Founding Applied AI Engineer – AI for Hardware Engineering

Rnb Consultancy; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship available

Job summary

Rnb Consultancy in San Francisco is seeking a versatile engineer to join a stealth hardware AI startup building an engine for engineering compliance. You’ll contribute across hardware, software, and product, engaging directly with customers, and helping shape a new product line.

Full-time, on-site in SF with visa sponsorship available and equity on offer. Ideal candidates demonstrate a strong hardware/infrastructure/product background, startup experience, and a hands-on, startup-friendly

Qualifications

• Exceptional raw ability and a fast learning curve; 3–5 years noted, extraordinary juniors welcome.
• Clear spike: excellent at hardware, infrastructure, or product and strategy.
• Good judgment: engineering intuition, product sense, founder decisions.
• Product-minded first, infra second.
• Curiosity about physical AI and hardware.
• Founder DNA or startup experience; trustworthy, low ego, all in.

Responsibilities

• Own contributions across hardware, software, and product areas as the fourth engineer.
• Help map a new product line aligning engine hardware, software, and systems.
• Join customer calls and meetings from day one to shape direction.
• Do on-prem infrastructure work for defense customers.

Skills

Hardware focus

Infra understanding

Product mindset

Startup experience

Fast learner

Job description

AI coding assistants changed how software gets built. Who's doing the same for the engineers behind jet engines?

A seed-stage startup in stealth is building an AI engineer for companies that make complex hardware. Building an engine, a car or an aircraft still runs on spreadsheets shared by thousands of engineers, and they're out to change that. The starting point is engineering compliance: helping engineers check their designs against regulations that translate into hard requirements. Backed by top-tier investors and advisors from aviation, transport regulation and heavy industry, and already under signed contracts with several of the world's largest manufacturers.

What you'll own

You'd be engineer number four, next to the CTO and two founding engineers who all founded companies before. Where you focus depends on your strengths:

• The priority: a new product line in system modeling, mapping how an engine's hardware, software, mechanical, electrical, fluid and thermal parts fit together, based on design files, requirements and engineering data
• Growing a live pilot with around 100 users at a major manufacturer
• Deciding on product together with customers; you join sales calls and customer meetings from the first day
• Some on-prem infrastructure work for defense customers

What you bring

• Exceptional raw ability and a fast learning curve, which count for more than years (roughly 3–5; outstanding juniors welcome)
• A clear spike: truly excellent at hardware, infrastructure, or product and strategy
• Good judgment: engineering intuition, product sense, and the trade-offs a founder would make
• Product-minded first, infra second
• Real curiosity about physical AI and hardware
• Founder DNA or genuine startup experience; trustworthy, low ego, all in

Bonus points

• You've founded a company
• Impressive work hidden behind an understated title
• Hands-on with hardware or robotics
• Olympiad or research achievements

What's in it for you

• $180k–$250k base + equity
• A seat on a team of former founders, right as a new product line starts
• Visa sponsorship available

Good to know

• Full-time, in person in San Francisco
• Process: intro → screen → round with the CTO → on-site → offer. Be ready to talk about the hardest technical problem you've solved and the toughest call you've made.

Does this sound like you? If you're a match, we'll be in touch within 3 working days.