San Francisco, CA · On-site (SF strongly preferred; open to exceptional remote) · Full-timeCompensation: $180,000–$250,000 + 0.1%–1% equity
About the Company
Our client is a stealth-stage startup building AI for hardware engineering at complex manufacturers — automating engineering compliance and accelerating innovation at the intersection of AI, hardware, software, law, and policy. It partners with some of the world's most iconic automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturers and is backed by top-tier venture firms. The founding team spans AI, advanced engineering, and policy, including leaders drawn from top industry and government.
Industry: AI / Advanced manufacturing
The Role
The client is hiring a Founding Applied AI Engineer to build the core systems behind its automation engine for hardware engineering — designing, implementing, and post-training AI agents that power critical product-development workflows for global enterprise customers. It's a deeply technical, high-impact role; you'll be among the first technical hires and will own mission-critical systems end to end.
Tech stack: Python, PyTorch, Hugging Face, W&B.
Requirements
- 2–6 years of experience (open to exceptional new grads)
- Strong Python and ML-library experience (PyTorch, Hugging Face, W&B)
- Experience building production ML or AI systems
- Strong familiarity with LLM architectures and agent research trends
- A Bachelor's or higher in CS, ML, or equivalent
- A genuine interest in the technology, not just the money
Nice to Haves
- Experience in law/policy or customer-facing product work
- A track record of high-impact contributions or published papers at a top-tier AI lab or team
- A background in a domain with real-world constraints (automotive, aerospace, robotics, energy)
- Experience with geometric data, CAD, or complex engineering-design data
- Post-training or fine-tuning experience
- Genuine interest in the intersection of AI, hardware development, and policy
Why Join
- Founding-level ownership: among the first technical hires, owning mission-critical AI systems end to end
- Heavyweight backing and team: top-tier venture backing with a founding team drawn from top industry and government leadership
- Real-world impact: build AI that integrates directly into the engineering environments of iconic automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturers
Details
- Location — San Francisco, CA
- Work policy — On-site (SF strongly preferred; open to exceptional remote)
- Compensation — $180,000–$250,000 + 0.1%–1% equity
- Visa sponsorship — Available (H-1B, O-1, OPT)
- Employment type — Full-time