Founding Engineer

Clera; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship available

Job summary

Clera, a fast-moving AI startup in San Francisco, is looking for a Founding Engineer. This high-impact role allows you to shape both product and engineering culture from the ground up.

Your responsibilities include building the application stack, designing memory systems, and integrating cutting-edge video and audio models. A strong Computer Science background and several years of experience are required. The position offers a competitive salary of $175,000 – $225,000 and is fully on-site.

Qualifications

• Computer Science degree from a top university.
• 2–7 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong CS fundamentals and high technical aptitude.
• Experience in startups or other fast-moving environments.

Responsibilities

• Build across the full application stack alongside the founder.
• Design and implement systems for memory and AI responsiveness.
• Integrate and develop real-time video and audio models.
• Set the bar for engineering quality and help recruit talent.
• Extensively use and test the product for user experience.

Job description

About the Role

Join a fast-moving, early-stage consumer AI startup as a Founding Engineer — a rare, high-impact position working directly alongside the founder. This is a true 1-of-1 opportunity to shape both the product and engineering culture from the ground up. The company is building a real-time, AI-enabled platform focused on digitizing human connection, making AI conversations feel genuinely present and responsive. You'll be one of the first engineers in, with enormous scope and ownership.

What You'll Do

• Build across the full application stack alongside the founder, design team, and other engineers.
• Design and implement systems for memory, retrieval, proactivity, and AI responsiveness.
• Integrate and develop cutting-edge real-time video generation and audio synthesis models, both internal and third-party.
• Set the bar for engineering quality and help recruit world-class talent as the team grows.
• Extensively use and test the product yourself — because you genuinely care about the user experience.

What We're Looking For

• Required: Computer Science degree from a top university.
• Required: 2–7 years of professional software engineering experience (not a new grad).
• Required: Strong CS fundamentals and high technical aptitude.
• Required: Demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit — experience in startups or other fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
• Required: Technically complex side projects that showcase initiative and depth.
• Required: High energy, self-driven, and comfortable with early-stage chaos.
• Bonus: Experience with real-time media, vision or video model training/deployment, memory systems, voice/audio-focused projects, or typed scientific Python.

Tech Stack

• Python (including typed scientific Python)
• Vision and video models
• Real-time video generation and audio synthesis
• Memory and retrieval systems
• Agentic coding and AI-assisted development tools

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $175,000 – $225,000 USD annually
• Visa sponsorship available

Location

This role is fully on-site in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be willing and able to work in person. Remote work is not available for this position.