Founding Engineer

Amadeus Search; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech startup in San Francisco is seeking a Founding Engineer to develop a next-generation visual IDE. This role offers the opportunity to shape product architecture and collaborate closely with founders. Ideal candidates will have 4+ years of software engineering experience, strong frontend skills, and a background in startup environments. Join a design-first team dedicated to redefining how developers and designers work together, while enjoying competitive compensation and equity opportunities.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of software engineering experience with strong end-to-end product ownership.
• Experience in fast-paced startup environments.
• Strong GitHub or portfolio with open-source or personal projects.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement key product features across the frontend and backend.
• Build DOM-based visual editing experiences.
• Integrate AI models into real-time workflows.

Skills

Frontend skills (React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS)

Software engineering experience

Startup experience

Backend systems using Node

Familiarity with AI tooling

Job description

Founding Engineer – Full Stack (AI x Developer Tools)

Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid – 4 days/week in person)
Compensation: $130,000 – $200,000 base
Equity: 0.10% – 1.75%
Work Authorization: Open to visa sponsorship in exceptional cases
Type: Full-time
Start Date: ASAP

Why This Role is Different

• One of the top-performing recent startups from a leading accelerator batch
• Massive open-source traction and organic developer adoption
• Design-obsessed, high-velocity founding team with deep product intuition
• Real equity upside, with strong early attention from strategic partners and acquirers
• An opportunity to help define the product, culture, and architecture from day one

About the Role

We’re looking for a Founding Full-Stack Engineer to help build the foundation of a next-generation visual IDE that merges development, design, and AI workflows. This is a high-autonomy role with full ownership of core product systems—ideal for engineers who want to shape the direction of a design-first, open-source developer tools company.

You’ll work closely with the founders to craft high-fidelity interfaces and performance-sensitive backend systems for cloud-native application building.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement key product features across the frontend and backend
• Build DOM-based visual editing experiences with pixel-level polish
• Integrate AI models into real-time creative workflows
• Own infrastructure decisions for cloud execution, performance, and reliability
• Set engineering standards and culture as a true founding contributor

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 4+ years of software engineering experience with strong end-to-end product ownership
• Startup experience, with exposure to fast-paced, zero-to-one environments
• Excellent frontend skills (React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS) with a product mindset
• Experience with backend systems using Node and cloud execution frameworks
• Familiarity with AI tooling, LLM integrations, or model fine-tuning (a strong plus)
• Strong GitHub or portfolio with open-source or personal projects

Traits That Stand Out

• High agency: can operate autonomously and move quickly
• Intensity and care: you work with urgency and high attention to detail
• Design empathy: you care about UX and product quality deeply
• Opinionated with experience: you’ve made hard architecture calls and lived with the results
• Builder DNA: you’ve shipped tools, not just written specs

Traits to Avoid

• Repeated short tenures without clear justification
• Low energy, low ownership attitude
• Inflated resumes without demonstrated depth
• Weak communication or lack of feedback fluency

This is more than a job—it’s a chance to build a flagship devtools product with the potential to redefine how designers and engineers collaborate. If you want to help shape the next generation of human–computer creativity, we’d love to meet you.