Founding Engineer

Alpha Associates Recruitment; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

An early-stage, YC-backed AI startup in New York City is looking for a Founding Engineer to help build a product transforming how home service businesses sell and operate. You will be the first engineering hire outside the founding team, reporting directly to the CTO, with significant ownership over product development and future hires.

The role involves 70% engineering and 30% customer-facing work, building full-stack features with Python, TypeScript, and AWS, and collaborating closely with

Qualifications

• 3+ years of full-stack engineering experience, ideally in a fast-moving startup.
• Track record of shipping products used by real customers.
• Experience coding with AI tools such as Claude Code or Codex.
• Strong communication skills and confidence working directly with non-technical users.
• High ownership, a bias towards action and comfort operating in a 0-to-1 environment.

Responsibilities

• Building and shipping full-stack features using Python, TypeScript and AWS.
• Owning new product lines from initial concept through to launch.
• Working directly with customers to gather feedback and drive product adoption.
• Solving complex AI infrastructure challenges, including offline functionality and low-latency data pipelines.
• Defining engineering processes and helping shape the company’s technical direction.

Skills

Full-stack

Startup experience

Python

TypeScript

Tools

AWS

Claude Code

Codex

Job description

Founding Engineer | New York City | $150k-$250k + Equity

I’m working with an early-stage, YC-backed AI startup looking for a Founding Engineer to help build a product transforming how home service businesses sell and operate.

The opportunity:

• $150k-$250k base salary + 0.5-1% equity
• New York City - fully in-office, 6 days per week
• Seed-stage startup backed by Robinhood Ventures and leading investors
• First engineering hire outside the founding team, reporting directly to the CTO
• Already working with major US contractors and approaching $300k-$400k ARR
• Significant ownership over product development, technical decisions and future engineering hires

What you’ll be doing:

• Building and shipping full-stack features using Python, TypeScript and AWS
• Owning new product lines from initial concept through to launch
• Working directly with customers to gather feedback and drive product adoption
• Solving complex AI infrastructure challenges, including offline functionality and low-latency data pipelines
• Defining engineering processes and helping shape the company’s technical direction

What they’re looking for:

• 3+ years of full-stack engineering experience, ideally in a fast-moving startup
• A track record of shipping products used by real customers
• Daily experience coding with AI tools such as Claude Code or Codex
• Strong communication skills and confidence working directly with non-technical users
• High ownership, a bias towards action and comfort operating in a 0-to-1 environment

Founding engineer experience, a background as a founder, mobile development skills or familiarity with the trades would be a bonus.

The bigger picture:

An opportunity to join a small, ambitious team tackling a huge, underserved market. You’ll work directly with the founders and customers, build products that solve real-world problems and have a genuine impact on the company’s growth.

The role is roughly 70% engineering and 30% customer-facing work, with travel to customer sites fully expensed.

US work authorisation is required - no visa sponsorship available.