Founding Engineer

Berkley Hunt; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Berkley Hunt is seeking a Founding Engineer to join as one of the earliest technical hires, building an AI-powered product end-to-end from the ground up. This on-site role in San Francisco offers an opportunity to shape the product with the founders and a lean team.

You’ll own features from concept through production, design backend services with Kotlin and Spring Boot, build frontend with React/Next.js, manage PostgreSQL schemas, and deploy on GCP with Terraform, learning and shipping in a

Qualifications

• Experience shipping an AI product end-to-end.
• Founding engineer or early hire at pre-seed/seed startup.
• Full-stack generalist comfortable across Kotlin, Spring Boot, React, and Next.js.

Responsibilities

• Design and build core product features end-to-end across the full stack.
• Architect and ship backend services using Kotlin and Spring Boot.
• Build responsive, production-grade frontends using React and Next.js.
• Design and maintain PostgreSQL schemas supporting core product workflows.
• Own infrastructure and deployment using GCP and Terraform.
• Integrate and build with AI models including Gemini and Claude.
• Work directly with clients to understand needs and translate them into shipped features.
• Move fast and autonomously across ambiguous priorities.
• Take full ownership of features from concept through production.
• Collaborate closely with founders and the core engineering team to shape product direction.

Skills

Founding engineer

Kotlin

Spring Boot

React

Next.js

PostgreSQL

GCP

Terraform

Client facing

Tools

Terraform

GCP

PostgreSQL

Job description

Berkley Hunt is partnering with an early-stage, high-growth product company building AI-powered software from the ground up alongside a small, high-caliber founding team.

They're looking for a Founding Engineer to join as one of the earliest technical hires and help build the product end-to-end. This is a full-stack generalist role based onsite in San Francisco (3 days/week), working directly with the founders and a lean team of 3 engineers plus one part-time Customer Success hire.

What You'll Do

• Design and build core product features end-to-end across the full stack
• Architect and ship backend services using Kotlin and Spring Boot
• Build responsive, production-grade frontends using React and Next.js
• Design and maintain PostgreSQL schemas supporting core product workflows
• Own infrastructure and deployment using GCP and Terraform
• Integrate and build with AI models including Gemini and Anthropic's Claude
• Work directly with clients to understand needs and translate them into shipped features
• Move fast and autonomously across ambiguous, evolving priorities
• Take full ownership of features from concept through production
• Collaborate closely with founders and the core engineering team to shape product direction

What We're Looking For

• Prior experience as a founding engineer or top early hire at a pre-seed/seed-stage startup
• Track record of shipping an AI product with genuine end-to-end ownership
• Full-stack generalist comfortable across Kotlin, Spring Boot, React, and Next.js
• Experience with PostgreSQL, GCP, and Terraform in production environments
• Direct client-facing or client-side experience
• Highly autonomous, comfortable operating with minimal oversight in a small team