute broadly across the stack, including developer documentation, technical tutorials, internal tooling, and experimental builds that showcase and stress-test APIs.
What We're Looking For
Required:
2+ years of experience in full-stack or backend software engineering.
Proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript.
Experience with agent orchestration, LLMs, or web scraping.
Experience working with Linux servers in a production environment.
Proven track record of shipping code to production supporting a large user base.
Experience building entire products end-to-end, not just isolated features.
Strong computer science fundamentals.
Must be authorized to work in the United States — visa sponsorship is not available.
Must be available to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days per week; relocation is required.
Nice to Have:
Previous experience as a founder or early-stage engineer at a startup.
Familiarity with distributed systems, microservices, data pipelines, or cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP).
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: $150,000 – $220,000 USD annually, depending on experience.
Equity participation as a founding team member.
Location
San Francisco, CA — fully on-site, 5 days per week.
Relocation to San Francisco is required for this role.
No visa sponsorship available; must be authorized to work in the United States.
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