Senior Software Engineer (Founding Engineer)
$200K – $225K + equity
Palo Alto, CA (onsite only)
Stealth-stage AI infrastructure startup
We’re a venture-backed startup in Silicon Valley building core AI infrastructure and tooling for the next generation of intelligent systems. Backed by leading investors from across the AI ecosystem, we’re solving hard technical problems from day one and moving quickly.
This is a hands-on engineering role with full-stack ownership, tight iteration cycles, and a focus on systems-level design and execution.
What You’ll Do
- Build and own backend systems end-to-end: APIs, workflows, infra, and monitoring
- Drive architectural design decisions for core services and production deployments
- Prototype and ship quickly in tight feedback loops
- Collaborate on product direction, technical priorities, and system evolution
What We’re Looking For
- 8–15 years of backend or full-stack experience
- Strong system design and distributed systems fundamentals
- Skilled in API development, observability, debugging, and infrastructure
- Bonus: experience with LLMs, retrieval systems, or modern AI tooling
- Based in SF Bay Area and excited to work onsite in Palo Alto
Tech Stack & Environment
- Python, Go, TypeScript
- AWS, Docker, Terraform
- Early-stage startup environment: high velocity, low bureaucracy, lots of ownership
About Us
We’re building in stealth with backing from top-tier Silicon Valley investors and AI leaders. If you want to work closely with a small technical team, move fast, and build real systems from scratch, we’d love to talk.
Partner with People In AI
We’re a specialist search firm working with top-tier talent and the most ambitious startups in AI. If you’re excited by the role but unsure if you check every box, reach out—we’ll help assess fit and give you insight beyond the job description.