Co-founder (CTO) / Founding CTO

Vero AI

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 150,000 - 200,000

Full time

14 days+

Get more replies from employers

Send a job-specific resume in minutes.

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity
Ownership in company
Influence on company strategy

Job summary

A pioneering AI startup in San Francisco is seeking a Co-Founder to build the GEO platform from the ground up. You will lead technical vision and a world-class engineering team while solving innovative problems at the intersection of AI and browsing. Ideal candidates will have deep experience in distributed systems and a builder mindset. This role offers significant equity and ownership in shaping the future of AI-driven marketing.

Qualifications

  • Deep experience in distributed systems, search/ads tech, data infrastructure, or applied AI.
  • 0→1 builder mindset: comfortable shipping fast, iterating, and owning outcomes.
  • Passion for the future of AI agents, browsing, and the next evolution of search.
  • Leadership ability to attract and grow a high-caliber technical team.
  • Resilient, resourceful, and hungry to build something category-defining.

Responsibilities

  • Architect and ship the GEO platform (analytics, optimization, SDK/API).
  • Solve frontier problems at the intersection of AI, browsing, and performance infrastructure.
  • Build and lead a world-class engineering team as we scale.
  • Make foundational decisions on product, data strategy, and defensibility.
  • Help set culture and strategy for a generational company.

Skills

Distributed systems
Search/ads tech
Data infrastructure
Applied AI
Leadership
Entrepreneurial mindset

Job description

We’re building the performance layer for the AI-browsing era.

As search shifts from keywords to AI agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Arc, and Gemini, businesses are becoming invisible. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) ensures brands remain discoverable, measurable, and optimized across AI-driven experiences—the new SEO for the age of AI.

Our founding team previously built a $10M ARR marketing startup from scratch, with proven execution and deep inroads in the marketing ecosystem, especially with enterprise clients. We know how to scale category-defining products and are now setting out to build something even bigger.

This is a once-in-a-decade chance to shape how the next internet economy works.

The Role

You’ll own the technical vision and build the core product from the ground up. You’ll partner closely with the CEO/founding team to:

  • Architect and ship the GEO platform (analytics, optimization, SDK/API).
  • Solve frontier problems at the intersection of AI, browsing, and performance infrastructure.
  • Build and lead a world-class engineering team as we scale.
  • Make foundational decisions on product, data strategy, and defensibility.
  • Help set culture and strategy for a generational company.

What We’re Looking For

  • Deep experience in distributed systems, search/ads tech, data infrastructure, or applied AI.
  • 0→1 builder mindset: comfortable shipping fast, iterating, and owning outcomes.
  • Passion for the future of AI agents, browsing, and the next evolution of search.
  • Leadership ability to attract and grow a high-caliber technical team.
  • Founder energy: resilient, resourceful, and hungry to build something category-defining.

Why Join Us

  • Massive market: SEO/SEM is a $100B+ market being rewritten by AI.
  • Right timing: AI agents are exploding; brands urgently need visibility.
  • Defensible moat: Proprietary data + optimization engine create compounding advantage.
  • Proven founders: Built and scaled a $10M ARR martech company with strong enterprise ties.
  • Co-founder role: Significant equity, ownership, and a seat at the table shaping the future.
Seniority level
  • Seniority level
    Executive
Employment type
  • Employment type
    Full-time
Job function
  • Job function
    Business Development and Sales
  • Industries
    Marketing Services

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Vero AI by 2x

Sign in to set job alerts for “Co-Founder” roles.
Entrepreneur in Residence (Future CEO / Founder) - San Francisco, CA
Founder Business Operations - AI Healthcare Startup

San Francisco Bay Area $150,000.00-$200,000.00 3 weeks ago

San Francisco, CA $60,000.00-$150,000.00 8 months ago

San Francisco, CA $90,000.00-$150,000.00 3 weeks ago

San Francisco, CA $50,000.00-$100,000.00 2 months ago

San Francisco, CA $100,000.00-$200,000.00 2 months ago

Past Founder with Track Record and Experience

San Francisco, CA $120,000.00-$200,000.00 5 months ago

Redwood City, CA $100,000.00-$150,000.00 1 month ago

San Francisco Bay Area $90,000.00-$115,000.00 1 month ago

Palo Alto, CA $76,243.00-$999,999.00 1 month ago

San Francisco, CA $80,000.00-$300,000.00 2 weeks ago

Berkeley, CA $60,000.00-$240,000.00 1 year ago

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.

Get your free, confidential resume review.
or drag and drop your file here.
Similar jobs

Similar jobs worth comparing

Technical Co-Founder
Technical Co-Founder

Harnham • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 60,000 - 300,000
Technical Co-founder
Technical Co-founder

Harnham • New York (NY)

On-site
Technical Co‑Founder
Technical Co‑Founder

bubb • New York (NY)

Remote
USD 250,000 - 300,000
Founding-level equity
Competitive early-stage salary package
Transform an underserved industry
Member of Technical Staff, Founding Backend Engineer
Member of Technical Staff, Founding Backend Engineer

Ocular AI (YC W24) • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 150,000 - 200,000
401k
Health Insurance (Dental + Vision)
Annual Company Retreats
+2
Founding Software Engineer
Founding Software Engineer

Goliath Partners • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 150,000 - 300,000
Founding Solutions Engineer
Founding Solutions Engineer

Vori • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 100,000 - 130,000
Mission-driven team
Opportunities for growth
Work on real-world problems
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO)
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO)

Purgamer Inc • United States

Remote
USD 100,000 - 150,000
Co-founder equity and full strategic input
Opportunity to reshape creator compensation
Software Engineer - Search & Retrieval, Mid-Level
Software Engineer - Search & Retrieval, Mid-Level

Jobright.ai • Palo Alto (CA)

On-site
USD 160,000 - 180,000
Medical insurance
Vision insurance
401(k)
Gentoro | Chief AI & Data Science Officer
Gentoro | Chief AI & Data Science Officer

Palm Venture Studios • San Jose (CA)

Hybrid
USD 220,000 - 295,000
Competitive salary
Early-stage equity
Flexible work environment
+1
Product Engineer, Intelligence Interfaces
Product Engineer, Intelligence Interfaces

Stealth AI Startup • San Francisco (CA)

Remote
USD 150,000 - 250,000
Medical insurance
Vision insurance
401(k)
+3