Founding Engineer

NewsNowGh; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 119,000 - GBP 165,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious AI startup in the UK is looking for a Founding Engineer to design and build their core intelligence platform. This role requires over 5 years of engineering experience, focusing on scalable systems and using technologies like TypeScript, Python, and Go. The position is hybrid, offering a competitive salary range of USD 160,000–220,000, equity, and U.S. visa support for international candidates. The successful candidate will have a significant ownership role and contribute to transforming processes for large organizations.

Benefits

Competitive equity

U.S. visa sponsorship

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional engineering experience at a senior level.
• Strong background in distributed systems, data engineering, or AI/ML.
• Practical experience with modern tech stacks and high code quality.

Responsibilities

• Design and build core platform systems end-to-end.
• Architect scalable data pipelines and model orchestration.
• Develop APIs, internal services, and supporting tooling.

Skills

Distributed systems

Data engineering

AI/ML systems

TypeScript

Python

Go

Postgres

React

Job description

A highly prestigious, venture-backed AI company in San Francisco is offering an exceptional opportunity for an experienced Founding Engineer to join its elite early-stage team in 2026. This role is designed for senior engineers who want true ownership, long-term impact, and the chance to build foundational systems from the ground up.

The company is developing advanced, enterprise-grade intelligent software that replaces slow, manual, human-heavy processes with autonomous, continuously operating systems. For qualified international candidates, U.S. visa sponsorship (including H-1B and O-1 pathways) is available on a case-by-case basis, making this a rare opportunity to combine top-tier compensation, equity, and U.S. relocation with meaningful technical leadership.

About the Role

As a Founding Engineer, you will play a central role in designing, building, and scaling the company’s core intelligence platform from zero to production. This is not a maintenance or incremental improvement role; it is true zero-to-one engineering.

You will make critical architectural decisions, write production software that directly enables customer deployments, and help define the engineering culture and standards of a company built for long-term impact. The position is hybrid in San Francisco, with three days per week in-office, and offers exceptional growth in scope, responsibility, and compensation as the company scales.

About the Hiring Firm

The hiring firm is a well-funded AI startup founded by proven operators with a strong track record of building and scaling complex, real-world systems. Backed by top-tier venture capital and operating in stealth mode, the company is assembling a small, high-caliber founding team focused on solving hard, high-consequence problems for large organizations. The culture emphasizes ownership, technical excellence, and long-term thinking, with strong experience in supporting international hires and employment-based U.S. visas.

Responsibilities

• Design and build core platform systems end-to-end, from data ingestion to production services
• Architect scalable data pipelines, model orchestration systems, and feedback loops
• Develop and maintain APIs, internal services, and supporting tooling
• Contribute to UI and workflow integrations where required
• Make and own major architectural decisions across the stack (TypeScript, Python, Go)
• Build systems that are robust, scalable, and maintainable for enterprise use
• Work closely with leadership to shape product direction and technical strategy
• Set the technical and cultural standards for the engineering organization as it grows
• Engage with early customers to deeply understand real-world problems and requirements

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional engineering experience, with senior-level scope and ownership
• Strong background in at least one of: distributed systems, data engineering, or AI/ML systems
• Practical experience with modern stacks such as TypeScript, Python, Go, Postgres, and React (or similar)
• Proven ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-moving environments without a fixed playbook
• High standards for code quality, performance, and long-term maintainability
• Experience in high-bar engineering environments (e.g., top-tier tech companies or equivalent)
• Strong sense of ownership, low ego, and comfort taking responsibility for critical systems

This is a rare opportunity to become a true founding engineer in a world-class AI company, with a base salary of USD 160,000–220,000, competitive equity, and U.S. visa sponsorship support for exceptional international candidates. If you are seeking meaningful ownership, long-term impact, and the chance to build technology that transforms how large organizations operate, this role offers an outstanding pathway to both professional growth and U.S.-based career advancement.