Founding AI Lead Engineer (YC experience)

Pragmatike; Sacramento (CA); Remote; USD 200,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Pragmatike is seeking a Founding AI Lead Engineer to shape our AI engineering organization and set the technical strategy for production AI systems, with YC-backed startup experience preferred. The position is fully remote within the United States, offering a substantial compensation package and ownership at a fast-growing tech company.

As a founding leader, you will drive architecture, product direction, and engineering culture while mentoring engineers and partnering with customers and

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong full-stack and product engineering experience.
• Proven 0-1 product development track record.
• Excellent product judgment and technical depth.
• Strong architecture and system design skills.
• Ability to work independently in highly ambiguous environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead 0-1 product initiatives from discovery through scale.
• Partner directly with customers and Product leadership.
• Design and implement full-stack product architectures.
• Establish technical foundations for new products.
• Translate ambiguous product problems into scalable solutions.
• Balance speed, product quality, and technical sustainability.
• Mentor engineers working on product initiatives.
• Influence product roadmap and engineering priorities.

Skills

Full-stack experience

Product engineering

0-1 product development

Architecture & system design

Independent in ambiguity

Strong product judgment

Job description

Location: United States — Remote

Compensation: $200,000–$350,000 USD

Start Date: ASAP

Languages: Fluent English required

Type: Full-time

About The Opportunity

Pragmatike is recruiting on behalf of a fast-growing technology company building critical infrastructure that powers high-volume, real-time business operations across multiple systems and platforms.

We are seeking a Founding AI Lead Engineer with experience in YC-backed start-ups to lead the company's AI engineering organization and establish the technical strategy for production AI systems.

What You'll Do

• Lead 0-1 product initiatives from discovery through scale.
• Partner directly with customers and Product leadership.
• Design and implement full-stack product architectures.
• Establish technical foundations for new products.
• Translate ambiguous product problems into scalable solutions.
• Balance speed, product quality, and technical sustainability.
• Mentor engineers working on product initiatives.
• Influence product roadmap and engineering priorities.

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong full-stack and product engineering experience.
• Proven 0-1 product development track record.
• Excellent product judgment and technical depth.
• Strong architecture and system design skills.
• Ability to work independently in highly ambiguous environments.

Nice to Have

• AI product development.
• Startup/scale-up experience.
• Experience working closely with founders or product leadership.
• Experience taking products from prototype to significant scale.

Why Join?

Our client is building highly scalable technology that sits at the core of critical business operations, offering engineers the opportunity to work on complex systems, large-scale integrations, and real-world technical challenges.

You’ll join a collaborative, fast-moving environment where ownership is encouraged, decisions are made quickly, and engineers have meaningful influence on architecture, product direction, and engineering culture.

This role offers the opportunity to tackle challenging backend problems, work with modern technologies, and grow alongside an ambitious team building for scale.

Full benefit package and competitive compensation.

Pragmatike is committed to a fair, transparent, and inclusive recruitment process. We do not discriminate based on age, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

In accordance with GDPR, your personal data will be processed lawfully, fairly, and securely, and used solely for recruitment purposes, including sharing it with our client(s) for employment consideration. You may request access, correction, or deletion of your data at any time. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality and security of your information throughout the recruitment process.

Compensation Range: $200K - $400K