Clera

Founding Engineer

  • LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
  • Listed19/10/2026
  • SalaryUS$160–200k/yr
  • FieldSoftware engineering

Average of 11 Founding Engineer jobs in the United States we read: US$14,398/mo · updated October 22. A market reference, not this job's salary.

About the job

ABOUT THE ROLE

Join an early engineering team building AI software for industrial ingredient manufacturers. Working closely with the founders, you will help shape the product and build systems that turn messy business documents into useful workflows.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

  • Build backend services that ingest and process documents from customer systems and inboxes.
  • Develop AI agents that complete complex compliance and food safety documents.
  • Own features end to end, from backend services and data models through to the user interface.
  • Ship quickly, learn from customer feedback, and adapt priorities as the company grows.
  • Contribute across product engineering, infrastructure, and application development as needed.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

  • Experience may range from 1 to 10+ years; demonstrated ability to ship products or major features used by real customers matters more than a specific career path.
  • Prior founding engineer, founder, or early engineering hire experience at a startup is strongly valued.
  • Strong full-stack skills, including backend systems, frontend development, and relational database design.
  • Experience building production AI or LLM products, agents, retrieval systems, or automation is a plus.
  • Relevant technologies include Kotlin, Spring Boot, React, Next.js, Postgres, GCP, and commercial LLM providers. Strong engineers with other stacks should be comfortable learning Kotlin.
  • Experience processing PDFs, unstructured data, or workflows in manufacturing, supply chain, or other traditional industries is helpful.
  • A track record of increasing ownership and delivering practical solutions in fast-moving environments.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Base salary is $160,000 to $200,000 annually, plus 0.5% to 2% equity. Visa sponsorship is not available.

LOCATION

On-site in San Francisco, California. Candidates should be based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate.

Job details

Company
Clera
Work model
On-site
Contract
Full time
Posted
18 October 2026
Advert site
jobs.ashbyhq.com

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